Paradise Isle is a luxurious destination to live or vacation. There’s fine dining, a yacht-like ferry and tennis galore. What more could anyone need? Well, with the horndog tennis instructor, an unfaithful husband and promiscuous teenagers on the island, maybe everyone could use some antiviral medication. This made for TV movie aired on the U.S. network ABC in 1983 and plays as if JAWS and an Afterschool Special met and had a herpes baby. 
NOTE: according to IMDb, the main character’s last name is Richards, but it is Richardson on screen.
Dr. Kyle Richardson (Anthony Geary) is initially having a good time as a new resident of Paradise Isle. He is thrilled to bump into an old college buddy Tommy (Mark Harmon), who is now a lascivious tennis instructor. Kyle is also happy to start spending time with Marsha (Judith Light), a cocktail waitress who nearly ran him over with her car in a meet-cute moment at the beginning of the movie. However, things take a turn when the doctor realizes there is an outbreak on Paradise Isle. Tommy has a fever and is worried about his sex life. Nick Todd (Brian Kerwin), a philandering husband, has given the gift that keeps on giving to his unaware, pregnant wife Connie (Lori Lethin). Then Katie Fairmont (Cindy Fisher), teenage daughter to real estate developer Dave Fairmont (Robert Vaughn), has contracted the virus after having sex with a boy in her class. In other words, everything’s coming up herpes!
To make matters worse, Dr. Kyle Richardson is being silenced by head doctor Dr. Holliston (Arthur Hill) and Dave Fairmont. They don’t want Kyle’s herpes concern to cause a panic or scare away real estate investors. Plus, on top of all that, Marsha is hiding something from Kyle. What will happen? Will Dr. Kyle Richardson spread the word of warning before herpes spreads to more and more people? Will Dave Fairmont learn of his daughter’s diagnosis? Will Tommy stop being a tennis slut and learn to respect women? Will Connie find out she has herpes before she goes into labor? What exactly is Marsha hiding? My lips are sealed since INTIMATE AGONY is streaming on Tubi.
My sister spotted INTIMATE AGONY because she recognized Anthony Geary on the little Tubi poster. Being fans of the daytime soap GENERAL HOSPITAL, we knew we had to see Geary play someone who isn’t the infamous Luke Spencer. As Dr. Kyle Richardson, Geary is a sincere, gentle, caring medical professional. Then there’s Judith Light as Marsha. It’s weird seeing her in a dramatic role when you know she has serious comic timing, but from the dates on IMDb, Ms. Light was either fresh off or just finishing her stint on the daytime soap ONE LIFE TO LIVE. I guess it’s not a far stretch going from housewife-turned-prostitute Karen Wolek to single mother Marsha, who may or may not have herpes.
Mark Harmon, with a porn star tache and nearly always in tennis shorts, is the epitome of a lothario and makes you believe Tommy was probably voted most likely to get herpes in school. Brian Kerwin oozes pathetic loser vibes as cheater Nick Todd and Lori Lethin is all sorts of sweet naïveté as his wife. Robert Vaughn gives rich fathers a bad name as Dave Fairmont, especially when he refuses to listen to anything more from his daughter after she admits to being sexually active. Cindy Fisher is fine as Katie Fairmont, but she might be the weakest link, except for when she trashes her room out of frustration. Katie’s best friend Lisa is totally more interesting and is played with ‘80’s new wave energy by Shawn Schepps, who would show up a year later as Sarah Conner’s (“You're dead, honey.”) co-worker in THE TERMINATOR.
The movie takes some time to become a cohesive story. At first, all the characters seem very separate and it’s easy to forget who is who. This may have something to do with the slew of writers listed. Richard De Roy, James S. Henerson, and James G. Hirsch are the credited writers, for those who want to know. From what I noticed on IMDb, director Paul Wendkos mainly directed television productions. With INTIMATE AGONY, he delivered a solid disease-of-the-week TV movie without spiraling too deeply into melodrama and histrionics, with maybe the exception of Katie.
In conclusion…
INTIMATE AGONY must have been shocking in 1983 with its frank discussion of genital herpes and its ultimately non-shaming attitude towards sex. Never mind that HIV/AIDS was ravaging the gay community at the time and mainstream media, if they even talked about it, was largely all about blaming and shaming those suffering and dying, but that’s a soapbox post for another day. If you’re looking for a blast from the past with some freakishly young looking familiar faces, I seriously barely recognized Judith Light, and some low-key unintentional humor, then INTIMATE AGONY may be the TV movie for you! If anything else, there’s Mark Harmon wearing nothing but a towel.
Freak Out.
JLH
 |
| Trust me, I’m a doctor! |
 |
| Tragically, this is not a musical! |
 |
| What happens on Paradise Isle, stays on Paradise Isle! |
 |
| The fresh face of herpes? |
 |
| No herpes or plastic hangers ever! |
 |
| In her defense, Katie is having a really bad day! |
INTIMATE AGONY must have been shocking in 1983 with its frank discussion of genital herpes and its ultimately non-shaming attitude towards sex. Never mind that HIV/AIDS was ravaging the gay community at the time and mainstream media, if they even talked about it, was largely all about blaming and shaming those suffering and dying, but that’s a soapbox post for another day. If you’re looking for a blast from the past with some freakishly young looking familiar faces, I seriously barely recognized Judith Light, and some low-key unintentional humor, then INTIMATE AGONY may be the TV movie for you! If anything else, there’s Mark Harmon wearing nothing but a towel.
 |
| Tommy can give me herpes anytime! |
JLH
P.S. Maybe one of the characters from the orgy in my last post visited Paradise Isle and started the herpes outbreak… 🤔
(click here for more)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Embrace the agony and read my books in 2026!
📚
(click here for more)
No comments:
Post a Comment