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Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar

Vivid Entertainment/Sunlust Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict

Cast: Sunny Leone, Monica Mayhem, Tori Black, Breanne Benson, Bill Bailey, Ariel King, Lexi Belle, Dale DaBone, Jennifer Dark, Ryan Driller
Non-sex roles: Herschel Savage, Ron Jeremy, Janine Lindemuller, Randy West, Dyanna Lauren, Debi Diamond, Mark Kernes, Jim Powers, Wesley Emerson, Evan Seinfeld, Marci Hirsch, Howard Levine, Shylar Cobi, Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict, Cecil B. Watkins, Duke Manly, Roger Ring, Ralph Parfait, Nicole, Holden Jay, Scott Wallach

Length: 186:33 minutes (full movie): 137:11 minutes (sex only version)

Sunny Leone and Monica Mayhem

Date of Production: 1/22/2010, 4/1/2010, 4/2/2010, 6/29/2010, 6/30/2010, 7/13/2010

Extras: There was a second disc for extras in order to keep the compression rate of the main movie a bit higher (the second, sex only version, of the movie also located on the first disc). It started with a 43:23 minute long Behind the Scenes feature which emphasized Sunny Leone repeatedly but allowed some of the others (mostly the director) a chance to talk too. There was also a 25:25 (17:33 and 7:52) minute long set of interviews, some of the characters quite funny as they worked it like it was part of the movie. Lastly, there was a short photogallery but that was all.

Condoms: None

Tori Black and Sunny Leone

Audio/Video Quality: Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar was presented in 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color (and B&W) as shot by director Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict for distribution by Vivid Entertainment as their latest collaboration with Sunny's new production company, Sunlust Pictures (this being movie #2 for him at the company). The resolution was the expected 480 (it was shot in 1080i) and the mastering process employed the MPEG-2 codec was a drastic improvement from the first time the company released a title but some improvement was noted over "Slumber Party" too. The editing was better since it was a vignette-heavy release using clips and cameos to tell the story, the editing by Von Vogner in the sex scenes a bit less refined than I prefer. The majority of material appeared to have been shot by a single camera this time, missing out on some opportunities as a result but giving the editor something to work with for a change. The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital English with a 192 Kbps bitrate and the standard 48 kHz sampling rate, the vocals similar to the last Sunlust title but still sounding as though some work was left unfinished. The music was generic but fitting in most scenes, the balance between the vocals and ambient noises fairly well played.

Breanne Benson with Bill Bailey

Body of Review: Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict is better known for his leadership of a classic porn company than his directing a few titles distributed by Vivid Entertainment. Still, unlike those who make the bulk of their money directing any project tossed their way, at least he can give his all to special projects, particularly those involving hotty Sunny Leone. The latest case in point would be Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar, a fictional story of a porn star doomed by the excesses of her personality, a work far superior to his last effort with Sunlust Pictures. Sunny Leone was the showcase talent of the movie and while the vignette styled drama had some rough edges, it managed to prove Sunny having potential to really shine outside of her comfort zone in lesbian and non-speaking roles. There was a major effort to include lots of supporting cameos too, most having some connection to Vivid (such as Marci, Howard, and Shylar) but also industry luminaries like Mark Kernes, Jim Powers, Janine, and Ron Jeremy; giving the show some depth rarely found in a porn feature.

Sunny Leone

The original press release described the movie like this: "Fame is fleeting; beauty is only skin deep; you can't take it with you." All of these are true and yet some stars shine so brightly that they remain with us forever. Such is the case with Gia; at the pinnacle of her success, she was the most beautiful and sought after star in adult films. The world truly was at her feet, nothing was beyond her grasp. Her meteoric rise was matched only by her catastrophic fall from grace. Though gone, Gia has left an indelible impression on the industry she left behind. Memories of her smoldering sexual heat are burned into the minds of co-stars and fans across the globe. She is the star by which all other stars are measured today. Her tale can finally be told. "Gia: Portrait of a Porn Star" tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of Gia. As the biggest star in adult films, Gia (Played perfectly by Sunny Leone) had it all. Her movies were the most popular the industry had ever seen and she graced the covers of the biggest magazines on the planet. Gia could have had any man or woman she wanted. Her co-stars begged to work with her and fans waited hours for the opportunity to bask in her beauty for a few seconds. So powerful was her presence that she became the first contract star to ever demand and receive royalties for her performances. Only her controversial fall from grace could match the brilliance of career. In "Gia: Portrait of a Porn Star" she is remembered by those who knew her best, her friends, lovers, peers and fans. At last Gia's story can be told. "Gia: Portrait of a Porn Star" is directed by Spencer Benedict who also directed "Sunny's Slumber Party." Benedict also wrote the script with Sunny Leone in mind for the lead. "I worked with Sunny on Slumber Party and knew that she could hand handle something this challenging," says Benedict. "There are not many performers in the industry who can do a movie with this kind of deep emotion and still bring heat and passion to the sex scenes." Gia represents the most challenging role of Sunny's award-winning career. "This is an amazing movie," states the beautiful starlet. "The script is really tight and we have an fantastic cast. Everyone worked really hard to tell a story and keep the sex as hot as I like it." Joining Sunny in "Gia" are AVN Performer of the Year Tori Black and the legendary Monica Mayhem. In addition to the blistering sexual performances "Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar" also features cameos from some of the biggest names in adult films including legendary performers Janine, Ron Jeremy, Christy Canyon, Randy West, Debi Diamond, Lynn LeMay and Dyanna Lauren as well as top industry directors Jim Powers and Wesley Emerson. Also contributing with cameos are adult film luminaries Howard Levine, Marci Hirsch and AVN Senior Editor Mark Kernes. The characters and events in this movie are fiction, but have been inspired by true stories." Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Sunny Leone with Ariel King

Scene One: Sunny Leone, the fabulously attractive brunette featured on the front cover (and in the whole movie for that matter), was up first as a model for blond photographer Monica Mayhem. Sunny was soon naked and looking her part when Monica was attracted to her, breathing heavily as she went in for a kiss. Sunny became aggressive and pushed her to the wall, their hands caressing each other all over as they continued making out on the couch, Sunny eating her out before using a glass dildo on her. Monica turned the tables on her after a short time, the ladies seemingly into one another at least a little, their chemistry adding to the replay value of the lesbian scene (and movie as a whole). Both ate each other but Sunny was clearly the focal point of the action.

Sunny Leone and Tori Black

Scene Two: Sunny Leone, on another shoot when sultry Tori Black joined in, the pair kissing through the metal fence with coy little kisses until they ended up in a far more intimate bedroom where Sunny's oral love of women kicked in further. There was kissing, slow caresses, and a generally erotic manner of taking time to explore one another, Sunny's arched back as her ass stood high in the air as she ate Tori remarkably bone inducing. Some dildos were deployed too and at that point it became a bit less erotic but still fun to watch, the vocal ladies making it clear they were getting off, some anal with the toys and tongues as well as a technical DP.

Lexi Belle with Dale DaBone

Scene Three: Breanne Benson, a curvy blond wearing skimpy underwear, was up next with moper Bill Bailey in bed, the scene part of a porno shoot. He was dressed and her hands wandered as much on her own body as his own, the guy orally warming her up before she reciprocated with an aggressive knob slobbing. The couple were soon actively riding in some vaginal positions, the gal bouncing on cock until eventually jerking him off as his genetic juice flew all over her face, their personal chemistry questionable but their energy levels high.

Jennifer Dark with Ryan Driller

Scene Four: Sunny Leone, next up on a porn set where she was wearing blue bikini undies, her thong separating those fine cheeks of hers nicely as Ariel King felt her up. He nuzzled her breasts and went down on her in a 69 position, Sunny giving a surprisingly strong blowjob as she knelt before him. Sunny even did the honors of jerking the large load out of him, her upper torso and tits coated with population pudding by the time they were done.

Scene Five: Sunny Leone, now infatuated with the tattooed Ariel King, spent a lot of time with him as she fell in love, ending up in bed with him. She wore a black & red bikini lingerie outfit, the couple kissing before she slobbed his knob, using her hand to increase the friction as she engaged in something of a grudge fuck with him as she fell lower into her ultimate fate. I wasn't keen on the many edits showing Tori watching them and fretting (kind of problematic as a cock block) but he gave her a little oral as well before they started vaginally banging. Sunny looked great here and her fleshy breasts appealed as they bounced around, Ariel grabbing her hair as he became more aggressive with her. He may not be in the first three tiers of meat puppets but at least his chemistry with Sunny added to the effect of the scene. She was an active vaginal rider and took his load of spew jerked off to her face well, swallowing at least part of it.

Scene Six: Sunny Leone and Tori Black, together again in bed while wearing sexy tops and panties, enjoyed each other in yet another lesbian scene punctuated with the same kind of erotic flavor but decidedly more hunger in bed. Tori took a more active role here and ravished Sunny orally, licking her lover as Sunny moaned aloud in pleasure, both feeling each other up as the clothing came off. There was some toy use too but the oral was never far from ruling the action, Sunny a net receiver of pleasure this time (though adding more dirty talk towards the end).

Scene Seven: Lexi Belle, a cute blond sprite of a woman with an adoring attitude and hot body, was up next in a porn scene with Dale DaBone, Sunny having elevated her status to that of uncaring director ("just turn the camera on and point it at them"). Lexi was juiced up and ready to go, Dale servicing her orally for far too short a period of time until Lexi went nuts on his pecker, slobbing his knob actively using her hands and mouth in unison. She provided some solid eye contact too, her virtuoso performance orally leading to another active bout of vaginal boning. She was best in the cowgirl variations but looked darned fine in the doggy, bumping uglies balls deep as she sought to get off while making all present happy. She did not seem to get off but found him appealing enough, his semen flying towards her face by his own hand at the end of the tryst.

Scene Eight: Jennifer Dark, a lean brunette with pretty eyes and an almost predatory manner towards her sexuality, was up last in bed with Ryan Driller, the gal taking her time descending towards his jeans covered cock before inhaling his dick orally. Her oral skills were solid and she made him ready in no time at all, Ryan going down on her briefly before the couple banged vaginally in a fairly active manner. While they were picking up the pace, the scene slowed down to allow them to engage in some anal penetration, Ryan tapping her fine ass as she lightly pushed back to go deeper. She rubbed her own clitoris while he did and the guy burst forth with a modest wad of spunk all over her crotch, ending the movie sexually on a mixed note.

Summary: Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar by director Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict for Vivid Entertainment had more cameos than any movie of late, provided more Sunny Leone fuck for the buck than any feature on the market (and she is in some of the biggest name releases of the season), and had tighter technical values than any of her previous flicks for Sunlust so I rated it as Highly Recommended. The amounts of replay value, strokability, and even quality of story was such that it was clearly a keeper for the collection, likely to earn some award nominations given its relative strengths. In short, Gia: Portrait of a Pornstar borrowed from various sources and fans of a certain mainstream movie might find the non-sexual portions a bit too close for comfort but ultimately, the movie served both the raincoater community as well as fans of features with some thought provoking material, making it the kind of movie you will want to watch over and over again thanks in large part to Sunny's performance. I wasn't too keen on the advertised "over five hours of footage since much of it was duplicated effort (the second version of the movie) and the claim of Sunny's "first anal and DP" being misleading (toys really don't count folks) but it was by far the best movie from her studio to date and hopefully a sign of things to come.