Into her perfect life, comes a perfect stranger, until nothing is perfect anymore.

• Genre: Drama/Erotic/Romance
• Role: Samantha Delongpre
• Director: Zalman King
• Selected Cast: Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Tyson, Louise Fletcher, Burl Ives, Kristy McNichol, Don Galloway, Martin Hewitt, Hervé Villechaize
• Production Company: Lorimar Motion Pictures
• U.S. Release Date: April 29 1988

Socialite April Delongpre (Sherilyn Fenn) seems to have it all - beauty, health, a loving family and a dreamy fiancé, whom her parents, both important social figures, approve of. However, in the midst of her final pre-marital arrangements, April pays a visit to the local carnival, where she encounters one of the carnival’s hired hands, the handsome and masculine Perry (Richard Tyson). Despite her best efforts, April is unable to resist her attraction for Perry, and embarks on a passionate, dangerous affair with him only days before her marriage ceremony. The further her relationship with Perry deepens, the more April begins to doubt her commitment to her fiancé Chad (Martin Hewitt), while her dominant mother is doing everything within her power to force April to go through with her marriage plans.

Milla Jovovich portrays Samantha Delongpre, a small supporting role as April’s young daughter who is caught in a silent war between her mother and her grandmother over April’s relationship with Perry and her plans to call off the engagement right before the marriage ceremony.

No quotations available.

• This is one of the few films in which Milla’s performance has been credited by her first name only. She was also credited as “Milla” in the 1988 film The Night Train to Kathmandu.

• Two Moon Junction marks Milla’s debut appearance onscreen.

• Actress Sherilyn Fenn (portraying April Delongpre) later reportedly disowned the film for its explicit sexual content, saying she was during production unaware of how the film would truly turn out.

• The film marks the last silver screen appearances of Burl Ives (portraying Sheriff Earl Hawkins), who died of mouth cancer in 1995, and Hervé Villechaize (portraying Smiley), who committed suicide in 1993.

Professional reviews on Two Moon Junction are generally speaking scarce, but the handful of reviews that are available online are largely negative, citing the film as forgettable, simple-minded and cheap soft porn, complete with unintended humor and an unrealistic, uninvolving plot, reducing the overall experience to awkward at best.

Extracts from professional reviews:

“I wish I could think of a better reason for buying or renting this film than ogling Ms. Fenn or Mr. Tyson, but I’m afraid I’m short on answers. I can’t even explain what the film’s title means, except its being a locale in the story. Maybe it’s a wry allusion to Fenn’s and Tyson’s obvious assets. Anyway, there’s no plot, no characterization, little acting, lots of flesh, and some simulated sex. Isn’t late-night HBO or Showtime cheaper at this kind of thing?” - John J. Puccio, DVD Town

“For a movie that was apparently not intended as a comedy, Two Moon Junction has some genuinely funny moments in it. Kristy McNichol turns up in a high-voltage cameo, as another of Perry’s one-night stands, and hands out some spicy dialogue and girl-to-girl advice about the braless look. [...] Despite the cheerful and unrelenting silliness of the movie, Fenn and Tyson do what they can with their roles, which is not much, since the film is more concerned with their physical presences than with their acting chemistry. The film’s major flaw is its earnestness. It seems to have little if any idea of how ridiculous its story is, how hilarious its characters are, and, indeed, how ludicrous most of the sexual situations turn out to be. When I was 15, I would have loved this movie.” - Roger Ebert, Sun Times

“In scenarios the likes of this one, it doesn’t really matter whether the actors can act — and who could tell, given this poppycock? — it’s whether they have done their sit-ups. Richard Tyson (Perry), who’s had lots of minor parts in lots of minor movies, has a friend in Nautilus and a revolting heavy-metal hairdo. And he manages to play this steroidal cupcake with menace, mystery and maybe even latent intelligence. Sherilyn Fenn (April), also from the movie minors, looks stunning as the sex-craved flibbertigibbet. She has a face as elegant as Grace Kelly’s and the silky, platinum-blond demeanor of Kim Novak. But she is boring. Both she and Tyson are exploited. The way the camera zooms all over her nude body, you get the feeling the cinematographer was wearing a trench coat. Poor Tyson is greased like a spitted pig, his pectorals plumped up like Popeye’s cheeks full of spinach.” - Rita Kempley, The Washington Post

Personal Thoughts

As a drama film, Two Moon Junction is terribly uninvolving. As an erotic drama, Two Moon Junction is merely erotic. I guess it is a matter of taste whether this film works for you or not, but it certainly isn’t my cup of tea. Despite the ravishingly beautiful Sherilyn Fenn and her performance, there is little room for any real character development in the script, as the film focuses mainly on April and Perry’s steamy affair, and thus half the film is spent watching them either flirt with one another or have passionate sex.

Milla as Samantha is truly the highlight of the film. Although she is given little screen time, the few moments in which she does appear on screen show the potential she had as a gifted child actress. A particularly memorable scene is one in which Samantha has dressed up in fancy women’s clothes and puts on a show for her mother; in this scene Milla’s genuineness is particularly present, and her performance, however brief, is a delight to watch.

Below are some Two Moon Junction related links that may be of interest to you.

• Two Moon Junction official site
• Two Moon Junction TFL-approved fanlisting
• Two Moon Junction TFL-approved Samantha character fanlisting
• Two Moon Junction at IMDb.com
• Two Moon Junction at RottenTomatoes.com
• Two Moon Junction at Wikipedia.org

• Zalman King at IMDb.com
• Zalman King at Wikipedia.org