Virgin Territory is an attempt to create an Elizabethan-style comedy with
modern dialogue, rock music, and a contemporary level of nudity. It tales
place in Florence with the plague raging through the city, and the central
character is a beautiful maiden whose father's death has left her in
unfortunate financial straits. Before he passed away, she had expected to
submit to an arranged marriage to a wealthy Russian count, but dad's untimely
demise has left her family's country estate in the hands of an unscrupulous Italian
aristocrat, and she will have to marry him if she wants to continue living on
the grounds where she grew up. To make matters more complicated, she is
actually secretly in love with a third suitor, a penniless rogue.
The plot includes the usual Elizabethan devices. There are several people
pretending to be who and what they are not, including a puckish painter posing
as a priest. There is a woman making love anonymously to a blindfolded lover
who must later identify her by her kiss. There are plenty of flashing
swords, and about five romantic sub-plots. On top of all those conceits, there
is also an encampment of horny gypsies who kidnap unsuspecting wayfarers, and
a convent full of horny nuns who promise a paradise of poontang to any man who
is suitably discreet and suitably randy. There is plenty of comic relief from
both major and minor characters. There's also also lots of nudity: breasts
everywhere, and copious buns from people of both sexes.
It all sounds kind of like fun, doesn't it?
It is, to some extent. It's not really a great film because it's too
unfocused and relies on too many plot gimmicks instead of dealing more
honestly with real human passions. Furthermore, there is not a single surprise
in any of those contrived plot devices, except for a couple of chance meetings
where the surprise is generated by total implausibility. Everything goes down
just as expected until the completely predictable happy ending in which all of
the couples come together. The film also suffers from some weak performances
from actors who were either miscast or insufficiently talented to handle this
sort of period piece. Yet, in spite of all that, I found myself swept up by
the story because it believes in itself. The director felt he was making a
modern day classic, a dazzling Elizabethan costume comedy with a modern
spirit, ala Shakespeare in Love, with just a touch of A Knight's Tale and The
Princess Bride. While the film never rises to that level, its enthusiasm is
infectious and you can have a good time just letting it wash over you. Despite
all the nudity, it has a PG spirit and would make a very suitable date movie.
If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
