t Joyce’s (Pamela Bryant) graduation party, young teen pals Phillip “Philly” Fillmore (Eric Brown) and Sherman (Patrick Piccininni) sneak across the roof (binoculars in hand) and into the backyard to take turns climbing on each other’s backs for a peak at Joyce as she undresses in her room. Chaperone Miss Phipps (Meridith Baer) catches them, but instead of embarrassing them, she merely states that such interests are natural, provided that they look for someone more age-appropriate. The advice doesn’t stick, however, considering that Phipps is herself quite the looker, revealing a distracting amount of her legs while gently chiding them.

Of further temptation is new housekeeper Nicole Mallow (Sylvia Kristel), who is also conspicuously attractive. 15-year-old Philly isn’t likely to learn anything about propriety or manners or boundaries though, considering that not only is Mallow secretly being paid to give the boy “private lessons” about sex – like buying a prostitute to break him in – but Philly also happens to be ridiculously wealthy, living in a massive estate (complete with an elevator) with numerous employees, including stern chauffeur Lester Lewis (Howard Hesseman). He has no responsibilities or interests – other than to peek in the girls locker room at his tennis club, and to spy on Nicole every time she changes her outfit, which, not surprisingly, doesn’t upset her when she inevitably catches him in the act.

“Do you want to watch me undress? Have a seat.” The premise is meant to be the ultimate adolescent male fantasy, especially as Nicole goes to greater and greater lengths to seduce the “man” of the house, but the coming-of-age sex-comedy elements never quite become comical. Instead, much of it is just awkward, not least because of the fact that Philly is underage (in the filming locations where the age of consent is above 16, anyway). The differences in intelligence and experience and maturity are considerable. Had the genders been reversed, this would be an entirely different kind of uncomfortableness. Either way, this is the kind of film that could never be remade in the subsequent eras of heightened cinematic censorship and public awareness toward power imbalances. “I just feel bad about it.”

Nevertheless, this film, along with plenty of others from the ’80s, would influence the generation of teen-oriented sex comedies to come – as well as a subgenre specifically featuring a female instructor teaching a younger pupil about sex, including “My Tutor” and “They’re Playing with Fire” (as well as the somewhat less controversial offshoot of pubescent virgins desperately competing to get laid first). “Weird Science” is one of the closer derivations, but it takes the basic conceit to a much funnier, cleverer, and more honest level. Here, there are a few minor surprises (a similarity or two to “Diabolique” is surely more coincidental than artsy), but the humor practically never lands and the dialogue is bland at best (yet the hit-filled soundtrack is hard to miss). Plus, the outcome is beyond unrealistic (and strangely unsatisfying). Thankfully, the picture is short, and Kristel (famous for erotic film “Emmanuelle”) is memorable.

– Mike Massie