Sessions

Vivid Entertainment

Genre: Feature

Director: David Stanley

Cast: Briana Banks, John Stong, Joel Lawrence, Michelle Michaels, Randy Spears, Wendy Divine, Eric Masterson, Lezley Zen, Sharon Kane
Non-sex roles by: Jim Steel, Trevor Zen, Misty Dawn, Jack R. Frost, Liquid, Roxy Blaze

Length: 74 minutes

Date of Production: 11/12/2002

Extra's: 8 minute long Behind the Scenes featurette, three related bonus scenes (they had Briana in them) and two unrelated bonus sex scenes, two photogalleries, positions room, trailers, short Briana Banks biography, double sided DVD cover, forced spam (you couldn't skip the phone sex or other advertisements)

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the typical full frame 1.33:1 ratio color that most porno's are shot. There was a bunch of grain and other visual defects but it wasn't as bad looking as many older Vivid releases shot around the same time. The compression artifacts were minimal and the action often strong enough to mask the visual deficiencies. The audio was presented in the same stereo English Vivid usually employs with some minor separation between the channels. The vocals were definitely second-class citizens here as the music took center stage, music that was often not appropriate to the action taking place.

Body of Review: For all the criticism Vivid has taken over the years, one fact remains indisputable, they make a lot of money. Critics and know-it-alls tend to forget this fact on a regular basis, failing to realize that the company is geared to providing entertainment to a broader audience, typically couples or people new to porn rather than jaded old porn hounds like myself. The company has had a large stable of contract stars for years, many of them very attractive, and this gives them the kind of street credibility many other companies simply don't have with the market niche they focus on. In a newly released movie of theirs from 2002, Sessions, the movie centers on a group therapy session led by porn veteran Sharon Kane, who has the cast act out their fantasies, primarily Briana Banks. Fans of Briana Banks should definitely take a look at this one but here's a breakdown of the scenes for all of you out there:

Scene One: Briana, cutie on the front DVD cover, and John, were well under way after the initial credits rolled. He was taking her from behind, anally at that, and she seemed to be barely tolerating the action. She then took off his condom and started deep throating him on their well-worn couch, after which they went back to anal action. It ended with a small pop shot to her chest. She looked good here but I couldn't help but feel cheated out of some footage (for the record, I hate the multiple angles employed, preferring to see the action in linear fashion).

Scene Two: Briana, again taking the lead, let one of the guys, Joel this time, take her ass from behind. They were at group therapy and there was no build up, oral or other action to prepare, which was kind of jarring. She then blew him and they screwed vaginally in reverse cowgirl fashion although the other cast members looked disinterested. The inappropriate music weakened the sex and the vocals usually took backseat to said music. They did a few more positions and he popped on her chest.

Scene Three: Michelle, a bleached blonde gal with a pretty warm body, and Randy, were up next in front of the group. Her powerful legs and ass were her best feature and she initiated the action by jerking him off with her feet. I figured it would warm up this way and progress to something a bit hotter (for me at least) but he came on her toes. Oh well, I guess you can't say the movie followed as much a formula as director Stanley's movies usually do.

Scene Four: Wendy, not quite looking like her character's twenty-five year old virgin, and real life husband Eric, were called to perform next for the group. I like these two and their scene was fun as they orally pleased one another and had sex in a few positions. While they only did oral and vaginal sex, they always seem to share some chemistry together. As a side note, the other performers jerked one another off as they watched.

Scene Five: Michelle, taking up where she left off, had a scene with Randy on a beat up old couch. The decision to have a sepia toned intermission with the two going at it might have worked if planned better but all it did was distract from the fun until it reverted to a straight forward scene where she blew him, quite well I might add, and then they screwed in a couple positions. In keeping with his character, he jerked off onto her foot but at least he didn't lick it clean.

Scene Six: Lezley, a lean brunette that was drastically under utilized here (with just a bit of fingering going on in scene four) finally had a full scene, with Briana, in front of the crowd. They did oral to one another and then used a large dildo to get off. Sharon Kane masturbated while watching but only for a moment.

Summary: I'm going to rate this one as a Rent It because as much as I like Briana and some of the other cast members here, the technical limitations and length of the feature movie were just not enough to suggest this one as being worth buying for anyone except huge fans of the cast. Recent efforts by Vivid, even director Davis Stanley, have been better but even the decent extras couldn't elevate the replay value enough to promote this one more readily. Fans of Briana could do a lot worse, but they could also do better.

Note: You can see recent candid shots of several of these performers by visiting: My Photo's and read about their antics at 2004 AEE Show.