| Seduction of Gina, The (1984) (TV) | Valerie Bertinelli "one puff" "My favorite TV movie smoking performance was by the very cute Valerie Bertinelli in [this movie]. She plays a housewife that gets seduced by a mysterious man. She meets him at a casino and suddenly starts smoking all-whites in a sensual and accomplished manner. I've never forgotten it. It probably dates from the mid 80s. I'd kill to see that again." "Give a fetishist a chance to film a Valerie Bertinelli light-up and this is what you'd get: She's looking like a doll, hair all full and feathered. She's at a casino and not winning. But there's lush music and rich technicolor and slo-mo photography. Why? Because we see a lady's hand finding it's way into an open pack of cork-tip 100s and after extracting a cigarette she secures the lighter on top of her pack. Which blackjack player does the mystery hand belong to? A deliberate pan up of the cigarette to Valerie Bertinelli's lips answers our question thrillingly. Valerie nestles the cigarette between her lips, about one-third in from the corner. She then takes her lighter and brings the flame to the cigarette in extreme close-up. Just as she gets it lit, there's an edit, but this was quite a treat for the camera to stay with her from hand to mouth. A few edits later and she's back with a full, pensive exhale. As a previous reviewer commented, a classic."
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