The Fling

Wicked Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Kelly Holland

Cast: Jessica Drake, Barrett Blade, Randy Spears, Brad Armstrong, Brooke, Franko Del Torro, Johnny Castle, Veronica Rayne, Steven St. Croix, Tory Lane, Faith, Sue Diamond; Chris Cannon (bonus scene only)
Non-sex or limited sex roles: Mia Smiles, Taylor Hilton, Michael Danze

Length: 97 minutes

Date of Production: 3/8/2006

Extra's: For most of you, the best extra will be the bonus scene between Jessica Drake and Chris Cannon from the movie Crème Brulee. It looked like the movie would be a lot of fun with the two of them sharing some chemistry as they sucked and fucked so I included a description below. I also appreciated the 16.5 minute long All Access: Behind the Scenes with Jessica Drake (rather than the title of the movie, which was originally titled The Last Fling) by JJ Mayan. It was fun, had some extra sex footage, and stands up as a solid production that added value to the DVD release. There were also a number of photogalleries and star statistics, a classy cardboard protective sleeve, two promotional reels, DVD ROM materials like Wicked Awards and Nominations, company profile, and desktop pictures, a DVD catalog, some spam, and trailers to shows like Eternity, Camp Cuddly Pines, Gossip, The Visitors, Curse Eternal, Hook Ups, and others.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: The Fling was presented in anamorphic widescreen color with an approximate aspect ratio of 1.85:1 as originally shot by director Kelly Holland for Wicked Pictures. Kelly used a more straightforward approach to this movie than the vignettes she makes for the Playgirl Series she co-directs, with few frills but none of the lame artistic crud that weakens those scenes either. The colors were accurate, the grain was less than usual, and the composition of the shots tended to be quite favorable to the cast. There were no compression artifacts or video noise that I saw and the HD-shot visuals seemed just fine overall. The biggest problem I saw was with the lighting since the variety of bedroom scenes contained portions that literally looked like they were going to be left for the imagination (not a porn convention that would work from my experience). The audio was presented with a choice of either a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English or a 2.0 DD Spanish track (the dubbed tracks were almost funny to listen to but that's my take on them given how the lag times and inflections appeared so creative). I listened to the English track and while I didn't hear any appreciable separation on the audio, it was nicely put together otherwise. The music was generic and not a major factor for me although given the type of flick this was, I would think more care might've gone into it.

Body of Review: Kelly Holland is one of the latest directors at Wicked Pictures who has been given a shot to make porn for an audience not served by their already full stable of talented directors like Brad Armstrong, Jonathan Morgan, Stormy Daniels, Michael Raven, and Mark Stone. Given that most of her work to date has been on vignette driven erotica softies, the leap to features is kind of daunting for directors like this but I was willing to give her a fair shake seeing as how The Fling starred lovely Texan Jessica Drake. The movie details Jessica in a role designed to show her exploring the age old question of sexual compatibility with her intended groom by having one last fling before committing to a life of monogamy, as directed by Kelly for a couple's audience. Jessica does anal here and the story was the light, breezy type you expect in between the blockbusters the company is best known for, providing a change of pace with a leaning towards the Stormy style of story telling that some of you find favor with. Here's a quick look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that condoms were all over the place but they really weren't that big of a deal:

Scene One: Jessica Drake, wearing a black dress on the bed, was up first with Barrett Blade as he played her first lover in a flashback sequence. Jessica looked as ravishing as ever and the playfulness of the scene had him massaging and kissing her body all over. She then stroked his cock to full erection and blew him with a practiced ease that betrayed the scenario more than a little bit as the droning music thumped on in the background, deepthroating him fairly easily. I was surprised that the scene was oral only when she rubbed out his load to her mouth but mixing things up can sometimes work out better for the overall movie and I let it slide for the moment.

Scene Two: Jessica Drake, again in bed in some slinky black lingerie, was then living in the moment with fiancé Randy Spears, as the softer music played to the erotic nature of the scene. It was a slow, seductive scene in the low lit bedroom with her showing as much oral skill as in the last scene as he moaned in pleasure. He returned the oral pleasure to her as she made little purring noises, switching far too quickly to a vaginal penetration scene where he did most of the work. Two positions later, he popped on her ass, showing limited sexual creativity by the director (one of her biggest faults in her regular series).

Scene Three: Brooke, a curvy gal with light hair and an all natural figure, was next up with Franko Del Torro and Johnny Castle, as the trio got busy in the bed. The scene appeared to be less scripted than the previous scenes with the trio showing the men working on her as she worked on them in turn. The use of extended close ups was a nuisance and those of you expecting to see her doing a DP will be disappointed as she did oral and vaginal only. They did not have much chemistry together and that limited the passion but it wasn't a bad scene overall if you don't mind the lost potential they could have lived up to. At this point in the movie, I was ready to suggest the title strictly for those out there that have seen almost no porn but the pop shots to her face and ass cheeks made me wonder about that too.

Scene Four: Jessica Drake, looking again like a million bucks, was up next with real life partner Brad Armstrong after Randy had troubles with numerous gals like Mia Smiles, Tory Lane and Taylor Hilton. The modern fireplace lit the living room in a pleasant fashion for them and each explored the other orally with a lot more chemistry and energy than I was expecting. They did some 69 and he fingered her ass in preparation for the anal sex that took place after the more conventional acts, with me thinking how much better this one was then the previous scenes all put together. If the whole movie had centered around this scene and it had been fleshed out substantially, I'd have loved the title yet the problem with plotted porn focusing on relationships is that having great scenes between everyone is something of a betrayal of the conceptual themes (if you're happy in bed, you have no need to cheat). In any case, Jessica was really active here and I appreciated how the lighting limitations were as bothersome this time as they were in parts of the other scenes. The scene ended in a facial for those who care but the sum of the passion was better than the individual parts of the scene.

Scene Five: Veronica Rayne, a brunette with nice curves and a winning teasing style, was up next in an office romance with aging lothario Steven St. Croix. Her lingerie included stockings and garters that enhanced her look as he sought to enjoy a nibble or two of her body on the couch. Sexually speaking, the action was oral and vaginal only but she provided some decent moves that helped elevate the scene more than a little bit. While not as exciting as the previous scene, it was a decent indicator that the director may indeed have a few more tricks up her sleeve than previously acknowledged with the duo providing a bit of chemistry between each other worth stroking off to. The scene ended in a facial for those who care, poisoning it for my female friends that absolutely hate such things but redeeming it every so slightly for those who demand them.

Scene Six: Tory Lane, Faith, Sue Diamond, and Randy Spears, were up last in what started as a reverse orgy but soon found our male lead escaping to let the ladies have their way with each other. Lesbian trysts are always favored by this reviewer when done properly and while I have no delusions that "real" lesbian sex is typically about as erotic for men as watching nasty looking dykes do one another, the lipstick lesbian action here was just fine. I also thought the near use of the toy on Randy was hilarious (maybe the role was written for a guy named Kurt?) but the tongue & toy play by the ladies wasn't bad, if poorly lit for the viewer to fully appreciate the action.

Bonus Scene: Crème Brulee: Jessica Drake, the hotty featured on the front and back DVD covers, was up first with Chris Cannon on a bed in the studio. They playfully licked and teased one another before she started sucking him off. She did so with a paced tempo that increased as the oral progressed; acting as though nothing else was going on in the universe. Rather than try to get him off by slamming his dick down her throat, she slowly worked him over as though she was getting a lot of pleasure (and giving it at the same time). When she lifted her leg over his head to do a 69, I thought she looked even better but the emphasis was strictly oral here and I didn't mind a bit (though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't left wanting more). It was a good way to start the show with Jessica providing one of, if not her very best, blowjob.

Summary: The Fling had the trimmings of a decent story that was truncated by budget concerns from the look of it. I'm one of the biggest supporters of Wicked Pictures you'll find that has no economic ties to them so as much as I wanted the better elements of The Fling to work (and they did), the weaker factors dragged it back down to a Rent It status. The extras were fair at best, the casting excellent but not used to their best advantage, and even the adorable Jessica Drake wasn't enough to compensate for the first half of the movie but it was worth a look and some of you that watch little porn may enjoy it more than I did.