Almost perfect
Awakening is almost the best soft-core production from Playboy-Eros, but like another reviewer stated, it falls a little short of perfection. It falls short primarily because it doesn't capitalize on two separate scenarios of lesbian tension. The film has only a very brief payoff on the tension that builds all film between Gabriella and the house maid, as another reviewer rightfully laments. Even more tragically, the film abandons the wonderful side-story between Gabriella and another hot stripper--who teaches her how to strip (great scene!) and then starts to seduce her before being interrrupted. Eros should have let that scene play out, either without the guy or (as usually happens in these flicks) with him joining in.

Despite these tragedies, Awakening of Gabriella still deserves top marks for Susan Featherly's wonderful performance (she actually seems to be enjoying her love scenes), and for her scene with another woman in the pool. This scene quite likely the single hottest scene in the Eros/Playboy library.

As always, find the unrated version. To reach an R-rating, most Eros films butcher the love scenes, making them tremendously (and often comically) brief.

Close but ... it just misses
Another winner for Playboy. The films in this series--although formulamatic are still quite worthy of a look. This film could have been classic fare. The two lead women are achingly gorgeous. And while tension builds between them, the scene -- when it does come to pass, is largely anticlimatic. In short, this film could have been so much more. Instead, it's just average having not capitalized on it's amazing pairing of two outrageously beautiful women.

Very good --- but could have been SO MUCH BETTER!!!
A well-made, erotic film about a good-looking country girl who becomes the mistress of a wealthy guy who looks like he belongs in a sleazy soap-opera. What makes this film so HOT isn't the guy, but the really steamy girl-girl set-up which, unfortunately, never quite takes off. I mean, throughout this video we've got scenes where the country girl is talking with the beautiful female housekeeper, who clearly has designs on getting this pretty little thing in her bed! She's always looking at her with this dreamy, seductive look; later she actually takes a bath with her; and later still she dreams about chasing her down and making out with her on the lawn!