Private Lessons | |
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Private Lessons theatrical poster
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Directed by | Alan Myerson |
Produced by | R. Ben Efraim |
Written by | Dan Greenburg |
Based on |
Philly by Dan Greenburg |
Starring | |
Music by | Willie Nile |
Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
Edited by | Fred A. Chulack |
Production
company |
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Distributed by |
Jensen Farley Pictures Cinema Epoch |
Release date
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August 28, 1981 |
Running time
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87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2.8 million |
Box office | $26.3 million |
Private Lessons is a 1981 American sex comedy film starring Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Eric Brown, and Ed Begley, Jr.
The screenplay was written by Dan Greenburg, who wrote the original source novel, Philly. Greenburg appears as the manager of a motel in the film.
Private Lessons was highly controversial at the time of its release, for its plot line of a sexual relationship between a boy in his mid-teens and his 30-something housekeeper. It was one of Kristel's few major American film appearances; she was better known to European audiences for her Emmanuelle films which had only limited distribution in the United States. In early 2006, a 25th anniversary DVD release was issued in North America.
Philip "Philly" Fillmore (Eric Brown) is a 15-year-old high school student and the son of a rich businessman in Albuquerque who has left town on an extended trip during summer break, leaving the young man in the passing care of Nicole Mallow (Sylvia Kristel), a sexy French housekeeper, and Lester Lewis (Howard Hesseman), the family's chauffeur.
Philly's character becomes infatuated with Nicole. When she spots him peeping into her room, she tells him to close her door. To Philly's utter shock, she means for him to close her door from the inside and then watch her undress. However, it is too much for him when a topless Nicole asks him to touch her breasts. When he objects, she steps back and instead takes off her panties. Philly panics and leaves.
Later on, he is surprised to find her in his father's bathtub. Once again to his amazement, she asks him to join her. At first he objects, but instead she keeps sweet-talking him until he finally gives in. However, he decides to wear swimming trunks. Once in the bathtub, she spoons and kisses him from behind. When she tries to take off his swimming trunks from behind, he insists that she turn off the lights first. But once she reaches for his private area, he again panics and rushes out. She follows him to apologize, kisses him and directly invites him to sleep with her, the sexual element of which he fails to comprehend at first. After they flirt in a movie theater the following day, he gives in but backs down when she reacts without fondness to the notion of marrying him. One day later, she tells him she guesses they can at least date for a while. After they flirt during their first date in a restaurant, they return home and have sex.