Director Jim Steel’s “Dripping Wet” has excellent production
values. It’s often like watching an eighties music video on the Playboy channel,
and that’s a compliment. There’s the booming score, the slow motion and the
great shots of dripping wet women, and dripping wet bodies with intent stares.
Even if “Dripping Wet” may be a bit too artistic to draw in all male audiences,
the production is utterly top notch, and I found myself looking beyond the sex
for once. I’ve seen that from Hustler, and they’re great with making a
spectacle out of porn. Steel’s direction is a pure highlight to this artsy take
on the porno, somewhat defying the pigeon hole and somewhat having me
considering calling it erotica, in the end.

Drip:

Fire and Ice

Starting off like a scene from “Caligula,” Mya Luanna is
bathing in a spring in blinding white light and posing for her mate who is
watching rather intently. Settling down beside a beautiful set piece, they
begin fondling one another beside a blinding window and blazing fire. The set
up for this segment is utterly immaculate and posits itself more as sexual
performance art rather than simple porn for the sake or porn. Steel seems to
take attention to everything, from Luanna’s soaking body, the lighting coming
in through the window, and the rather raucous score that sets the mood
perfectly. After an unusual but breathtaking set up, Luanna’s mate sets down
between her legs and slowly eats her out as she lies spread and arched, moaning
and groaning as she clutches her breasts and holds his hand. She then bends
over to blow him as he’s perched on a blue plush mat, and again, another
obviously set scene.

Their shadows juxtaposed the light, while her mate is spread
out looks fantastic, and the cut to Mya’s face is so well lit. I can’t believe
this is a porno of all things. You can almost feel Steel asking his actresses
not to perform sex, but to make it seem beautiful while also erotic at the same
time. He perches down behind the flames as their bodies are intertwined in
sexual passion with their shadows waving along the fire, and man what a
picture. He really pans in on Mya and provides some startling slow motion of
her blowing her mate, and I didn’t feel the need to move on to the next scene. She
leans back to lick her mate’s chest, and almost as if they’re in the fire, she
mounts her mate backwards and rides him, as the fire overlaps their bodies. He
then dominates her, banging her from behind as she screams, and then cuts to a
dream like shot of the two kissing with the light glaring onto their faces. Luanna’s
opening segment looks fantastic, and Steel never compromises the hardcore
element of the movie for the artistic mood, and really balances both well. In
one of my favorite instances, the two are going at it, with Mya’s legs sticking
out from both sides of him, as Steel pans out from a window making us feel like
voyeurs.

Flying Panels

“Flying Panels” again feels like some video for Poison.
Maybe it’s the rock score, or the basic set up, but while corny in its way,
Steel shows his ability to create different moods for his performers. Set in a
more oriental backdrop, gorgeous performer Sakura and her mate sit on a small
bed surrounded by oriental rugs and draperies. He binds her down, sitting
behind her to caress and play with her and leans her back to reveal her tight
and petite body. He then pours oil all over her body giving us this sense that
she’s being held against her will and loves it. There’s obvious choreography in
this segment, as there’s a bit of an act before she finally leans over to blow
him.

The lighting is again fantastic as it beams from the ceiling
down onto them creating a darker tone. Her mate parts her legs and eats her out
as she struggles with the wrist binds, and she arches back moaning with her
legs high in the air. Breaking from her binds, he throws her back down and full
on penetrates her, and then wraps her arms around her back fucking her from
behind as she screams in a painful but passionate manner. He then forces her
down onto his cock, rubbing the shaft up and down her face, and she jumps onto
him. He clutches her and fucks her from behind as she cries out riding him. Sakura
Scott is a gorgeous actress in this compilation with a gorgeous body and great
face, and this segment doesn’t disappoint.

Rub a Dub Dub Two in the Tub

Adrianna Nicole is another
absolutely gorgeous woman and more so she’s a beautiful blond who probably
takes the cake as my favorite of women introduced here. She has a real Traci
Lords vibe about her and has a killer body to boot. Steel films this piece very
well slowly dimming the light around our actress to reveal her lovely body, and
she performs for her mate with delight in front of a dazzling eighties chic set
piece. She bounces her hair and jiggles her ass while her mate looks on
enticed, and she even flips him the bird. Have to love that spunk. This is one
of the few times I enjoyed a segment where the actress looks dead into the
camera, because Steel directs it so well. The two drift into the bathroom, where
she stands with her back turned as her partner caresses her body.

She finally leans over to suck him
off, her curvy ass and arched back glistening in the light. Steel sets this
scene up next to a glass pane that reflects down upon the duo. She takes a dip
leaning back and digs her mate’s cock down the back of her throat gagging as he
groans caressing her body. He reciprocates spreading her along his white couch
and eating her pussy out, as she quivers. Steel poses another good segue as he
flashes over to Nicole being banged from behind with her moans and screams
rising with every pump, and they soon drift to their hot tub next to the soft
red light, with Nicole being fucked from behind. Nicole is a great tease here
as she bites her lips, chews on her shoulder and stares seductively at the
camera, and I was just absolutely smitten with this woman. Hell, I even
replayed the segment just to see her some more. The lighting for this one is
again excellent, and Steel really sets every moment apart from the last,
avoiding the pitfalls of repetition and tedium. I loved it.

Drip, Drip, Drip,
Drip:

Strippers Night Out

Faith Leonplays stripper for this go around, as she’s dressed in a leopard skin negligee,
and thigh high red leather boots, as she performs for two suited clients. This
set piece is a soft blue lit wall, with the light focused in on Leon’s gorgeous
face, and glittery red lipstick. Enamored with them, she coasts down over to
one of her clients allowing him to break the golden stripper rule of no touching,
and leans over to kiss and lick him. She mounts him slowly and gyrates, all
with the beautiful blue screen in the background throbbing and illuminating. Leon crouches
down caressing her clients throbbing bulges, and then lets them out to suck
them off one by one. The lighting for this particular scene matched with the
moody music makes this also seem more like erotic performance art rather than
porn, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Steel reduces the atmosphere some with the male mates
groaning, and grabbing her from all directions as she sucks them off faster and
heavier. The angle in that particular scene is excellent as Steel perches from
the floor where we can see Leonin all her glory as she sucks her partners off. As the music fades, the glistening
blow jobs become much more rapid fire, and she takes them both into her mouth. Like
the goddess she is, she rises along the stripper pole as her twosome slide down
her body licking and caressing her ass providing a wonderful image of that
makes Leonlook more than human. She grabs onto the pole and leans back as her mates
nibble at her tits and eats her pussy out, which is followed by more groveling
from the two along her bubble butt. She finally begins riding the cock heavy
and hard, as she sucks off her other client next to the stripper pole, is then
bent over and fucked from both ends before finishing off with a great shot.

The wonderful Mya Luanna returns to close
out the consistently satisfying film, dressed in a gorgeous white two pieces
and looking damn good wearing it against her body. This woman is packed, and
the set up for this is absolutely incredible. She’s spread out along a red
velvet bed, with her skin and body parts literally shining off the light. Steel
adds a fantastical element to this woman that works wonders, and she looks like
the embodiment of the sexual fantasy. Her mate watches and drifts over wasting
not time. With her legs spread across, he eats her out, licking and fondling
her pussy as she lays back arched, and moans aloud. She mounts her mate making
out with and propping her gorgeous breasts along his shoulders, and lays him
down along the bed kissing his chest, and clutching his cock in her hands,
making sure to tease not just him, but everyone watching. Sure, the soundtrack
is kind of cheesy this go around with the random bursts of castanet’s which
were most unwelcome, but this segment closed the film out wonderfully.

Steel captures Mya blowing her
mate from all angles, as he squares in on him reacting. Mya looks like a sexy
serpent, slithering along his body and sucking him slowly and steadily while
slowly jiggling her bulbous ass. She mounts him and is pounded furiously, her
groans emanating amidst the mostly red set pieces. The lighting is so that her
body looks majestic and inviting, and turns to ride him propping her body to
shine in the soft light, screaming as her mate sensibly pounds her viciously. He
dominates her, spreading her out along the bed, and nibbles on her toes while
fucking her hard and fast, it’s a great extra touch. The sex just intensifies
as this goddess is fucked three ways to Sunday, and finishes on a great note
with Mya revealing one last smirk for the viewers. Love it.

Odds & Ends

Audio/Visuals:

The audio/visual team really needs to be
commended. “Dripping Wet” has a great picture that shifts from soft and fuzzy,
to sharp and bold often. Filmed in wide screen, Steel’s picture is gorgeous to
watch, and the colors are very vibrant. The audio is excellent providing a
booming score and soundtrack with the music blasting through the screen. The
dialogue and all movements are very audible, providing a better viewing
experience.

Goodies:

Directly after I spent four pages reveling at Jim
Steel’s excellent camera work and direction, I drifted to the eighteen minute
Behind the Scenes feature that I hoped would give me insight on how the man
works… I was not disappointed. Steel is a very involved director who
choreographs every single movement and action his actors take, and really takes
hold of the segments and performers. He commands them, he leads them, and the
results are great. This “Behind the Scenes” feature is one of the few I’ve seen
that actually give us a glimpse into shooting and method, and it’s a great
tidbit. Watching Leoncomplain that her feet are numb from crouching down is also pretty funny.

The laymen may not think shooting a porno takes much work,
but Steel shows that just because it’s people fucking, doesn’t mean you don’t
have to add some sense of strategy. I love watching the mechanics of shooting
porn. I wish more studios would give us a peek. There’s also a Still Gallery
that works! Wow! Still Galleries absolutely always suck, and we’re given
something of a considerable variety with some kicking music added, and showing
Adrianna Nicole spread out and being fucked but looking at the camera with a
laugh is a nice touch. Lovely. There are also five trailers for Hustler
releases including Campus Confessions 11, and Barely Legal 70, as well as trailers
for VCA films like 18 & Easy 10, and Fetish Factory 2. Finally there are
the basic commercials for hotlines, and ads for the Hustler websites. Overall a
great series of extras.

After Thought:

This is probably one of the best pornos I’ve ever
seen; Steel rises to the challenge by avoiding the typical pit falls of porn
adding a sense of erotic performing art all the while delivering the goods with
excellent hardcore sex scenes, cum shots and all. I appreciate film of all
types, and Steel really stands out as one of the best directors I’ve
experienced since reviewing porno. The women are absolutely stunning, the
direction is immaculate, and the set pieces add so much to a potentially drab
affair. I hardly ever expect big things from pornography, but Steel and Hustler
have changed my way of thinking by altering the doldrums of average porn films.