Last of Sheila [VHS]
The Last of Sheilais one of the great underrated films of the '70s: a bitchy  Hollywood whodunit and a clever parlor game (cowritten by Anthony Perkins and Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim). Several celebrity chums are invited aboard  prankster James Coburn's yacht for a cruel game of "guess the deep, dark secret." Everyone has one; but naturally some are more wicked than others. Richard Benjamin, James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Joan Hackett, Raquel Welch, and Ian McShane are the odd cast of participants. However, the stakes are unexpectedly raised when murder gets added to the not-so-fun agenda. Plenty of inside jokes and red herrings in this nasty and unforgettable film. It's just what you'd expect from the twisted minds of Perkins and Sondheim.--Bill Desowitz