Pleasure Principle

Wicked Pictures/Faraway Films, Inc.

Genre: Vignette

Director: David Stanley

Cast: Carmen Hart, Daisy Marie, McKenzee Miles, Lindsay Meadows, Hollie Stevens, Randy Spears, Exotica, Marcus London, Brooke Banner, Ana Nova, Marco Banderas/Duato, Lexi Lamour, Jason Arrow

Scene One: Smells like Teen Spirit.

Length: 89:35 minutes

Date of Production: 3/1/2007

Extras: The best extra for most of you will be the bonus scene from Just Between Us between Carmen Hart and Randy Spears. It wasn’t very long but it adds some value for those of you that don’t already have the movie so I described it below. My personal favorite was the 18:23 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Jax (and edited by Jef) as it gave a better look at what they cast & crew were trying to do. There was some nudity and clips of action from the sex scenes but it didn’t provide many bloopers, insights from anyone other than David, or additional material not found in the movie itself. There were nine photogalleries, some star stats, a promo reel, the usual DVD Rom material, and 10 trailers to movies like Operation Desert Stormy, Perfect Match, The Craving, Made in the USA, Becoming Carmen Hart, The Visitors, Supernatural, Coming Home, Black Widow, Melt, and Love Always. There was also a true double sided DVD cover and a cardboard slipcase for the case. There was also a 98 second long Easter Egg where the director discussed how he was asked to be “sex positive” since he was known for the darkness of his movies made at Vivid. It can be found by highlighting the company logo on the front page and clicking it.

Marcus and Exotica on the couch.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: Pleasure Principle was presented in an anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen color as it was shot in by director David Stanley for Wicked Pictures (not talented Francois Clousot as credited on the cover; though he did act as director of photography). I always prefer an anamorphically enhanced picture so it was pleasing to see David return to the sanity of providing one, even if this was not his best work to date. The lighting seemed more natural than average for a Wicked Pictures release, resulting in minimal grain, minor video noise, and shadows. The composition of the shots was good, enhancing the look of the ladies but sometimes showing too much propensity to move when a static shot would've worked better thematically. There were some compression artifacts but they really weren't a big issue for me as infrequent as they were here and the bitrate seemed to frequently hover in the upper 4 Mbps range so it could have looked worse. It was not a bad looking fuck flick, even for a smaller budget release from the company, but it struck me as half finished in many ways. The audio was presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English track or a 2.0 Dolby Digital track in Spanish. My Spanish is rusty and limited to technical fields but it seemed to convey the general mood of a porno even if never looking lip synched up like much of the anime I review seems to be. The main track was showing a 384 Kbps bitrate (twice the normal rate for a porno) did have some separation between the channels but most of it appeared to be related to the musical score, which was very pleasantly handled; adding value and enhancing the mood of the movie more often then not (David handled the music this time, again doing a fine job).

Brooke and Randy on the bus.

Body of Review: David Stanley is currently known best as an experimental director at Wicked Pictures these days, the man exploring new types of scenes for those of you not wanting formulaic sex scenes. My own appreciation for his work waivers at times but ultimately, I have to give him credit for thinking outside the box; even when he thinks too far outside the box in his movies. His most recent title to come my way was Pleasure Principle, a look at sex through the eyes of lovely Carmen Hart as she takes us through a trip to see how sexual relations have evolved over time. While I got the impression that David must have worked in a carnival after hearing his philosophies disseminated throughout the movie, it actually had some light sexual activity that could serve as a gateway porno for couples of significant others that aren’t into the latest gonzo splooge-fest so it has its place. The back cover said it like this: “Carmen Hart is our guide on a journey through the ages of sexual repression. Shame and guilt. They say sex is a sign of moral decline. Carmen Hart knows that pleasure is an escape from the mundane. Join her as she explores the fine line between deviance and bliss. The "Pleasure Principle" is not just a guide; it is an exploration of sexual ecstasy.” If that interests you, here is a brief glimpse into the sexual conduct taking place by cast and action; noting that condoms were used in all scenes with penetration:

Ana and Marcos as statues as observed by David and Carmen.

Scene One: Carmen Hart, Daisy Marie, McKenzee Miles, Lindsay Meadows, and Hollie Stevens, were up first in a relatively short skit where they played students upset with the teachings of Randy Spears; the man preaching abstinence to the horned up ladies. It started off in surreal fashion with an anonymous musician jumping out of the wall (not looking much like Abraham Lincoln though that was who I assume he was) and the ladies surrounding Randy. Carmen took the lead, disappearing for a few moments only to return and remove his pants. The ladies then all teamed up to blow the lucky teacher as they “taught the teacher” a lesson about “making love”. I don’t know how much love was involved but the gals were all suck sluts of the first order, some getting better access to his rod than others but all of them slobbing his knob actively until Carmen jerked him off to a modest orgasm the ladies shared on their faces (and flicked on him).

Carmen Hart and Lexi Lamour

Scene Two: Exotica, a curvy brunette wearing an evening dress, was up next on the couch with churchgoing Marcus London; the man a treat for the housewife provided by thoughtful Randy after the couple got a speech about sex from “daughter” Brooke (see below). Exotica blew him enthusiastically as she knelt before the muscular meat puppet; kneading her thighs and balls as she savored his cock in her mouth to the big band era music (as Randy continued to read his newspaper and occasionally bark orders at them). Marcus went down on her too, the couple screwing vaginally immediately afterwards. Marcus did most of the action and there weren’t many positions covered but the scene was another decent one for those faint of heart; the scene ending in a titty pop.

Carmen Hart completing the circle of the movie's scenes.

Scene Three: Brooke Banner, a sexy blond with a seductive smile, was up next in the weirdest (and shortest) sex scene of the movie as she allowed pervert Randy Spears (doing his best Snidely Whiplash impersonation from the silent movie era) to rub against her in the trolley/bus; jerking out a load to fulfill her stated fantasy from the beginning of the last scene. I wish it had been followed up on but David is known for keeping his audience guessing and this will help him further that reputation.

Scene Four: Ana Nova and Marco Banderas/Duato were up next as statues brought to life by the touch of Carmen as the lady toured the museum with David. The magical noise indicated their status and they went from pawing each other to some hardcore oral by Ana as she blew the stud. The noises were limited mostly to grunts and groans, the music switching gears midway through from a light jazz to a piano solo; the condom looking exceptionally out of place here (I know all about suspension of disbelief but the artistry of the moment was weakened by the rubber). They screwed vaginally and it ended with a crotch pop shot.

Scene Five: Carmen Hart, looking all dolled up in a ballroom dance sequence, was up next with Lexi Lamour (dressed as a man) with an old Victrola playing a record from decades ago. This was after a modern strip club bit that went nowhere so I’m sure most people would be warmed up for some action this time. The gals showed a fair amount of warmth but the lesbian acts were limited to oral and fingering; no toys and little variation as the short scene played through rather quickly.

Scene Six: Carmen Hart, the lead of the show featured on the front cover, was up last as she engaged in a more traditional type of scene in bed at night with Jason Arrow. She was pining out the rainy window when she woke him up, crawling into bed with him to make up slowly as the heat built up. He ate her and she reciprocated by blowing him, the couple continuing the dynamic by increasing the tempo of the action with her on top of him; his cock driving up as far as she could get it. The music again shifted gears midstream so while I’m not too keen on that kind of thing, it did serve as a virtual marker to where the scene changed from couples sex to Carmen having fun. Jason finished by busting a nut of population pudding on her lower abdomen; coating her thoroughly in the process.

Bonus Scene: Just Between Us: Carmen Hart, the beauty featured on the front DVD cover, was up first in bed with Randy Spears. They were prepared to go to a barbeque and she was trying to figure out what to wear; allegedly wanting his opinion (women truly only want to know what we like so they can wear something different in my experience). In any case, she was driving him crazy and she finally asked him if she should just go naked. The idea appealed to him and however impractical, she was soon putting off the clothing decision in favor of getting some good old loving from good old Randy. He ate and fingered her, the gal showing to favor his technique more than a little bit as he warmed her up, resulting in her reciprocating with one of her very skillful hummers. As she playfully slobbed his knob, he caressed her as though they were truly a loving couple, soon finding her way to riding his cock in her cookie slow and seductively. A quick look at Carmen in bed will tell you just how fine the hotty is, her active style working best when on top of his lap but always appearing reasonably in the throws of passion to some extent. As expected, it was a short scene and he rubbed out a load of population pudding onto her crotch to finish up; kissing her to finish off the warm scene.

Summary: Pleasure Principle by director David Stanley for Wicked Pictures lacked the staying power I like to see in my porn so I rated it as a Rent It. This is the kind of project suited for the couples market more than anything else, the artistic nature of the background material weakening the movie as a hardcore sex flick to form a more erotic type of offering. Carmen Hart was as lovely looking as ever and the rest of the gals seemed to be well suited to the situations but interestingly enough, the highlight of the technical matters was the music. In short, Pleasure Principle was a gateway effort for newcomers but fans of Carmen might want a copy of it too so check it out.