glenncorbett Mimi Rogers is a buxom lady, beautiful like a statuette and Nicholas Roeg's aptly titled Full Body Massage takes full advantage of this fact. She becomes the subject and camera swirls and swipes around her in majestic ways. Bryan Brown plays the masseur who is called on by Rogers for her weekly therapeutic sessions. If you go in with the idea that this is softcore pornography movie you'd be disappointed. Yes, there is nudity but the conversations between the two leads are engaging and interesting. This is one of the great examples why Nicholas Roeg is such an auteur- he can make the most inane subjects and create something special with it. This is an artsy film so go in with that mindset.

dnjjr N.B.: Spoilers within. Nicholas Roeg's "Full Body Massage" belongs in the Talk Flick category, but with a twist. (I'll get to that.) Nina (Mimi Rogers) is visited by a substitute masseur, Fitch (Bryan Brown), and during their session they gab on endlessly. The movie centers on one long conversation – about art, spirituality, relationships, destiny, ancient healing methods, and other assorted riddles of life – which might as well take place between two people on a road trip, or sipping their lattes. But.....The two main characters are a study in opposites. Nina, a product of very humble origins, has worked her way up to become a highly successful art gallery owner. Fitch, on the other hand, was born into affluence but has spent his whole adult life fleeing from it. Nina tends to gravitate toward the more personal during the massage. Early on she claims not to over-intellectualize, but rely on intuition. Fitch remains aloof in comparison. Yes, he is full of innumerable "truths," but keeps the truth about his own self effectively hidden. We rarely get a straightforward answer out of him. He spouts on and on about Hopi tribal medicine, which is fine, but in this film the character of Fitch is sorely lacking a sense of humor. I kept wanting him to lighten up already.The twist I speak of constitutes the only brand of tension, curious as it is, in the film: reams of rational discourse versus the massage's very sensuous physical contact...a lot of it. (Part of Nina's and Fitch's early conversation refers to the sensuous. Nina: "Massage is sexual...very sexual." Fitch: "Can be, doesn't have to be, shouldn't always be...") This tension is embodied by the mostly brainy discussion – and its cool delivery – taking place while the camera lovingly and sumptuously dotes on every inch of Nina's oily flesh with Fitch's expert hands manipulating it. An example (one of many like it): at one point the two characters are literally cheek to cheek in physical proximity, with Fitch rubbing away, while they talk about a "bankruptcy of the spirit." Huh? Numerous flashbacks in both leads' minds fill in sporadic details about their pasts, especially their most recent relationships. Fitch's loving memories of Alice, who turned him on to the Hopi teachings he is so fond of, show us that at least he had a warm and sexy side to him at one time. (Here he is actually caught smiling.) But Alice's tragic death in an accident appears to have shut the door to his emotions permanently.If there is such a thing as cerebral sensuality, this film attempts to capture it. For me it was difficult to mesh the two elements. You have an afternoon full of highbrow chit chat competing with a nonstop visual diet of Mimi Rogers' nude, lushly stroked body. Most of us would be waiting for some real sexuality to bubble to the surface, but don't hold your breath.Toward the end of the film, Nina makes an attempt to show that the pair is closer in spirit than they may realize (something having to do with each of their pasts making up much of who they are now). Whatever... When we first met her, Nina was saddled with a vague ennui, and her encounter with Fitch seems to have lifted it a bit. It's hard to tell...the whole film is drenched in laid-back understatement. For his part, Fitch – as he drives off into the sunset – makes a gesture indicating he has moved on from Alice. Is there hope for these two independent spirits? The film leaves that question open. Personally I didn't find the dialog itself quite as odd as the "fleshed out" characters who spoke it and the angular way they interacted.

4dtvman This is definitely a very sexy movie. I could have watched it without stopping even if it had gone on for five hours. The plot is not really complicated as most of the movie revolves around Bryan Brown giving Mimi Rogers massages while entertaining (or possibly boring) her with anecdotes from his life. However, it is a must for anyone who thinks Rogers is a hottie. She never displayed herself like this before and probably never will again. The only thing the keeps this movie from being THE most erotic film I've ever seen is that it doesn't have any full frontal shots of Rogers, although she does spend the majority of movie nude or topless.

taysha1128 The genre of B-Movies shines in this Showtime Original. Mimi (Rogers, ex-Mrs. Cruise) and Bryan (Brown) shine in this drama about a massage and reveals alot more than skin.Nina is an art dealer with a 'point-of-view' ... Fitch is a masseuse with ideas of his own; heads clash and thoughts mingle as Nina's weekly massage takes on a whole new meaning.