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virginia madsen in after sex

After Sex

After Sex is a film from 2001, well. The one with Virginia Madsen is. There is another film from the French called After Sex in 1997, and then another from 2007 which is also called After Sex.

So, because it wouldn’t make sense otherwise, we’ll make sure we stick with the 2001 Virginia Madsen After Sex version.

Although that might not also be the best decision. This is another that I actually wasn’t looking forward to rewatching. In fact, it was pretty close to the bottom of the list and another I slipped into the DVD player with a sigh and me wondering what it was I was actually doing with my life.

After Sex, is a comedy drama type of film. Kate (Brooke Shields) receives a depressing phone call from her ex to let her know she’s now been officially divorced for a year. In a bid to make herself feel better she phones her friend Traci (Virginia Madsen) and basically tells her she’s off to Palm Springs for a girls weekend. She phones another mutual friend,  Vicki (Maria Pitillo) to tell her the same who phones a fourth friend, Janet (Stephanie Venditto) and it’s all arranged.

Traci, Vicki and Janet are all partnered off already and in various stages of their relationships, but one of their gal pals needs their help so obviously they’re on board. Before you know it they’re off for a night of womanly revelary. Good for them.
Virginia Madsen as Traci in After Sex. She is captured mid-motion outdoors, wearing dark sunglasses and a wide, joyful smile. Her curly blonde hair frames her face as she tilts her head slightly. She wears a vibrant, multicolored blouse with a tie-dye-like pattern, featuring shades of pink, green, and white. A sash with red lettering is draped over her shoulder.They road trip there, arrive, have some shenanigans at the pool side. Have a round of Golf, injuring another Guest of the hotel. They’re all in high spirits and hit the town for the night. They end up meeting a bunch of men from various places.

Kate meets the bloke she injured on the Golf course earlier, because of course. Traci meets a nice chap at the bar she’s seemingly got a lot in common with. Vicki and Janet end up talking to some other, less desirable but harmless enough Dudes.

Vicki ends up putting her head between on the gentlemans lap, NO NOT LIKE THAT – She’s sick all over him after one too many cocktails… Tch. And, Janet – Well Janet ends up with one of the others.

In short, the girls all end up kind of paired off, there are some more awkward than others and the degrees of what we see differ. Kate and Janet both take their men home, Traci seemingly stops short and Vicki, well Vicki wonders about if anyone is eating her complimentary hotel chocolate.
Virginia Madsen as Traci in After Sex. She is seated at a bar in a dimly lit, lively setting, engaged in a conversation with a man wearing a light-colored jacket. She is smiling warmly, wearing a sleeveless lavender dress and a delicate necklace. A shimmering, beaded clutch purse rests on the bar in front of her, along with a tall margarita glass. The background is filled with blurred figures of people, suggesting a bustling nightlife atmosphereThe Boys left behind are left to prop up the bar. Well, the bar at the strip club, but still.

All good, right?

Well. Not really.

Kate wakes up alone, despite her asking for her man to stay the night. She’s sad that she has been let down again. She joins the other girls at breakfast, and there are obvious regrets about the night before from the three attached ladies. They somehow manage to pin and or blame their debauchery on Kate. Not really sure that’s fair, or accurate, but before you know it Kate is storming off.

And, honestly you can’t really blame her – I mean, c’mon Girls, take some responsibility for your actions…

The trip is cut short and the ride home is strained.

When they all arrive back at home, but the night away has changed them all in some way, and it isn’t long before the fellas they left back at home pick up on this.Virginia Madsen as Traci in After Sex. She is sitting in a dimly lit bedroom, looking over her shoulder with a concerned expression. Her short, curly blonde hair is slightly tousled, and she wears a dark-colored top. A soft, warm light from a nearby lamp illuminates part of her face, while shadows create a sense of depth. The background features an open closet with hanging clothes and a wooden dresser with a decorative lamp.Initial suspicions are aroused when the ladies are home early, their partners all comment on it for one reason or another. It isn’t long before their trip slowly comes back to haunt them in one way or another.

Janet is the first to fall, she keeps her relationship with the man she met in Palm Springs going, her husband, John (Dan Cortese) finds out who then tells the rest of the husbands. Traci is next under suspicion from her husband Tony (D.B. Sweeney) and when Traci won’t confirm or deny anything he runs to the other husbands and before you can blink it’s Vicki under suspicion from her husband, Matt (Johnathon Schaech).

But maybe, just maybe Tony shouldn’t have pressed the issue with Traci…

… And maybe, just maybe Kate and Janet need to have a sit down at some point and talk, things, through.

I won’t say more than that. I’ve actually said more than I meant to do already, it’s not the easiest film to try and describe without going into more detail.

Did I enjoy it? Well. Yes, actually – Yes and no – It was a very different viewing experience than when I first watched it some 10 to 15 years ago (!!) – BUT – I’m a very different person also. I think my enjoyment might have come more from experience than anything else. Perhaps I wasn’t mature enough to appreciate the film the first time around.

It’s sort of a coming of age movie for grown ups. One, not so much about camaraderie among friends that you’ll think you’ll have for life. But more the reality of what can happen with those friends you’ll think you’ll have for life. A less optimistic view of the world.Virginia Madsen as Traci in After Sex. She stands in a modestly lit kitchen, wearing a white button-up shirt with the top buttons undone. Her curly blonde hair frames her face, and she has a slightly distressed or confrontational expression as she looks toward a man in the foreground. The background features a window with checkered curtains, a dish rack with plates and cups, and yellow-tiled countertops, giving the kitchen a warm, vintage feel.The film is billed as a dramedy, but it isn’t, really, It’s more drama than anything else. The relationships between the four couples on screen are quite relatable, and at times border on the uncomfortable. I think that’s the “No” of my “Yes and No”. If I wondered what I was doing with my life when I put the DVD in the player then at least by the end of it I’d know that I wasn’t the only one.

The whole movie is interspersed with scene relevant commentary from Drew Pinksky and Adam Carolla, which. I’m not sure if they were a thing or not at the time the movie was released, but. Their inclusion doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense now. Especially to us in the UK who never really got Drew Pinksky and Adam Carolla anyways. And I might even argue we should be thankful for that after this offering from them.

Virginia Madsen plays a blinder in this one, I wouldn’t say it’s her best work, but man – Yeah – This is still the kind of work you want to see from her. Cute, quirky, honest and earnest.  It’s a different side of her acting range than we normally see. Gone is the strong femme fatale type, hell even the “sexy” type. Instead we see a very real person portrayed, one that everyone will be able to emphasise with on some level. It’s a very human, vulnerable turn that she pulls off here.

Got to be fair to Brooke Shields in this one as well, I thought her go at Kate was pretty damn good as well. I’ve not seen her a lot in films, not normally my cup of tea, but – Yeah, fair play, I can see what some of the fuss is about her here.

Of course, Brooke Shields and Virginia Madsen would get together again years later for The Hot Flashes, another film about the highs and lows of life as a woman. Virginia Madsen has also acted with D B Sweeney before in the popular 80’s film Fire with Fire and would do again on the TV Show, The Event.

Would I recommend it? Well, if you’d asked me that before a second, more grown up viewing, I’d have said no. In retrospect, with a different head on my shoulders. Then, yes. Yes I would.

Availability:

Region 1 DVD is pretty easy to find on eBay and the like, but it’s not in abundance so if you’ve half an interest in this one you should grab it while you can.

Trailer:

Not for this one.

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Title card for Fire with Fire (1986). The film’s title appears in white serif text against a lush forest backdrop. In the distance, a young woman with curly blonde hair (Virginia Madsen) is seen running away through the woods, wearing a light blue top and red pants, adding a sense of urgency and adventure to the scene

Fire with Fire

Fire with Fire is the film that properly propelled Virginia to the top of most people’s lists. Released in 1986 to negative reviews it would find its way into many viewers hearts and still has its fans today.

By today’s standards, it’s not that great. It’s a very eighties film. Things were different then.

Joe Fisk (Craig Sheffer) is an eighties bad boy, Lisa (our Virginia Madsen) is an artsy, shy Catholic Schoolgirl. Unlikely to cross paths under normal circumstances, the two do come across each other while Lisa is out in the woods taking a photograph of herself as Ophelia for  a project she’s doing and Joe is the “Fox” in a Fox and Hound game the Prison Camp is running.Virginia Madsen as Lisa Taylor in Fire with Fire (1986), floating in a pond in a white dress, evoking a dreamlike or symbolic moment in the romantic drama film.Their eyes meet, tensions are raised.

There are only two problems. Joe is a bad boy and Lisa is a shy Schoolgirl. I know I’ve already mentioned that but that’s how much of a problem it is.

The crime Joe is in Prison for? Punching his Dad. The Prison? Voluntary.

Lisa’s problem? After she graduates from Catholic School she’s to be whisked away to be with her parents in Sweden and attend finishing school.

Gritty stuff. Melodrama is the flavour of the day here.

Joe’s  “Prison Camp” is local to Lisa’s school, on occasion the “inmates” are allowed into town for some rest and relaxation. One night when they are allowed a night at the local Cinema they come across each other again, the tension is high.

It comes time for the Catholic School to do something nice for people to show how nice they are, ideas are bandied around but Lisa comes up with the idea / plan that they should do something nice for the inmates at the local Prison Camp in the form of a Dance they can all attend.
Virginia Madsen as Lisa Taylor in Fire with Fire (1986), wearing a white school uniform shirt and a blue plaid tie, standing in a classroom with a serious expression, while other students in similar uniforms watch her.On the night of the Dance the two steal some moments together before it all goes wrong and the inmates are all whisked away again leaving even more tension between Joe and Lisa.

The next time they get to meet up is at a graveyard where Joe is working, they steal some more moments together before they are caught by Joe’s Boss, uhm “Boss” (Joe Polito) who threatens to throw Joe in proper State Penitentiary for his misdeeds.

Back at the School Lisa is threatened with being immediately shipped off to her parents, never to return.

This is enough for the pair (and a whole bunch of other people) to organise an escape and the pair go on the run. They end up in an idyllic cabin in the woods and the pair can finally be together.

Unfortunately the pair are fugitives, and those gosh darn fugitives must be hunted down.

Cue the helicopters, dogs, guns and plenty of manpower to track the two down.Virginia Madsen as Lisa Taylor in Fire with Fire (1986), looking distressed while standing behind Craig Sheffer as Joe Fisk, who is wearing a red plaid shirt and aiming a rifle with a determined expression, a wound visible on his forehead.I might sound like I’ve a dim view of the film, but I don’t. But I do recognise the absurdity about it all as well. The whole thing is highly improbable and could only have been made in the eighties.

That said, I was actually surprised to see how much love there is for this film when I was researching a little around it. Fair play, there are loads of dodgy eighties films I love as well, and given the popularity for the whole Stranger Things stuff it seems I’m (we’re) not on my (our) own.

The film has all kinds of now famous faces that you might more reognise today than you would have back them. J.J. Cohen, Kate Reid, Jean Smart, Tim Russ, D.B. Sweeney and Kari Wuhrer to name but a few.

Virginia is obviously young in this film. She’s trying and actually does a competent job at “Eighties Girl in Peril”. But it’s very cheesy acting, it’s not a bad thing, it fits the film perfectly and anything else would just be odd to be fair.Virginia Madsen as Lisa Taylor and Craig Sheffer as Joe Fisk in Fire with Fire (1986), standing face to face in an intense moment, their eyes locked. Madsen’s curly blonde hair frames her concerned expression, while Sheffer, wearing a red plaid shirt, has a wound above his eyebrowIf you’re a fan of the whole Eighties thing then you can’t do much better than this for a perfect Romance / Drama film of the time and I would wholeheartedly recommend it. If you’re not, then probably best you avoid watching this one. I guess you had to be there.

Virginia has fond memories of the film. In The AV Clubs now defunct “Random Roles” series she’d be reminded of it;

“I’m becoming one of those older people who has way too many stories. [Laughs.] But I will say that more people ask me about Fire With Fire than any other movie I’ve done, including Sideways. But for some reason, no one ever knows what Fire With Fire is called. They always say something like, “Oh, you know, that movie where you’re floating in the pond?” “Yeah, that’s Fire With Fire.” But the movie was originally called Captive Heart, which is a much better title, but then we were given the song “Fire With Fire” [by Wild Blue] for the end credits, so they named the film Fire With Fire, too. That was an ’80s thing to do: You’d have your soundtrack and your movie at the same time. But, yeah, that was a beautiful experience. I loved making that movie.”

I commented on the Kenny Loggins music video that Virginia was in for I’m Free how similar that was to this movie and having watched it again I’m absolutely convinced you could take scenes from this film and remake the original. It’d be a fun project if anyone could find the time. And, a very niche audience that would get it…

Availability:
Not too bad thanks to a recent American release, it also appears to be a region free DVD so if you aren’t in the States then you shouldn’t have a problem.

Gallery:

Trailer:

TV Spot:

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