Are We In Love?

Wicked Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: David Stanley

Cast: Mia Smiles, Kimberly Kane, Lori Alexia, Niko, Kelly Kline, Chris Cannon, Justine Joli, Nadia Hilton, Tony Tedeschi; Alex Sanders (bonus scene only)
Non-sex role by: David Stanley

Length: 108.5 minutes

Date of Production: 8/14/2005

Extra's: For most people, the best extra will be the bonus scene between the lovely Kelly Kline and studly Alex Sanders from Writer's Block. I described the 11.5 minute scene below for those who care to know the details but it was a decent scene showcasing her skills nicely. Since I had already seen the bonus scene, the best extra for me was the 21 minute long All Access: The Making of Are We In Love? Feature by Mark Stone. Wicked Pictures is one of the best production companies in terms of making a well rounded, great to watch, value adding BTS feature and this was no different. There was sex from the scenes, deleted footage, a chance for the cast to shine outside of their scenes, and a lot of fun to be had. I know some of you don't bother with this type of extra but given a chance, I think most of you will find something or other to appreciate. There were also a number of photogalleries and star statistics, a classy cardboard protective sleeve, four promotional reels, DVD ROM materials like Wicked Awards and Nominations, company profile, casino game, and desktops, a DVD catalog, some spam, and trailers to shows like Eternity, Camp Cuddly Pines, All About Keri, Sold, and others.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: Are We In Love? was presented in a 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director David Stanley for Wicked Pictures. I was surprised since I thought they had gone to making widescreen only movies but didn't mind it too much since I'm not a complete widescreen snob. The lighting was good, limiting the grain and video noise as well as the shadows. The composition of the shots enhanced the look of the ladies in most cases although I wanted the scenes to last a lot longer. In all, the visual appeal of the movie was decent with no glaring problems. The audio was offered up with the standard choices for Wicked Pictures; a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English track, or a 2.0 track in either German or Spanish. I spot checked the foreign language dubs and found them to be okay if nothing special. The 5.1 track was fair though I believe the vocals were recorded in monaural with the music score added in later on in perhaps a 2.0 mix (there wasn't much separation between the channels) though it didn't get in the way of the vocals. In short, David's attempts at audio here were about the same as other directors at Wicked Pictures, leading me to wish they'd upgrade it to take advantage of the superior audio formats they could offer.

Body of Review: David Stanley is a director that I've long thought had untapped potential from his earliest efforts at Vivid to his more recent work at Wicked Pictures. His movies aren't the blockbusters that each company is known for; shooting more intimate feature porn instead, often with a twisted ending to convey a Twilight Zonish sense of the absurd. In general, he seems to put a bit of himself in his movies (much like fellow contract director Brad Armstrong is said to in his relationship movies) but his biggest weakness is in stopping short of revealing enough to grab the audience (perhaps as a defense mechanism); making his attempts fall short of the mark too often when they could've been great. His newest work seems to be getting better quickly so I suspect that he'll be getting ever more accolades in the near future if he just lets himself loose a little more. Today's review is of his most recent release, of a little title called Are We In Love?</b<, a love story between a married couple played by the wonderfully attractive Kelly Kline and studly former Marine, Chris Cannon. While thematically more like a Brad Armstrong movie, it was a lighter touch than he'd have provided, and a very good couple's movie. Here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast and action, noting that while condoms were used, they weren't a big factor for me:

Scene One: Mia Smiles, a frisky little cutie with pigtails and high heel shoes on, was up first on a couch as she teased Kimberly Kane into a lesbian scene. Kimberly was in the role of the dominant partner, sporting an unshaven bush, wearing white athletic socks and a cheap pair of sneakers; and the way she crawled over to Mia told me she was ready to get a little loving. They kissed, Kimberly drilled for gold with her finger, and then she continued her sexual attack as she used Mia's mane of hair as a bridle of sorts. This led to some cunnilingus and rimming on Mia's private parts, after which Mia gave Kimberly some pleasure. Surprisingly, the scene ended pretty quickly though it probably could've gone on a lot longer.

Scene Two: Lori Alexia, a curvy black hotty, was up next on a couch with Niko. He went down on her (with her legs spread open at about a 180 degree angle), using his tongue and fingers to get her ready for some fun. She's one of the most flexible gals in porn (as a champion stripper, it makes sense she could contort her body in all sorts of ways) and fans of black gals will find her very appealing. She slobbed his small knob fairly quickly before he drilled her vaginally but he did almost all of the work so it wasn't that exciting for me to watch as if she had been more sexually aggressive. A few positions later, he rubbed out a load to her face without her help and she sucked him clean. This was another scene that lacked in most ways though it worked for the premise of the movie.

Scene Three: Kelly Kline, playing a student at school, was up next as she fantasized about jumping the bones of her teacher, Chris Cannon. The artistic front cover to the movie was pretty but didn't do her attractive face and body justice (and I loved her in the skirt). Particularly of interest was how well she played the role of sexual aggressor here as she dropped to her knees in front of the class to suck him off (and write "I eat cock" on the blackboard as she inhaled his meat pipe). Her dirty talk, the manner in which she jerked him off, and rubbed her ass all over his shaft added to the heat though I was saddened that all she did was oral on him. Still, it was easily the first scene worth watching and yet another feather in Kelly's cap.

Scene Four: Justine Joli and Nadia Hilton were up next in the kitchen to give a lesbian scene. The contrast between their hair color (Justine's fiery red locks versus Nadia's bleach blonde look) could've been a metaphor for their sexual styles though unlike the first scene, this coupling was more balanced in terms of sexual power. That said, each barely got a chance to give the other some head before it ended. In all, it came across as more of a tease scene than anything else.

Scene Five: Kelly Kline, again looking fine, sleazed it up by imagining cheating on her husband with slimy carpenter Tony Tedeschi in the next scene. The fact that he looked twice her age wasn't that much of a stretch of the imagination so much as the realization that she could do so much better than him. The scene had him going down on her as she moaned & groaned away with her returning the oral on him in almost as heated a manner as she did previously in the movie. They screwed vaginally with her meeting his thrusts nicely and it ended when she jerked him off to her face. While not as solid a scene as I wanted, it was a decently handled matter by all involved that set up the ending scene very well.

Scene Six: Kelly Kline, in yet another scene, began by masturbating before trying some role playing action with Chris Cannon. This didn't work for them so they retired to the bedroom for some married couple love where he went down on her, she returned the favor on his shaft, and they boned in a few positions. Fans of foot fetish action that didn't get enough from the previous scene where he sucked her toes a little will be happy to know he did some more before moving north on her body. She was less wanton this time, preferring to keep the theatrics down a bit on her vocals but still managing to convey the sense of pleasure she was receiving from him jilling her. Her own oral on him was also a bit more sultry and subdued but also realistic in the sense that they seemed to share a lot of chemistry together. The vaginal action was pleasant but based mainly in a couples sex type of boning scene before the jerk off to her abdomen and ending credits rolled.

Bonus Scene: Writer's Block: "Kelly Kline, an attractive gal with a lean body and pleasant features, played a dominant role as she ordered Alex Sanders, her pool and yard worker, to suck on her breast. The afternoon (or was it morning?) sun enhanced her look a lot and as he went down on her, she seemed to truly appreciate his efforts. Her blowjob was decent and I especially enjoyed the no hands part of it but she really let loose when riding him in reverse cowgirl on the lawn chair. She did several positions and eventually gave some PTM action to choke out a load. I've seen her in numerous scenes and this was one of the best on several levels with a lot of energy and chemistry to spare."

Summary: Are We In Love? wasn't made for a jaded old porn hound like me but crafted more for a couple's market to enjoy with a significant other. In that sense, it could've done better by losing the obvious pop shots and having one less lesbian scene (athough had Kelly and Lori done one of them, I wouldn't have complained as much) but I think folks looking for a decent flick to enjoy together will find it a lot more appealing than much of what they'll find on the market these days. For my tastes, I thought it was worth a rating of Rent It with fans of Kelly Kline probably needing to buy a copy immediately since she was clearly the sexual highlight of the movie (clocking in with three scenes). With half the scenes weaker than needed to stroke to, as much as I wanted to rate it higher, I couldn't so check it out if it sounds interesting to you. In general though, director David Stanley showed that he's on the rise so give his work a look if you want to see what I'm talking about.