MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Live Nude Girls’ Offers Deft Surprises, Insights

“Live Nude Girls” is a lousy title for a thoughtful comedy about a group of thirtysomething women reflecting upon sex and love. Those who go expecting an expose about go-go dancers will be sorely disappointed while others who might well appreciate filmmaker Julianna Lavin’s wit and perception and her actresses’ skillful portrayals could be put off by that title.

This is not to say, however, that “Live Nude Girls” isn’t raunchy and racy. When five attractive women, lifelong friends, gather to celebrate the third marriage of one of them, the blunt talk turns to sex--experiences past, present and hoped-for, with memories and fantasies depicted with humor.

When at precisely the right moment one women asks plaintively, “Could we talk about something besides sex for five minutes?,” she almost certainly will be echoing your own wish for respite. However, she’s also happily signaling a shift from a concern with pleasure to a consideration of feelings. In short, “Live Nude Girls” deftly surprises you with unexpected depths yet is wise enough not to lose its sense of proportion or forget that it’s a comedy. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” or John Cassavetes’ “Faces,” it’s not.

Hostess for the evening is Lora Zane’s Georgina, a very successful chef, judging from her spacious modern home. Facing the possibility she may be bisexual rather than lesbian, she dreams of being seduced by her handsome new sous - chef (Adam Ozturk); in any event her live-in lesbian lover Chris (Olivia d’Abo) is feeling neglected. (Lavin understands well how fluid sexual attraction can be.) The third-time bride-to-be, Jamie (Kim Cattrall), is understandably scared: She’s sexy and beautiful but she’s never made it beyond B-movies as an actress and fears striking out in both love and work as time inexorably goes by.

Dana Delany’s Jill is the pretty gossip of the group, not downright evil but a troublemaker whose ambivalence about impending motherhood enrages her sister Rachel (Laila Robins), not single by choice and craving a child. Meanwhile, normally level-headed Marcy (Cynthia Stevenson) has succumbed to a fling with her house painter only to find herself being stalked by him. (On a lighter note are the amusing, spot-on observations of Georgina’s gay pool man, a relaxed, bemused V.C. Davis.) All these matters and more get aired and sorted out in the course of this lively, intimate movie, but Julianna Lavin, who also knows a thing or two about men, is too smart to tie up everything neatly with a ribbon.

* MPAA rating: R, for graphic sexual dialogue and scenes of sexuality. Times guidelines: It is entirely inappropriate for children.

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‘Live Nude Girls’

Dana Delany: Jill

Kim Cattrall: Jamie

Cynthia Stevenson: Marcy

Laila Robins: Rachel

Lora Zane: Georgina

Olivia d’Abo: Chris

An I.R.S. release of a Republic Pictures presentation of a Steve White Properties production. Writer-director Julianna Lavin. Producers Cara Tapper, Steve White, Barry Bernardi. Executive producers Heather Bernt, Mel Layton. Cinematographer Christopher Taylor. Editor Kathryn Himoff. Costumes Israel Segal. Music Anton Sanko. Production designer Jerry Fleming. Set decorator Lance DeSpain. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

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