Change Your Image
lor_
Served as Chairman, New York Film Critics Circle: 1993/94.
Favorite interviews were with: Michael Douglas, Sophia Loren, DeForest Kelley, Joan Chen, Joe Henderson, Ismail Merchant, Klaus Kinski, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Spike Lee, Malcolm McDowell, Zoe Lund, Melvin Van Peebles, Ultra Violet, Wolfgang Petersen, Claudia Cardinale, Serge Silberman, Margarethe von Trotta, Alec Guinness, Leonard Nimoy, Susan George, Joseph Losey, Gale Anne Hurd, Dennis Hopper, Peter Greenaway, Katt Shea, Ken Russell, Maggie Greenwald, Jim Jarmusch, Peter Brook, Jurgen Prochnow, Andy Warhol, Judy Davis, Chuck Vincent, Fred Zinnemann, Wim Wenders, Max Von Sydow, Michael Moore, Terry Gilliam, Rita Jenrette, Karen Lynn Gorney, Bruce Beresford, Jack Thompson, Russ Meyer, Sam Raimi, Abel Ferrara, John Sayles, William Greaves, Nino Manfredi, Lee Van Cleef, Michael Cuscuna, Bille August, Jewel Shepard, Andy Sidaris, Michel Deville, Claude Sautet, Claude Lelouch, Alfonso Arau, Alan Parker, Reinhard Hauff, Traci Lords, Jim Jarmusch, Martha Coolidge, Candida Royalle, Giuseppe Tornatore, Edward James Olmos, Paul Hogan, John Mackenzie, Peter Hyams, Jennifer Beals,, Adrian Lyne, Samuel Fuller, Dario Argento, James Toback, Lasse Hallstrom, Fred Williamson, Gabriel Axel, Joe Bastianich, Aaron Sanchez, Danny Meyer, Steve Hanson, Matthew Kenney, Douglas Rodriguez, Simon Oren, Stanley Donen, Lindsay Anderson, Helena Bonham Carter, Edward Pressman, Harold Becker, Larry Cohen, James Ivory, Jack O'Connell, Michael Phillips, Kevin McClory, Jackie Mason, Joan O'Brien, Stanley Donen, Joseph B. Vasquez, Don Bluth, William Lustig, Al Goldstein, Simon Wincer, Valeria Cavalli, Dave Fishelson, Lizzie Borden, Roberta Findlay, Rob Cohen, Doris Wishman, Robert Tapert, Bruce Campbell, Bill Cosby, Pasquale Squitieri, Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Tim Kincaid, Joel M. Reed, Gregory Dark, T.L. Lankford, Fred Olen Ray, Victoria Paige Meyerink, Lawrence D. Foldes, Rick Marx & Ted V. Mikels
Reviews
Shades of Ecstasy (1983)
Simple-minded porn has nostalgia value
Shot on film back in Adult Cinema's Golden Age, "Shades of Ecstasy" plays as a rather dumb movie, especially in the shortened DVD version where two reels were removed to emphasize the sex scenes.
The acting is not very good, except for star Janey Robbins, who manages to make the movie seem coherent and to the point. She's a new hire at meanie boss Ron Jeremy's drapery factory, where free loving is as plentiful on the job as the actual fabrication of drapes. The utterly matter-of-fact approach to sex depicted here is the movie's main draw, a realistically staged fantasy of a different sort of workplace than the reality of Garment District sweatshops.
Director Hal Freeman does deliver a few full-length sex scenes, not lengthy by current standards, but still complete. But in the first few reels he manages to pack in a large number of one-minute or less XXX trysts, a bit overwhelming.
Plot eventually takes over as Janey pulls a sort of Jane Fonda switcheroo, organizing all the employees against Ron to take over his business and foil his blackmailing of the girls with incriminating photos. Turning the tables on the creep is achieved in facile, not credible fashion, but is satisfying because who doesn't want to see Ron Jeremy get his just desserts.
A more serious (and talented) filmmaker could have made more out of the basics of rampant sex on the job, but this mindless version is entertaining and features a talented young femme cast.
Sexual Olympics 1 (1992)
Nothing much
Another of Paul Norman's many VHS 2-parters from the 1990s, this first half release is focused on the American team competing at the 69th annual Sexual Olympics. It's a boring telecast by reporter Jonathan Morgan (his character named Pete Jackson, but this is before the Aussie became a household name directing "Lord of the Rings"), mainly locker room sex. It's titled on screen just "The Trials", misleadingly.
Francesca Le, Angela Summers, Shawnee Cates, Amber Woods (billed as Sharise) and Marissa Malibu provide standard sex scenes, four of which end with a money shot deposited on the girl's rear end. Very poor (but brief, thankfully) commercials for sex toys are included, apparently real toys such as a plastic pussy modeled after Raquel Darrian. Credits include several actors who don't show up until Part 2.
Taking Care of Mommy (2024)
Best laid plans
Screenwriter Maddy Burton created a terrific Erotic Short Story with this surprising MissaX release. Jennifer White is incomparable playing a naughty stepmom seducing her kid (Jimmy Michaels) in a novel way.
With plenty of personal voice-over narration by Jennifer, the tale depicts how the two of them tried to escape from his father, secretly packing their bags and heading to a rented vacation home.
After their supper, she pretends to be asleep, luring in the unsuspecting stepson with her murmurs of desire. The slow buildup to having sex together is amazing, and the bittersweet ending to the brief vignette is quite moving.
Working against the grain of predictable current sex content (believe it or not, there is no oral sex at all), this sleeper (literally) is an instant classic.
Bodacious Boobs! (1995)
Beauties go gonzo
This trivial all-sex feature from VCA went missing from IMDb for 29 years, rectified by my adding it today.
Celeste and Traci Prince are showcased, in both solo masturbation mode and then humping away on four-poster beds. What does it all mean? Just another VHS release, oddly reissued in 2002 on DVD by the Xplicit Video label.
Celeste is shot outside the familiar porn location, a replica castle replete with distinctive moat, used for period pictures. She's wearing an orange bikini and after stripping masturbates for 20 minutes outside, before going in to service Woody Long (who else?) who's nude asleep on the 4-poster (some CFNM action).
Traci Prince is introduced on an outdoor elevator at a similar striking mansion, with its own 4-poster. She pleasures herself by an indoor jaccuzzi and is the serviced by Gerry Pike whose hair sort of bleached blond but long enough to have played a Prince Charming in Celeste's scene instead.
Director listed is John Dragon, whose first credit is coincidentally titled "Hollywood Castle".
Stepmom Solidarity (2024)
Hot incestuous threesomes
An enjoyable collection of "Mommy's Girl" content for VOD, sticking to lesbian threesomes, including a double dose of voluptuous Chloe Surreal.
"Stepsister Solidarity" is a vignette whose title inspired the overall VOD title. Penny Barber has had it with her pesky stepkids Liz Jordan and Jill Kassidy -not only is their bedroom a mess but as she gathers clothing up for the wash she finds a strap-on dildo there!
It's time for punishment, and the two brats are in for a spanking, but of course both girls really enjoy it. No surprise that Penny is aroused by the experience, and she dons the strap-on (putting a condom on it for safety's sake) and humps both girls leading to a threesome.
This marks Kassidy's return to Girlsway after several years absence, and she still looks convincing playing a teen at age 28!
"Stop Fu*king All Our Stepmoms!" is certainly a clever genre title. Demi Hawks made a highly erotic "Mommy's Girl" segment where she was the center of attention, humped by both her stipmoms Reagan Foxx and Kenzie Taylor, and follows up with this complementary vignette, this time having a threesome with stepmom Serene Siren and a far more experienced friend, busty Chloe Surreal.
The cute story has Chloe rumored at school to be seducing lots of the students' stepmoms (remember: in this Girlsway universe there are only stepmothers, no regular mothers). She's invited Chloe over to the house to give her a makeover and catches her having sex on the couch with Siren. The resulting 3-way is nearly as hot as little Demi's previous turn, and is just as amoral.
"You're Under OUR Roof Now!" has an interesting cast. Mellanie Monroe first played a MILF 15 years ago in her first Girlfriends Films scene, and gives Girlsway a convincing acting turn as a stepmom who lays down the law that her turned 18 daughters Laney Grey and Chloe Surreal have to leave the nest, in order to build self-reliance. The two youngsters rebel and turn the tables on mom, as Laney points out that her dad originally belonged to her long-gone natural dad, and she gives notice that stepmom has to do what the kids say from now one, or she'll be the one out in the cold.
After their first order that she take over doing their chores, the next edict is more pleasant, as they insist sex on the couch would be desirable. The resulting threesome has plenty of breast worship and rimming, a real treat for the fans.
The Quest (1994)
Dumb fantasy
Cash Markman makes fun of porn cliches one more time in this sexy but stupid early Sin City release. Director Paul Norman adds a boredom factor by playing the same old "wailing saxophone" music he used in dozens of other videos like "Edward Penishands" for example.
Show opens with sexy softcore as Rocco Siffredi takes a shower with his girlfriend Vixxxen, interrupted by the appearance of Mike Horner in the bathroom. He's sort of a ghost of Rocco's agent Sid, who's just died and has a ridiculous mission for Rocco, a list of Sid's five ex-wives for whom Rocco's assigned to fetch used panties from each. What this has to do with the afterlife is left unsaid, but it's asinine, and an excuse for the really moronic Cash Markman brand of humor: when Rocco is told all the ex-wives are Jewish Princesses, he's incredulous, and talk of Steven Spielberg and "Schindler's List" is thrown in for parody porn title purposes (movie was originally titled "Rocco's List", get it?).
The quest results in oddball sex scenes, some featuring obscuro studs, such as crew member T. C. (who fails to deliver a money shot with Vixxxen) and a scuzzy looking guy Cody Adams who just happens to be married to star Tiffany Mynx, who he has sex with while Rocco just watches.
Obviously, this nonsense is merely an excuse for sex footage, with anal sex emphasized. Nikki Sinn and Kaitlyn Ashley add to the star power, but Rocco's recitation of English-dialogue is frequently unintelligible.
Lather (1991)
Obvious satire
For the umpteenth time, director Scotty Fox and writer Cash Markman give the audience just the minimum in terms of a VHS porn feature with "Lather", an only mildly amusing spoof of TV soap operas. It's an excuse for the usual asinine Cash in-jokes. Sloppy approach has the famous pseudonym misspelled as "Markmen" in the end credits.
Opening establishes a scene from the live daytime show "As the Loins Churn" set in a hospital with popular star Alexis DeVell tending to her comatose lover Steve Drake. Corny story has producer Randy West plotting with new staff writer Buck Adams to get rid of Alexis from the show.
Dumb in-jokes take over at this point, with West bringing up the fact that Buck used to write porn scripts for chump change, and forcing him to cooperate. Buck suggests that they have Alexis's character alienate the audience: why not have her sleep with Ron Jeremy -that works in porn! West rejects that idea -not feasible for a daytime TV show. Instead, they concoct a plot twist that will have Alexis kill Drake by pulling the plug on his life-support equipment, not giving her an advance script for the live performance to trap her.
She foils the plot by improvising dialogue to instead implicate co-star Alicyn Sterling, who is also West's lover and in cahoots on the scheme. Network exec Monique Hall digs the Alexis twist and movie ends with poor Alicyn in tears -she's the one losing her job.
Big-bust actresses make this dumb feature watchable, and fortunately it runs only slightly more than an hour long.
Mommy's Girl: Stepsister Solidarity (2024)
Spanking can be fun
Penny Barber has had it with her pesky stepkids Liz Jordan and Jill Kassidy -not only is their bedroom a mess but as she gathers clothing up for the wash she finds a strap-on dildo there!
It's time for punishment, and the two brats are in for a spanking, but of course both girls really enjoy it. No surprise that Penny is aroused by the experience, and she dons the strap-on (putting a condom on it for safety's sake) and humps both girls leading to an energetic threesome.
This marks Kassidy's return to Girlsway after several years absence, and she still looks convincing playing a teen at age 28!
Mommy's Girl: Stop Fucking All Our Stepmoms! (2024)
Monkey see, monkey do
Demi Hawks made a highly erotic "Mommy's Girl" segment where she was the center of attention, humped by both her stipmoms Reagan Foxx and Kenzie Taylor, and follows up with this complementary vignette, this time having a threesome with stepmom Serene Siren and a far more experienced friend, busty Chloe Surreal.
The cute story has Chloe rumored at school to be seducing lots of the students' stepmoms (remember: in this Girlsway universe there are only stepmothers, no regular mothers). She's invited Chloe over to the house to give her a makeover and catches her having sex on the couch with Siren. The resulting 3-way is nearly as hot as little Demi's previous turn, and is just as amoral.
Oopsie!: Panties-in-a-bunch (2024)
One-note boredom
Stella Smut seems to have been out to lunch as far as directing this dull "Oopsie!" episode, as static and unexciting as could be.
It stars three brunettes, fine performers who are utterly mechanical this time out. Setting is a laundromat, where busty Hailey Rose is bending over, sniffing at laundry undies in a washing machine, which gives TS star Eva Maxim the cue to hump her from behind. Connie Perignon arrives to wash her clothes and joins in for a lesbian threesome, wielding a strap-on-dildo.
All this occurs in the usual pantomime silent teaser opening, followed by strictly gonzo humping. The scene is extremely static, emphasizing endless blow jobs. The actresses keep up a constant drone of moaning that is utterly fake and off-putting, leading to two cum shots by Eva.
Stella is capable of far better work, but seems to have settled into an unappealing rut as far as "Oopsie!" content is concerned.
Danger Man: Find and Return (1961)
Trivial and unconvincing
It takes more than Pat's sophistication and swagger to carry this show, as for the life of me I couldn't find the hook establishing this story. It makes sense on paper, but plays out as sheer nonsense.
McGoohan protests right at the outset to his superior, not wanting the mission at all, but goes along with it on the prospect of receiving 10,000 pounds commission. He's sent to some mythical Middle Eastern country (I thought it was Cyprus or Greece but "piastres" is name-dropped as currency, sounding like Egypt), on a stupid mission to grab Moira Lister plus her British passport to be brought back accused of treason as a spy.
Donald Pleasence plays the local functionary working in a typewriter repair store but an agent for England, in a goofy role - befuddled and milquetoast one minute, and a callous killer (for the good guys) the next.
The spy versus spy skullduggery makes little sense and is of zero importance, with nothing hanging in the balance -no balance of power, high stakes in the realm of international relations. Just a stupid story of a mysterious woman who we are never privy to any information about her history or character. As usual, Pat can do no wrong, always able to outwit any straw villain or bystander in his way.
For the entire half hour, my reaction remained constant: Who cares?
Climax!: Jacob and the Angel (1957)
A clunker
A very hoary story titled "Jacob and the Angel" (you know, about pride goeth and all that jazz) is not up to the dramatic standards of "Climax!". Gig Young seems okay casting at first, but the role of a glib lawyer, who finally loses a big case under the influence of intense migraine headaches and a drinking problem, then finding redemption, is beyond his range.
The supporting cast is fine, featuring TV staples like Eva Gabor, June Lockhart and Hugh Marlowe, but the material is a bore. One expects exciting courtroom conflict, but at one point the trial is reduced to a montage, with music drowning out dialogue.
Watching Gig fainting, grabbing his temples in pain, or frequenty hitting the bottle is Cliches on Parade. His sudden redemption by turning into a do-gooder for the final reel is fake. At times like that my mind tends to wander, in this case wondering how Lady Gaga would have handled this role (given her constant TV commercials lately for Nurtec ODT).
Pure Taboo: Fear of Godson (2024)
Arabelle unleashed
Arabelle Raphael has been in porn since 2010, mainly beneath the radar, in many gonzo, alt-porn and fetish appearances, but this character assignment for Pure Taboo provides her with exposure in full MILF glory. Her uninhibited performance is amazing.
Melodramatic story written by Midnight had Arabelle and her husband Ken Feels taking care of their godson Victor Ray after the death of his parents. He's a rather overage-looking version of the Bad Seed, hardly a Patty McCormack given his nonexistent acting ability. However, what he lacks in any Stella Adler training he makes up for with his big dick.
Vic's bad behavior causes quite a rift as Ken blames him for all sorts of malevolent mischief including the death of the famiy dog, while Arabelle consistently takes the boy's side. When she finds a note from hubby announcing he's leaving her (and of course Vic in the bargain) for good, Arabelle falls into the boy's arms for strength, and a torrid sex scene results.
Probably their tryst will be best remembered for Arabelle's impressive deep-throat skills, but the sustained force and variety of her sexuality is a show-stopper, leading to a satisfying surprise ending.
Transfixed: Home Is in Your Arms (2024)
Soldier girl
Penny Barber welcomes home from army service her lover Kasey Kei in this rather moving (yet kinky) edition of Transfixed, one of the series best efforts.
The affection between the two characters is well-realized, leading to a very convincing XXX scene, notable for including plenty of foot-fetish action, not typically a feature of this series. Verging on gonzo, the lengthy vignette is still rooted in presenting a romantic context between characters rather than merely "sex performers". Director Stella Smut has paid attention to the scene's details, including setting and costuming, to ensure that it has an emotional impact.
Mommy's Girl: No, YOU Go First! (2024)
Mutual admiration society
Chloe Surreal and her stepmom Serene Siren seem awfully chummy during the intro section of this well-written "Mommy's Girl" episode, a clue as to what direction the little story will take. Chloe's in the kitchen preparing dinner for the duo, with Siren arriving home from work and helping out.
It seems both of them have a big announcement to make, and the segment's catchy title derives from their brief politeness as to who gets to speak. They decide to do it simultaneously, declaring together: "I'm a lesbian".
This dual revelation causes Chloe to wonder. What about dad? Stepmom says she's already told him, and they might be breaking up as a result. But she pledges that she'll always be there for Chloe, feeling like her real mom.
Each one admits to having an unrequited crush on the other, and now that the cat's out of the bag, intimacy is the next step for them, and a very strong XXX Sapphic sex scene results, very nicely performed by the two busty pros. This is a high-quality scene, benefitting from establishing two solid characters before the action gets going.
Farmer's Daughters: The Movie (1986)
Highly professional porn movie
Jerome Tanner took his porn video seriously, as evidenced by this well-made, entertaining story feature. The corny format of "sex with the farmer's daughter(s)" was a successful one that Tanner would turn to several more times over the following decades.
Mike Horner plays the farmer with Lili Marlene as his wife, facing the probable loss of his family farm, with $100,000 due on his mortgage in just a month's time. Ron Jeremy is cast as the mean banker anxious to foreclose.
The dirty joke premise is treated to a fun variation when traveling salesman John Leslie suffers car trouble and asks to stay over the night at the farm, where he promptly deflowers all three of Horner's daughters. Mike and Lili catch him in the act, but are actually fortunate to discover Leslie's trade is selling porn videos, which gives Mike a bright idea.
He buys a video camera and starts shooting his own homemade porn starring the three girls. It all adds up to a fun, amoral picture.
Femme talent is highlighted by Krista Lane, Buffy Davis and Candie Evans. Jack Baker is on the crew (dialogue coach) and gives one of his embarrassing acting performances, shuffling and shucking in the role of an incompetent pimp.
Rear Action Girls (1983)
Gonzo crap, all-girl division
Bruce Seven, with Buttman assisting, made this mindless all-girl porn video early in his career, and it is representative of the boredom of the fetish genre combined with the boredom of all-sex "mainstream" level porn.
Grace West and Erica Boyer are working for a skin magazine, and they are assigned to find fresh talent for anal photography. They round up girls, and for the rest of the video we're treated to very bored looking actresses f*cking each other with toys or masturbating non-stop. Such big stars as Boyer and Cara Lott simply aren't styled attractively here, as it's not about beauty or eroticism, just the sort of hardcore sex one would get in amateur videos.
There is one brief bondage scene involving handcuffs and also a trademark Bruce Seven scene of a girl dancing around simply because the director loves to see a girl dancing.
Snatchbuckler (1986)
Good production values, but a lousy movie
That old joke about a Broadway show where the audience leaves "humming the sets" applies to this crappy Scotty Fox VHS feature. A pirate movie set in 1760, it boasts a fine island (look) location, period costumes and even a ship, but the storytelling and sex are poor. It's barely an hour long plus slow, padded credits.
Raven Touchstone's story of an evil pirate (Ron Jeremy), shipwreck and damsels in distress is covered only in a written summary on screen before the movie starts, followed by meaningless sex scenes. Action is minimal and they forgot to shoot an ending.
Wearing an eyepatch, Ron hams it up with a fake accent as the pirate, and humps several girls to impress his fans. Good guys Randy West and Tom Byron are unimpressive while the female cast headed by Kim Carson are mediocre. Andre's musical score is the best thing here, including playing Narciso Yepes' famous guitar theme "Forbidden Games" during Sheer Delight's masturbation scene.
The Sex Impulse (2024)
Hot vignettes at a vacation rental
Kenzie Taylor hosts and stars in the final segment of this four-vignette Sweet Sinner movie by Mike Quasar. The main theme is about infidelity but with Kenzie explaining directly or in voice-over the import of the trysts we watch.
Opening scene is a sex with the boss story titled "Out of Control", in which sexy assistant Katrina Colt easily seduces Derrick Pierce. The dialogue here, as elsewhere, is well-written but unfortunately Sweet Sinner has lately been leaving out any screenplay credits.
Next segment is called "Get It Together", with Bella Rolland on the phone with her husband, who informs her he has to be away that weekend. As soon as the call ends, she phones her love Robby Apples/Echo and they arrange to meet at a vacation rental. She is quite appealing in this sexual liaison, staged like all other scenes in the video at the "Immoral Proposal" mansion.
Next up is petite Gal Ritchie, she of the cute British accent. As narrator Kenzie emphasizes, this is a taboo vignette (titled "Deeper Meaning"). Ryan McLane is having an affair with his wife's daughter, taking place at a vacation rental, to avoid detection by her mom, and neither of them is the least bit ashamed.
For the finale titled "Sexual Tension", Kenzie informs us that her own motivations are more simple: she is interested in sex and money. She's presenting these tales as the owner of the rental house! Her customer is Ryan Driller, sporting an attractive salt & pepper beard, and their sex scene is more straightforward, staged on the couch in front of the mansion's iconic spiral staircase in the background. A nice touch has Kenzie smiling directly at the viewer while they make out prior to going XXX.
Four Star Playhouse: Something Very Special (1955)
Oh, that Chuck!
A disarmingly simple story is elegantly directed by Robert Florey, with Charles Boyer perfectly cast as the debonair Frenchman returning from his years in New York to reconnect with his 12-year-old daughter (very effective one-shot child actress Mary Zita Perzel).
The subtlety of relationships as Boyer charmingly wines and dines lovely blonde tourist Ginger Hall (another actress with just a brief screen career) while trying to get to know his aloof child is explored concisely, leading to a poignant finale that almost defines mixed emotions as a concept, both for Boyer's character and the viewer.
Quite an unexpected sleeper tucked away in this '50s series.
Naked City: C3H5(NO3)3 (1961)
Corny "bomb" story is neither amusing nor exciting
Despite a dependably fine performance by Hume Cronyn, this Naked City segment is little more than tiresome filler, as our detectives race against the clock to find a missing nitroglycerin bomb.
Cronyn plays a professor who got drunk, made the bomb -just a whiskey bottle holding 8 ounces of nitro, and lost it. Various comical elements, including a clue based on a sailor who had a hula girl tattoo on his forearm, finally lead to the prof's locker where the bottle is found. J. D. Cannon and Terry Carter of the bomb squad go through the motions of suggesting suspenseful danger with Cronyn helping in the eventual bomb disposal.
It might have been mildly diverting to watch 62 years ago, but is an unconvincing, boring artifact now.
Route 66: 1800 Days to Justice (1962)
Much ado about nothing
A lousy script by Jo Pagano makes for a dreary, deadly dull segment of Route 66. It makes one wonder what a rejected screenplay for the show must have looked like.
Leading the guest cast of one-dimensional cardboard characters is John Ericson, intense and one-note as he returns to his tiny hometown of Harcourt, Texas for revenge, after spending five years in prison having been framed for a bank robbery he did not commit.
The nominal villain is the town's big shot, a nothing role for DeForest Kelley, four years before he finally achieved immortality as Dr. McCoy on Star Trek. Female lead is a young and dramatic Marion Ross and sentimental favorite is another cliched character, a guy with pipe dreams of striking oil played by Noah Beery Junior.
Pagano's story artificially ropes M & M into the local Kangaroo Court trial of Kelley as they drive into town in the Corvette, following the show's format of them getting entangled weekly in a strange culture. Of course Maharis interferes, provoking a fist fight with Ericson, and the finale of the story is arbitrary and completely unsatisfactory, leaving nothing resolved and lots of loose ends.
Looking for Conversations (2024)
Platonic love versus lust
Aubree Valentine plays a complex character in this Allherluv 2-parter: a teacher of literature who has decided she's only interested in platonic love, after suffering a breakup with her lesbian lover.
She even advertises for women interested in conversations, not romance or sex. Aubry Babcock answers the call and in a discussion of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" with Aubree convinces her that sex can be transformative and wins the argument with hot XXX action.
Aubree's attitude has changed, and so have her lectures to her students. A new openness is cemented by meeting a free spirit played enigmatically by Freya Parker, who skillfully seduces Aubree.
With Valentine's acting convincingly creating a character who is filled with doubts and conflicting impulses, this is an intriguing mini-drama spotlighting three talented players.
Chocolate Kisses (1986)
Fun IR action
Jeanie Pepper has a juicy (or should I say sweet?) role in "Chocolate Kisses", one of the better VHS features spotlighting Black actresses early in the VHS era.
It starts with a montage of Hollywood, oddly beginning with a closeup of Red Buttons' plaque on the Walk of Fame (that's a pretty random choice of movie star), then the corny shot of the Capitol Records building, followed by "Jagged Edge" playing at Grauman's Chinese.
Story concerns Herschel Savage's failing Kisses Chocolates candy company. After he humps his secretary Heather Wayne, whose top billing is definitely unearned, we go directly to Ron Jeremy at a motor hotel with two Black hookers: Jeannie Pepper and Purple Passion. He balks at paying $200 for both but they insist (amounts to about $560 in today's money).
Mean banker Rick Savage turns Herschel Savage (hmm, I wonder how many movies feature both savages?) down on financing, giving him only 30 days till foreclosure, and Hersch decides salesmanship might save the business. He advertises for two gung-ho salesmen, with Pepper & Purple responding -after they f*ck him silly, they're hired.
Sex is their sales weapon, with big orders from Tom Byron, Buck Adams and Shone Taylor resulting. Rick is so impressed that he invests the bank's money into the business and is rewarded by two Kisses Girls (working at the chocolates plant) Bunny Bleu and Jennifer Noxt shtupping him. Ending has funny "Where are they now?" credits for each character.
Quite enjoyable, and the oddest touch was a building facade in the middle of the movie -a building for See's Chocolates! Don't tell me that was accidental.
Secret Sin (2024)
Fun with Chloe plus a spacey interview
Can't say I've heard of London Bridges, but the Black burlesque artiste gets the "Unfiltered" video podcast treatment here from Holly Randall. An accompanying "Mommy's Girl" sex scene was issued by Adult Time on the VOD "Sitting on a Secret" just a month prior to this reissue.
London tells of her rough background, finding success both in burlesque and teaching dance classes but suffering as a victim of sex trafficking. Her rather out-there conversation lost me somewhere between her rambling explanation of the glory of being a sub and her discovering spirituality.
Chloe Surreal, she of the huge, floppy breasts, has fun with her stepmom Penny Barber in the lesbian sex vignette directed by the Anatomik Media team. Not sure why the Girlsway and Adult Time folks decided to recycle it so quickly, but as a Chloe fan I can't complain.