It appears that we are in the midst of a full-blown assault of steamy, sensual, tropically-set entertainment. A look at the FOX programming line-up alone will reveal several exotically-set shows, and with various other networks throwing their proverbial hats into the ring, it looks like anywhere even remotely close to the equatorial line is, at the moment, very much in vogue. With that in mind, it appears that the folks at MTI have decided to have a go at this subject matter as well. The results—which take the form of the film “Tropix”—are mixed, though nothing worse than you’re apt to find while channel surfing on any given evening.

The tale of “Tropix” concerns the vacation of the Findlays to Costa Rica. The wife, Corrine (Danielle Bisutti), has just recovered from a traumatic car crash, and is being taken on vacation by her husband, Guy (Thomas Scott), a semi-sleazy-seeming businessman with a cell phone perpetually glued to his ear. Trailing the couple are three criminals: brothers Nicky (Ryan Barton-Grimley) & Joaquim (Keith Brunsmann) and their companion Solange (Michelle Jones), who provides the film’s sporadic, cynical narration.

Not long after their arrival in Costa Rica, the three show up at the Findlays’ cabana, tie up Guy, and kidnap Corrine. Leaving Solange with Guy, the two brothers head into the jungle to a small shack by a banana plantation where Corrine is to be held hostage. A reluctant Nicky is left with Corrine, and Joaquim returns to the cabana.

Now the plot thickens. While the two brothers were away, we find that Solange and Guy are not only previously acquainted, they are intimately so, as a rowdy sexual encounter between the two demonstrates. Upon Joaquim’s return, we also find that the reason Corrine Findlay is being held hostage is because Guy stole several million dollars from the three criminals and now has it tied up in an investment in a tea plantation. These three are understandably upset and plan to hold Corrine hostage until Guy is willing to get them the money he invested in the tea. Conveniently, this was exactly what Guy was in Costa Rica to do, though Corrine was unaware of it. With the transaction between Guy and the tea-plantation-owner set to take place the following morning, the three are left to wait out the night. Still with me? Good.

Meanwhile, in the shack, Corrine and Nicky gradually develop a relationship. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Corrine stops her escape attempts, simply that, instead of struggling, she chooses more elegant methods, such as slipping a message into a bundle of bananas. After seducing Nicky, she finds an opportunity to slip free. Nicky gives chase, of course, but eventually gives up, offering her her passport. Corrine is touched by this and so returns, and the two end up making love in the forest, then again in the shack. However, during the night, Guy has managed to escape and has gotten Corrine’s help message. Arriving at the cabin to find the two naked in bed together, he attempts to kill Nicky, but is himself shot by Joaquim, who, with Solange, followed him.

This, of course, will make the removal of the funds from tea-investment-limbo rather difficult. Luckily, Corrine possesses power of attorney, and, with Guy dead, is able (and willing) to employ it. Still, she’s a proud woman, and handing over six million dollars seems displeasing to her. Her dealings with the three criminals quickly devolve into a legal and physical game of cat-and-mouse, complicated only further by the fact that, in this group’s dealings, there are more back-stabbings and secret alliances than Costa Rican colónes in a US dollar.

So what all do we get with “Tropix?” Aside from one plot development that could be (yeah, right) an Argento homage, not much we couldn’t find elsewhere, really, though I suppose this is as good a source of steamy thrills as anything else. The movie itself is as good as it needs to be, with fine acting, great use of its scenic tropical locations, and with all sorts of kinky sexuality vaguely hinted at.

Of course, however, for almost all these pros (excepting the photography, of which I never tired) there are corollary cons. While everyone plays his character well, for instance, this becomes a problem when the character is insufferable, which is most definitely the case with Joaquim, who acts like a crack-addicted cross between Kevin Bacon and Willem Dafoe. Similarly, while overtones of bondage (in relation to the kidnapping of Corrine) and lesbianism (Solange randomly kisses Corrine at one point in the story—apparently she got tired of men after sleeping with two of them) are tossed about liberally, the seedy sexuality the film promises is never really delivered, and viewers are left to be tantalized with TV-level tease.

The film is also, at times, a little too hip for its own good. In the first half of the movie almost every cut is accompanied by spicy Latin rhythms being played over the beginning of the next scene to remind us of the fact that—yes, indeed—we are still in Costa Rica. It’s also a safe bet that almost any scene involving Solange will end with her making a perfectly-timed and –worded smart-ass quip. Still, after the first thirty or forty minutes the film manages to settle down and find its footing, meaning it no longer has to rely so prominently on hip-ness to hold the audience’s interest.

As for DVD quality, it’s mostly a mystery to me; as with all MTI releases, “Tropix” was a screener disk that contained only the movie and its trailer. For what its worth the transfer (1.85:1 widescreen, non-anamorphic) seemed fine, as did the audio. Promised extras include behind-the-screens footage, deleted scenes, trailers and Spanish subtitles.

Despite its overabundant “coolness,” the grating personage of Joaquim, and its bait-‘n-switch handling of sexuality, “Tropix” is still, in the end, an affable thriller that’s worth a rental (though probably not a purchase) if you’re in the mood and didn’t get your fill of this stuff from the latest episode of “Survivor.”