Tanya, Queen Of The Jungle!

I want this to be a good movie so much, but it just ain't. Sheena is slow and dreary and while it is indeed punctuated by a funny line here and there, and the taut erotic splendor of Tanya Roberts is on full display this jungle yarn still never rises above simmer. There are a few lovely scenes of the Kenyan flora and fauna, but alas they serve little narrative purpose.

The movie, if perhaps you don't know concerns a young blonde girl who loses her parents and is adopted by a shaman of a native tribe. She is believed to be a figure of myth, but frankly this is never really clear to me. She does have a power to communicate with the animals of Africa like elephants, chimps, and lions and such. A local coup brings her into danger when two reporters have evidence of the upheaval and she chooses to help them. Part of her motivation is that as part of the coup her mentor was killed to provide cover for it. Sheena and her charges evade guns for pretty much the rest of the movie.

Now truth told, the movie does proved time for Tanya...er...Sheena to catch a bath. Her nudity is of  no consequence to her, but of course puts her male companion in a bit of a tight spot. Actually truth told, aside from this one scene little is made of Sheena's relative nakedness and that's to the movie's credit. She is part of the natural world and that is communicated by the ease her body fits into it.

I mentioned that Sheena can communicate with animals and she can, but unfortunately the gimmick they use is for her to put her hand to her head and grimace. Each time Sheena summons an animal she looks for all the world like she is having an enormous migraine. It's a flaw that screams at me each and every time the gimmick surfaces.

Of course Sheena saves the day, and order is returned to the jungle. Why "order" is always defined by the some damned monarchy or other is always annoying to me, but I guess that comes with the territory when you are dealing with a "Queen of the Jungle".

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