ELECTRA (1990) *

Electra is a modern day updating of the Greek myth.  That is to say, it is full of hookers and pimps.  I guess this wasn’t the worst idea in the world, but since the cast is so amateurish and the script is so unnecessarily pretentious that it pretty much sinks it right from the get-go.

As a girl, Electra (Robin O’Dell) witnesses her mother murder her father and steal all his money.  Years go by and Electra winds up becoming a hopeless junkie prostitute who wallows in excess and despair.  Her three hooker friends worry about her and try to get her some help.  When Electra’s brother (Greg Pitts) shows up, she tries to convince him to murder their mother.

The opening scenes hold promise.  The murder of Electra’s father is decent enough.  (He gets electrocuted in his swimming pool.)  Once the action switches over to the grown-up Electra, it gets boring fast.  There are only so many scenes of junkie hookers spouting mind-numbing monologues and delivering endless dissertations on philosophy a viewer can take.  

All of this might’ve been bearable had there been a heavy concentration on T & A.  You’d think that a movie about hookers accustomed to all things Greek would’ve been full of debauchery.  However, the nudity is oh-so brief and not nearly enough to make this excruciating affair worthwhile.

AKA:  Electra Love 2000.