Separate Ways (2001)

Why even try and watch this obscure erotic thriller when we know it's going to be garbage?  First, it stars C. Thomas Howell - and it's fun to watch teen heartthrobs from the eighties having to act in crappy movies for cash - plus, he was great in The Hillside Strangler.  Also, you never know when you're going to land on that hidden gem.  This could be the one!  Let's give it a whirl...

Amy Proctor (Brandy Ledford) dresses up in a wig and meets with a private investigator. 

Harry Haskell (Leo Rossi), the PI, has found her long lost "brother" for her.  He apparently has a ton of money put away in a "box" as they call it, that is there for the taking.

Harry's assistant, Mallory (Michelle Jones) doesn't trust Amy and this whole case smells fishy to her.

The long lost "brother" is Tom Milton (C. Thomas Howell), a rich dude who's about to be married in a few days.

His bride-to-be is Karen (Rebekah Carlton).  Note that IMDb is woefully lacking in the cast listing; they don't even have this character listed (which, I guess, demonstrates how little anyone cares about this film).  Rebekah Carlton was a regular on Baywatch.

 After a night out, Karen drops her dress, luring Tom to the bedroom.

There's a very brief bit of nudity from Rebekah Carlton at the end of this film, but that's about it.  As pitiful as that is, I believe this is the only film where Carlton appeared nude.

 We find that Amy is a nurse... and a little unhinged.

 She breaks into Tom's mansion.

Then, Amy tries on some of his clothes - providing a nice topless scene.  Actress Brandy Ledford started out in erotic thrillers such as this, but her good looks and decent acting skills brought her more and more mainstream parts. She was a regular on TV shows such as Baywatch, Fast Track and The Invisible Man.  She appeared in Smallville, Stargate SV1, Married with Children, Modern Family and The Drew Carey Show.

But we all have to start somewhere  Brandy Ledford got her start posing for Penthouse and other adult magazines like Swank.  She went under the name Jisel for most of her skin rag appearances.  I guess this speaks to how shitty this movie is, that they could only get her to go topless for this film.  I understand, this was well past her early days, when she was trying to be more mainstream... but still.

Tom and Karen go to the police; he believes he's being stalked and someone broke into his house.

There is a completely irrelevant side story involving Tom's business associate, Frank (Jerry Penacoli).  They go to a strip club, where Frank hooks up with a stripper and Tom acts bored.

 We get a rather pitiful sex scene between Frank and this nameless actress playing the stripper.

Mallory feels that Harry isn't being truthful with her about the Amy case.   

Mallory gets angry with him, and we get to see Michelle Jones in panties. Woopie.  Are you getting the feeling that this erotic thriller is under-delivering in the erotic department?  (Come to think of it, the thriller department isn't exactly being fulfilled either.)

Harry threatens to spill the beans to Tom unless Amy coughs up ten thousand dollars.  She doesn't have that kind of money, so she kills him.

 Flashback time:  Tom confides to Karen, that he knows his stalker.  She's not his sister, but rather an old girlfriend who he deflowered.

 In the flashback scene, Amy provides another look at her boobs.

 Amy calls Tom, but the police have the line traced.

 Amy has a bomb planted in Karen's house.  When she opens the door, it explodes - but Tom is there to pull her away in the nick of time.  Amy is inside, and we presume she was killed in the explosion.

The movie is basically over, and we finally have a nude scene from Rebekah Carlson.  As mentioned, it's really brief, but it is likely her only nude scene.

It ends with Karen shocked to see Amy watching them at the window. Then she's gone. Was she really there, or was her mind playing tricks on her? I don't think anyone cares.  THE END

This was a pile of shit.  It's an erotic thriller starring a Penthouse Pet with basically no nudity whatsoever.  The story is contrived as all hell, and the energy level is basically a flat line.

As I mentioned at the top of this review - I watch these in the hope of finding a hidden gem, but more often than not, it usually results in disappointment.  This definitely falls in that category.

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆