Contract Girl

VCA Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Joe Gallant

Cast: Olivia Saint, Dino Bravo, Emma Donohue, Pussy Lee, Gary Miles, Cierra, DJ Moses, Tatianna Stone, Shauna Superstar, Kayce D. Monroe, Jodi Luvchilde, Scott Cirelli, Don G. Ovani, Joe Gallant, Kenny, Mister Robert, Donell Thomas, Keith Cadwalader, Mallory Knots, Lil Joe, Mary Jane, Kenny, others uncredited or credited under the various aliases above

Length: 192.5 minutes

Date of Production: 12/12/2004

Extra's: With a running time of over three hours, the need for extras is substantially diminished so the inclusion of a slide show and some trailers were not the end of the world for me this time.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Contract Girl was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director Joe Gallant for VCA Pictures. The picture often looked as crisp and clear as anything else on the market although there were times when the director employed a lot of grain and video noise to disturb the viewer (doing so much better than Eon McKai managed in his most recent release for the company). The fleshtones in most scenes were accurate, the camera angles well handled in a manner designed to make the cast look their best, and my impression of the sex scenes in terms of the visual elements was quite favorable (except in a couple of cases where the stylish matters went overboard. The stereo audio was also pretty well done without a lot of heat draining music tossed in to hide various auditory flaws as in the previously mentioned flick. There wasn't a lot of separation between the channels and the dynamic range was nothing to write home about but the audio supported, rather than detracted, the visual elements of the scenes.

Body of Review: Once upon a time, there was a porn producing company that offered couples a solid alternative to movies from Wicked Pictures or Vivid Entertainment. That company was, of course, VCA Pictures, known far and wide for some of the most innovative movies as well as the way they took advantage of the DVD format so early on (providing a great picture quality, solid extras, and good sound long before it was common to do so). Over time, a series of poor management decisions caused the company to spin into decline and eventually be bought out by Hustler Video. Hustler makes some good porn themselves so the hope was that VCA might continue to provide its own brand of heat, with a little bit better financial backing and promotion but that really never happened. Still, the company managed to put out the occasional good movie, in spite of the lowered budgets and loss of artistic control. Today's review is on a title released under the VCA label that looked like it was made by an outsider, a little movie called: Contract Girl. Not to be confused with the Digital Playground release of a similar name (Contract Star starring Jesse Jane and Teagan Presley), the movie was advertised as being about a porn performer who makes porn movies by day and hires out as a contract killer by night (shooting mean old Republicans and porn producers for their various stances against all she holds dear.

The lead performer of the movie, Olivia Saint, is Girl X, a gal with a skill for porn and assassination, who goes through life with a sort of detachment where she lives to enjoy the moment by taking on various assignments that appeal to her. Most of the rest of the cast is little known or in their first movie and while many people associate VCA with couples friendly porn, this won't be the average VCA offering so beware. The sex included more anal than I think VCA had put in their movies for years, bizarre practices like milk enemas (usually reserved for Evil Angel), torture (I could've sworn one of the gals nearly lost a breast it was bound so tightly) with candle wax, slapping, choking, and a host of other acts that were marginally mainstream porn besides the usual oral and vaginal sex. With plenty of authority role playing and bad acting (even for porn), the movie entertained me on a couple of levels other than the usual stroke stuff we all get porn for.

I'm not going to kid you and suggest every frame of the movie looked great, the story was something I'd discuss at length with other reviewers, or the sex was always top notch but for those of you looking for a twist or two to enjoy something decidedly off the beaten track, Contract Girl might be well worth investigating. I'm going to rate it as Highly Recommended to anyone not wanting to see "the same old stuff" in their adult entertainment but keep in mind that this movie wasn't made for the squeamish either and will definitely not appeal to those of you who find Adam & Eve movies a bit too much for their sensibilities. Fans of anal (with ATM: ass to mouth) and lengthy movies will be able to use this movie a lot longer than they would the generic crap flooding the marketplace these days. I'm not sure I liked it all the time either but with some much going on throughout the movie, I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you I'm putting director Joe Gallant on my short list for people to watch out for. If this is the kind of thing VCA Pictures is going to focus their efforts on rather than Kill Girl Kill, I'll have to agree that the company may just be about to turn around. I still have my doubts though so keep in touch as I look for more of what they have to offer.