Zalman King has made a pretty penny directing softcore porn, and Delta of Venus is his artiest attempt at it yet.

Following the saucy adventures of an American girl in the 1940s who moves to Paris (hey, great timing!) to write erotic fiction, Venus is long on stolen glances and short on story. In fact, it's short on eroticism too, as Audie England spends more time gawking and whispering at creepy foreigners and hiding in dark closets than engaging in forbidden acts. England is hardly a Basinger-esque sexpot and even less of an actress, which is why she's largely been relegated to TV movies in the years since Venus appeared. Ultimately her character Elena's sexual awakening is pretty freakin' tepid.

Based on an Anaïs Nin book, the historical angle of Delta of Venus couldn't be weaker, as virtually no mention of the impending World War is made. Elena is content to loll about in her world of lesbians, whores, bisexuals, drug fiends, and dreamy sex encounters instead of worrying about nonsense like the end of the world as she knows it. She's got some hot hot hot fiction to write, after all.