Goddess of Love

Rating:
Summary: Fun film, but Vanna CAN NOT ACT
Review: This could have been a really fun film if the role of Venus had been cast with someone who could act. Vanna White is a very attractive woman, but she has the emotional ability of a melting snowball. Her line readings were as flat as the western Kansas planes. It is no wonder that she was not cast in another "acting" role after this film.

Taking the basic idea of "One Touch of Venus" with a statue of Venus coming to life and causing havoc for the hero, there were some delightful touches. David Naughton as the hairdresser (barber in "One Touch---") was excellent and that had to be difficult in the scenes with Vanna as he got not one bit of support from her. He had to carry every bit of the story.

SPOILER: The viewer is very relieved at the end when the hero is united with his mortal wife to be and Venus leaves, mainly because Vanna has not generated any quality to make anyone root for her.

The special effects are excellent for a TV film from 1988. These and the good actors in all roles, except Venus, make this a nice viewing experience.

Vanna - stick to turning letters.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Much better than anticipated!
Review: When I heard about this movie, I just assumed that is was a rip-off of "Mannequin." Well, I was right, but it is very entertaining indeed!

Vanna White plays Venus, Goddess of Love. After failing miserably at three attempts to seduce mortal men, her parents Zeus and Hera (played by John Rhys-Davies, from the TV series Sliders, and Betsy Palmer, Jason Voorhees' mother in Friday the 13th!!) turn her into a statue until the time comes for her to have one last chance at love. Jump to "Los Angeles--Someday" as the subtitle reads; Ted Beckman (played by David Naughton of American Werewolf in London) is getting ready to be married in a few days to his fiance Cathy (Married with Children's Amanda Bearse). His best friend Jimmy (Empty Nest's David Leisure) takes him out to a club for one last night out on the town and through a series of events, they begin talking about the wedding. Ted ends up slipping the ring on a mysterious statue of Venus that's sitting in the courtyard at the nightclub; but then he can't get it off. Well, it turns out that putting the ring on the statue's finger awakens Venus (Vanna White) and she believes that she is now betrothed to Ted and must take him back to Mt. Olympus with her. Chaos ensues as Ted struggles juggle many problems. He has to hide the secret of where the ring went to his fiance, fight off the advances of Venus who refuses to give the ring back, and also deal with the cops who are now looking for a missing statue. Throw a couple of thieves/burglars into the mix (one is played by Boogie Nights' Philip Baker Hall) and you have an over-the-top, funny, and cute movie.

The acting is all very convincing. Vanna White plays Venus with a sort of vacuousness that comes with not understanding the feelings and emotions of mortal love. Everyone seems to be having fun with their role, realizing this is just Made-for-TV fluff that is just meant to entertain on a rainy day. The special effects are VERY good for a 1988 TV movie. It looks really cool whenever Venus goes from being a statue to being human or vice versa. She also can conjure up thunder and lightning, and destroy things by shooting them with a lightning bolt. All this is done very well. One scene has Venus levitating in the air while lightning flashes on her over and over and you cannot see any wires. All in all, good job...and I'm picky about my special effects! :)

There are no special features on the DVD, just the original fullscreen presentation and a scene selection divided up into eight chapters.

If you are looking for a good fun time, pick this movie up, you won't be disappointed!!!