O Zone

Vivid Entertainment

Genre: Vignette

Director: Chi Chi LaRue

Cast: Monique Alexander, Trent Tesoro, Barbara Summer, Rick Patrick, Tommy Gunn, Katja Kassin, Marco Duato, Jack Venice, TJ Hart, Jean Val Jean

Length: 111.5 minutes

Date of Production: 4/11/2004

Extra's: My favorite extra was the 23 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Hot Rod Hank. It had interviews with the cast, some interesting anecdotes, and a bit of funny stuff going on at the location of the movie. There was also the usual selection of five bonus scenes, three with Monique Alexander, from older Vivid Entertainment releases. There were two photogalleries, a positions room, a short biography for Monique Alexander, some interesting commercials for Vivid products, trailers, and the usual spam (no double sided DVD cover though). In all, it was a decent selection of extras but the BTS was the best in terms of adding value for fans of the cast (and the movie).

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: O Zone was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director Chi Chi LaRue for Vivid Entertainment. Some of the scenes were deliberately hazy to provide a dreamy atmosphere while others seemed unintentionally grainy. I know Chi Chi has the technical expertise to offer up any kind of visual he chooses so I was a little put off by the near sheen like glaze over the majority of the movie. The composition of the shots was reasonably well done to provide the kind of enhancement the women needed to look their best but the slow motion effect was over used here and that weakened the action for me more than I cared for. I suppose some couples would like this effect more than I did, but that's a personal choice for you to make. There were no compression artifacts to the movie but the lighting could've been better. The stereo audio was okay in terms of dynamic range and separation but the lack of a vocal track was a pain in the rear end for me too. I like vocals over droning music in just about every case so that was another factor dropping this down a notch for me.

Body of Review: Having watched all types of porn in the past twenty five years, I can safely say that I like a lot of competing styles. I can enjoy the erotic flavored stuff as much as features and gonzo, although I still have a distaste for some of the more extreme circus act sex you'll find at a few companies. Today's review is of a Vivid release made for couples called O Zone in which a cast of very attractive gals had fantasy sex with hunky men in order for all of them to get off. Handled in vignette style by the famed Chi Chi LaRue, the show had a lot of blurred boundaries so fans can appreciate that the show was somewhat harder than the usual Vivid fare but not so hardcore that raincoaters will rejoice. Here's a look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that condoms were used in the scenes:

Scene One: Monique Alexander, the attractive blonde featured on the left hand side of the front DVD cover, was up first in a scene with Trent Tesoro. It was lit with one of those dreamy floodlight washes of natural sunlight through a window so that the focus of the viewer's attention would be the couple on the screen. After some necking, he started rubbing his penis in the curve of her sweet ass, with her jerking him off a bit to get him hard enough to cut diamonds. That she slobbed his knob so well showed that she's learning some skills at Vivid, offering up some decent oral as she hasn't been as able to do in the past. He snacked on her a bit too but he was there strictly for the meat work, offering his penis in lieu of anything else he'd be able to offer. The screwing was kind of over the top but still in vaginal mode with a facial finish in a decent first scene.

Scene Two: Barbara Summer, an even more attractive blonde in my book (than Monique), was up next as she slowly stroked herself through her black dress inside the luxurious house by a pillar until studly Rick Patrick took over for her. His gentle tough seemed to be exactly what she was hoping for as she kissed him and got wet to his touch. Her oral was much more energetic but then she's been a great cocksucker for a long time and unlike Monique, she has less room for improvement. She was very playful in her oral this time and it worked to get him ready for some cunnilingus action although he didn't do much before he was porking her pussy like a jack hammer. She appeared to be on fire as he plugged away, ending the energetic scene with some heated anal and a large facial for the fans.

Scene Three: Monique Alexander, this time looking even better in her skimpy white lingerie, teased for the buff Tommy Gunn inside her apartment at night by the glass doors. This was another slow and sensual scene that made good use of her appeal but also of his ability to control himself like I sure wouldn't have been able to do. She threw herself into the action more this time, working his shaft as though they were long time lovers reuniting after an extended absence. Since he had already licked her a bit, she was ready to jump him quickly, but he kept going back down on her as though she were the best tasting thing since chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It ended with a pop shot on her stomach but it was a pleasant experience nonetheless.

Scene Four: Katja Kassin, the hotty displayed on the upper middle of the front DVD cover, has long been associated with gonzo for her incredible performances as an anal queen in porn so seeing her here was surprising. She looked dressed to the hilt and this was a nice change of events for me to appreciate her all the more as she masturbated in her business attire. I hated the droning music but she looked fine as could be, especially after being joined by Marco Duato and Jack Venice on the couch. They kissed and rubbed her some more to which she responded as expected; sucking them off in turn as they went down on her. It seemed strange to see them wear condoms with her (since she never seems to require them herself) but they didn't bug me as this curvy vixen displayed the kind of passion she's world renowned for in spades. There was some anal but no DP as expected, yet the scene was a lot of fun to watch.

Scene Five: TJ Hart, looking sterner than I've ever seen her before in a dominatrix styled outfit, oversaw the lovely Monique Alexander getting blindfolded by pretty boy Jean Val Jean by an outdoor pool in this last scene of the movie. I've been a fan of TJ's for a very long time and she shined as the couple played with her in the natural lighting of the outdoor sun and the pool added some nice visual contrast to the action as they screwed nicely. Monique got in on the action too but the scene was just too short for either of the gals to get the kind of loving they needed for best effect.

Summary: O Zone was worth a rating of Rent It to me although it was a close call considering the kind of superstar cast it employed. The deciding factors were the visual issues and lack of a vocal track (going with bad music was a bad idea, I knew it!) but in fairness, I think a lot of you will find this a nice introduction to some harder action as done in Chi Chi LaRue style. The amount of fuck for the buck was superior for a Vivid release with great extras and a near dream team of talent (male and female with only a few male clunkers) but the devil is in the details and I want to be fair in my ratings (I like Chi Chi too much to let him slide on mistakes). Would I suggest this one for those of you wanting a slightly edgier version of a standard Vivid release? Yes, I would do that but keep in mind that a couple of other companies do it better by a long shot so unless you're happy with what you get from Vivid already (and there are a lot of you that claim this to be so), check it out before buying it.