Wonderful character development!

That was an excellent one.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Zebra Lounge" earns its stars by milking the same cow of Adrian Lyne's moralist but sexual-driven tales, however, where the infamous British filmmaker succeeded, this movie fails: The aftermath of the plot and, of course, his ability to involve major actors and actresses to carry on those otherwise rather mediocre flicks.The Barnets (Cameron Daddo and Brandy Ledford) are a young couple making an everyday effort to keep their marriage floating over the routine, one night, after a mutual confession of secret fantasies and harmless, almost naive misbehavior, they decide to make a step further and both end looking for kinky adventures at the local swinger's club, where they met the Bauers (Stephen Baldwin and Kristy Swanson). So then, what seemed to be just a little "hanky-panky", turns into a menacing nightmare as their new sex partners reveal some sociopath tendencies, and will be necessary a considerable effort to get rid of such obsessive friends. That's it.The most interesting part, besides some few steamy sex scenes (the tongue fencing between Swanson and Ledford is an internet classic) is the way they fail to manage the situation, being unable to leave it all behind and forced to face a threat to their whole world, compromising job, family and even the little kids. At this respect, all kudos to Brandy Ledford who despite some flaws in her acting definitely outshines the rest of the ensemble cast in her role of the charismatic and sympathetic suburban housewife, regretting her actions in concern for their kids, but willing to do whatever it takes to get back to a normal life.Sadly, her on screen companions don't reach the same level, the closer is an overacted Stephen Baldwin playing a generic b-movie psycho full of laughable tics. There's almost nothing to say (good or bad) about Cameron Daddo and his insipid and colorless portrayal of the troubled do-right husband, and Kristy Swanson is a major disappoint with the unexciting and cold presence of what should have been a lustful siren. (if you come to this movie expecting to see Kristy in all her revealing hotness, get a copy of her Playboy issue instead)Having started with an interesting premise and some good moments, the whole story goes down hill only to stop at a random and mediocre ending. Not even an unrated version with extended sex scenes would have save it from become just another late night TV erotic thriller, but among a plethora of them, this one is good enough to watch.

This movie demonstrates that Hollywood screenwriters really shouldn't get the credit they think they deserve.An erotic thriller that's actually somewhat erotic, though not all that thrilling, Zebra Lounge is about a married couple desperate to rediscover their sexual spark. Alan (Cameron Daddo) and Wendy (Brandy Ledford) still love each other, but no longer seem to have any intimate connection. They've got two kids, Alan is stressed out at work and Wendy...well, she doesn't really do anything so it's unclear what her problem is supposed to be. Their joint difficulty is that Alan and Wendy can't even force themselves to have sex. After Alan finds himself in another woman's apartment almost boinking her, he and Wendy decide they have to do something about it.That "something" turns out to be wife-swapping. They hook up with Jack (Stephen Baldwin) and Louise (Krsty Swanson), an experienced couple of swingers. But while doing it once turns out to be enough to solve Alan and Wendy's sexual dysfunction, Jack and Louise want more. They pressure and pester and cajole Alan and Wendy into continuing the relationship. Jack even starts showing up at Alan's work, helping him get in good with his boss. But after an Ecstasy-fueled romp in a swimming pool leads Wendy to have some sort of breakdown, Alan finally tries to end things. When Jack and Wendy move in next door and make it clear that nothing is over until they say it's over, Alan and Wendy are forced to consider drastic action.The sex scenes in Zebra Lounge are fairly provocative for this sort of film, though it is weird that Brandy Ledford is the only one who gets naked. I mean, Kirsty Swanson even has one more sex scene than Ledford and she never takes her bra off. That had to be somewhat awkward on the set. You can understand the two bigger-name actors insisting they remain clothed, but Ledford's fellow no-name actor Cameron Daddo doesn't show his ass either. Ledford is pretty and sexy and all that, but when only one person is nude at an orgy…it just looks odd.It's fairly standard to hear screenwriters complain about not getting the credit and attention they deserve for their work on a film. Watching Zebra Lounge makes those complaints ring hollow, because the script has virtually nothing to do with what makes this low-budget, sex-and-violence flick a cut above the dozens and more of similar films cranked out every year. It's not that this movie is poorly written, though the second half of it does start to show some very obvious flaws. It's just that there's nothing in the writing that's particularly good. The plot isn't all that complex or clever. The dialog isn't memorable or striking in any respect. The themes and situations of the story aren't noticeably interesting or involving. With this level of writing, Zebra Lounge could have easily been another crappy, direct-to-DVD project cluttering up the shelves of video stores across the country.What saves it from that fate is some genuinely good acting and a director who strikes just the right tone to make this kind of movie better than it should be. Ledford and Daddo are perfectly believably as a married couple trying to save their relationship. They seem like a real union, not two people who happen to be stuck together. They give Wendy and Alan a casual ease around each other, while showing legitimate concern for their partner's emotions and state of mind. Even with the sex problem, Ledford and Daddo create the sort of relationship on screen that everyone wants out of their marriage. They actually make you accept that Wendy and Alan are two normal people who turn to wife-swapping because they just don't know what else to do to rekindle their passion.Stephen Baldwin also does a fine job as Jack. He takes what could have been a very over-the-top, psycho stalker role and gives the character real human neediness. He doesn't let Jack become too menacing, too quickly. For the first half of the film he's less a threat and more like a person with no boundaries who's just very insistent on being your friend.Kari Skogland's direction matches the work of her cast. Not only does the movie look good and the story flow well, she creates a different tone for this sort of thing. There's a light touch to every scene that keeps the film from every taking itself too seriously, yet it never completely falls back into trashy melodrama.The awfulness of the two kids playing Wendy and Alan's children illustrate how much better Zebra Lounge is than this kind of movie usually is. They're terrible actors and they're so much worse than everything else in the movie, the contrast highlights the non-awfulness of the rest of the film.This isn't a great film, to be sure, but it's a clear cut above most of the dreck in its genre.

My wife and I watched this last night. All in all it is a good movie.You do get to see more flesh than previously mentioned. Brandy Ledford shows off what she has got, but she is the only one. However, she is hot enough to save the movie if that is what you are looking for. You see a lot more than her 3 seconds in Demolition Man ("Oops wrong number" scene)Yes this is Fatal Attraction for swingers. Stephen Baldwin is about as good as he was in Sliver, if that says anything.I would never buy this movie, but my wife and I agrees that next time it is on HBO, we will do our best to tape it.

Besides the lack of steam, the whole concept makes no sense. For a mutual partnership to evolve, there should be some sort of trust and attraction between the people, but why would one couple keep on pursing this relationship when the other couple obviously is not going to give the same in return? It is no better than going to a professional escort service which would provide you with all the needs and even make believe that they actually care for you. When it comes down to the point of threats, is there a point in continuing the relationship? We're not talking about some obsessed person who cannot leave a relationship, but professional swingers who seeks someone who they are comfortable with and whom they could trust. And after the first few bad encounters, all those qualities in this relationship is gone.As for Kristy Swanson being in the role of the seductress, it is all cold shower from her. The real steamer role comes from Brandy Ledford, who is suppose to be the wife that reluctantly went along with the swinger idea. She had all the body cues to entice even the stiffest of corpses while Swanson acted more like a tomboy or dominatrix.