NEW YORK -- The sort of soft-core, erotic thriller that would benefit from a lot more trash and a lot more sex, this MGM release is a low-profile entry even for the dog days of January. Released without press screenings, the true fascination of "Fascination" is how it ended up on the big screen rather than being immediately consigned to cable and the video bins.

Jacqueline Bisset, continuing to defy the normal functions of aging, stars as Maureen Doherty, a rich widow whose former Olympic swimmer husband (James Naughton) dies a mysterious drowning death. It isn't long before Maureen has taken comfort with Oliver Vance (Stuart Wilson), a rich businessman who seems to have entered the scene in suspiciously quick fashion. His arrival leads to a series of melodramatic plot contrivances and revelations suggesting any number of conspiracies.

Maureen's son, Scott (Adam Garcia), is shell shocked over the turn of events, and his equilibrium is further threatened by the arrival of his new stepsister, Kelly (Alice Evans), a sexy firecracker with whom his relationship soon turns more than familial. Indeed, in one of the more outlandish sex scenes to be seen on the big screen, the couple has a torrid liaison on the roof of City Hall even while their parents are getting hitched.

Klaus Menzel's laughable screenplay is not enhanced by direction not much more accomplished than that of a typical Cinemax late-night adult series. Although Bisset offers her usual sultry presence, and Evans has sexiness to spare, none of the performers are able to invest their roles.