Christmas in Memphis

Hustler Video

Genre: Compilation, Memphis Monroe

Director: Jerome Tanner

Cast: Memphis Monroe, Shy Love, Mya Luanna, Kris Knight, Kyle Moore, Angela Stone, Ariel X, Joey Hart, Scott Nails, Evan Stone

Length: 118 minutes

Date of Production: 8/21/2006

Extra's: The best extra for the DVD was an 11.5 minute long Behind the Scenes feature credited to Jake Tanner. It seemed to be almost exclusively relating to the first scene of the movie in the form of an interview with Memphis, Mya, and Shy but at least it added some value to the package (and Evan got in some mugging time). There was also a photogallery, some spam, and 8 trailers to shows like Taboo: Love Hurts, Sorority Sex Kittens: Kappa Kappa Sex, and several others.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Christmas in Memphis was presented in a 1.85:1 ratio letterboxed color offering as shot by director Jerome Tanner for release by Hustler Video. Given the sets and ladies of the movie, I'd have preferred it be released in anamorphic widescreen for higher quality but perhaps next year will see the company learn to catch up with the times (as more consumers get home theatres, they will seek out such offerings for their set ups while full frame and letterboxed porn will continue to be downloaded with impunity by those who don't want to pay). In any case, the movie was shot in HD so the added detail lost by the letterboxed format was balanced out by the increased quality of the movie from typical offerings. The lighting was well handled and that kept the grain and video noise to a bare minimum even in the darker scenes. The composition of the camera work enhanced the look of the women too but the editing showed some need of additional work to polish it up; a function of tight deadlines at the company from what I've been told. The audio was presented in the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital English with some care given to the vocals and music, both balanced nicely to add to the quality of the movie. There did not appear to be a lot of separation on the vocals but the music (certainly added in later) wasn't so constrained.

Body of Review: Jerome Tanner has been in porn for a long time, shooting light, fluffy scenes of couples having fun but rarely standing out in my mind as really trying to provide something new or particularly exciting. His recent work with Hustler Video follows his standard motif as he lets the ladies go at it with minimal direction, sometimes working out better than other times as a result. His latest release for the company, reviewed just a day late here, is Christmas in Memphis, a spotlight on lovely contract gal Memphis Monroe that combines four compilation scenes with two new ones, as she introduces them in the fashion of a holiday variety show. If you find her as appealing as her many fans, here's a quick look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used, to give you an idea of what to expect:

Scene One: New: Memphis Monroe (blonde in the middle of the cover), Shy Love (hotty on the right side), and Mya Luanna (left side), were up first as they prepared for the holidays in the living room. They gathered by the tree on the floor and after several advertising plugs, started to disrobe in order to try out a Hustler sex toy on each other. Inevitably, the first such toy they tried out was Memphis, the company contract star with all the gals dressed in velvety red dresses that were really appealing to me. The sex was boilerplate lesbian with the usual licking, sucking, and toy use after the brief introduction that included a terrible canned laugh track (as though it were an adult version of the seasonal variety shows). I liked the way the light hit their rounded asses on the stairs in particular and while there really wasn't a lot of chemistry between the trio, they did show some performer's energy. Few compilations include new material so I have to hand it to Hustler for starting and ending the movie with new scenes even if they weren't the best scenes I've watched the cast in of late.

Scene Two: Larry's Angels: Memphis Monroe, again looking very fine, was up next in stripper shoes as well as a pink & black stripper outfit. The droning music of the opening montage was lame but the cuteness factor was once again very high as Kris Knight did her in a simulated ice cream parlor. He spent some time warming her up and she seemed to enjoy him taking his time doing so as he kissed, rubbed and stroked her body. She then dropped to her knees to suck his rod, showing the kind of skill that gets a guy wanting to "fuck her mouth" as she put it. They screwed vaginally and she was more active right away this time as they shared several positions before the load went to her face. I loved watching her breasts sway with the pounding she took, serving this one up as a very warm scene with lots of chemistry.

Scene Three: Barely Legal #54: Memphis Monroe, still looking curvy and cute, was up next as she tried out for a stripper job at McLean's Dance A Thon, ending up screwing Kyle Moore after he peeled off her pink top. They were blowing her off and she knew that a call back translated into never hearing from them again, working it out with some sex in order to get the job. Her blowjob was a bit slow but as she learned to get into it, she perked up a bit, elevating the heat quotient more than a little. He snacked on her crack too, rubbing her pussy as he orally lubed it up as she grasped the stripper pole on the stage. It was far from her best scene and the replay value was minimal but she did make an attempt to actively ride his cock in reverse cowgirl and a few other positions before she jerked him off with a hummer to take the facial. She has enough cuteness to warrant watching her any time she hits the small screen but her older scenes are a mixed bag.

Scene Four: Backwoods of Memphis: Angela Stone, Ariel X, and Memphis Monroe, were up in an older lesbian tryst with the three wearing pink, white, or some combination of slinky underwear by the fireplace as Memphis blindfolded them and spanked them while they called for Charles (as in the TV show; Charles in Charge) as per her demand. The ladies were physically appealing but the camera work was really self conscious and the playfulness seemed forced most of the time as they followed the standards of such a scene. While I could probably rub out a load to such a scene, it really wasn't the best use of the ladies and except for Memphis, who was a net giver this time, I yawned as much as anything here, despite the frequent toy use and pissing (squirting if you're a believer).

Scene Five: Pin Up Honeys #1: Joey Hart, a major hotty with pretty eyes and a lean body who also used to be a contract gal at the company (slightly leaner than Memphis) in her first B/G/G scene, was up next with Memphis Monroe. The two kissed and felt each other up by the doorway, with black fishnet stockings on their legs and tiny skirts, with electrical tape covering their nipples. While the two looked good together, they soon walked over to the comfy chair to find a blindfolded Scott Nails; the gals rubbing all over him in an arousing manner. He sat back and let them do all the work, savoring the moment until they freed him to actively participate. The trio did some fair oral but he was too large for them and he also didn't seem to like eating them out so the scene progressed to focus on limited blowjob action before he took turns vaginally nailing them. Memphis was the better rider of the two but neither of them did a particularly interesting job, relying on looks too much for my tastes. He rubbed out a load to them clamped down faces to finish things up with the gals smiling once it was over but lacking in too many ways to go into detail.

Scene Six: New: Memphis Monroe, was last up as she diddled herself on the couch in her sexy little Santa's helper outfit. The outfit admittedly helped me get an erection and it wasn't long before the mighty Evan Stone, dressed in a tuxedo, jumped in to service her orally. She reciprocated and they screwed fairly energetically in multiple positions, proving her recent work is far better than the older stuff in terms of quality sex. I'm glad Hustler stuck it out as she learned the ropes since she gets better all the time, especially when working with quality talent like Evan. The downside to the scene was how fake the pop shot looked, especially given her reaction to it, as she looked to the right side of the camera with Evan barely in view.

Summary: Christmas in Memphis by director Jerome Tanner for release by Hustler Video was certainly the type of gift one of her fans would love under the tree but die hard fans will likely already have most of them already so I could only rate this one a Rent It. Memphis has come a long way in a relatively short time and no one will deny that she fits the mold of an attractive gal worthy of a great many loads but combining new scenes and old scenes is a tricky business since those already owning the previous releases will feel cheated and a good compilation needs to add value for the loyal fan more then try to bring newcomers into the fold. Still, the production qualities were decent, the line up of supporting performers pretty good (especially Shy Love), and if you haven't been lucky enough to see the older scenes, Christmas in Memphis would be a solid introduction to how far Memphis has come in her stay in the industry.