My Therapist

In 1979, Marilyn Chambers found herself in Las Vegas performing a controversial, yet well received one-woman stage play entitled Sex Surrogate, (she even did a stint at Raymond's Revue Bar in London where the production was renamed Sex Confessions). In 1982 the show was transposed into an hour long film, being captured on video tape by director Al Rossi; it was later released on video as Sex Surrogate, which Chambers considered to be the best performance of her career.

Using the sex surrogate angle, the concept of a pay TV series was hatched. The series, with its puzzling Love Ya' Florence Nightingale title, consisted of thirteen one-hour long episodes and was broadcast on American cable stations starting February 1983. It was from this 'R-rated' series that the full length feature, My Therapist, was edited together.

Viewers looking forward to a XXX dosage of the 'insatiable' Marilyn Chambers (a ubiquitous prefix, the equivalent of a porn knighthood?) would be well advised to look elsewhere. In fact, viewers looking for an interesting film would be advised to look elsewhere. This is a disjointed, rambling mess of movie in which portions of the cable-TV series have been edited together in an attempt to maximize on what probably was a flop to start off with.

Chambers plays sex therapist Kelly Carson, who councils male clients suffering from sexual dysfunctions — a job she attempts to balance with her relationship with boyfriend and school basketball coach, Mike Jenner (David Winn). The storyline sets the most focus on Rip Ryder (George ‘Buck’ Flower), a cocaine snorting over-the-hill Country ‘n’ Western singer and his young ex-groupie bride Doreen (Robbie Lee; Switchblade Sisters). Interspersed with Ryder’s shenanigans are several bedroom scenes featuring Kelly and Mike, but these are generally no more ambitious than soft focus dissolves accompanied by an ‘after midnight’ saxophone.