Hard Candy 2

Digital Playground/Handheld Pictures

Genre: Gonzo

Director: Robby D.

Cast: Charlotte Stokely, Scott Nails, Riley Shy, Erik Everhard, Claire Robbins, Tony T., Hillary Scott, Jessi Summers, Jerry, Kinzie Kenner

Length: 138.5 minutes

Dates of Production: 5/18/2005 to 4/19/2006

Extras: The standardized extras were a photogallery, a cumshot recap, a slide show and trailers to Control 3, Pulse POV, and Hard Candy 1, but not movies like Peek: Diary of a Voyeur, Jack's Playground 31, Sexual Freak, My First Porn 5, Jack's Teen America 14, Hot Rod For Sinners, Deeper 2, POV 2, Hard Candy 1, Deeper, Jack's POV, Jack's Big Ass Show 2, My First Porn 4, Pirates, Island Fever, Jack's Big Tit Show, Porcelain, Teen America 13 or numerous trailers to their Virtual Sex line including Virtual Sex with Sophia Santi, Virtual Sex with Teagan Presley, Virtual Sex with Jesse Jane, and Virtual Sex with Nikki Tyler as most of the DVDs seem to showcase (the length of the movie squeezed them out I guess).

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Hard Candy 2 was presented in what appeared to be a 1.85:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color as originally shot by the talented Robby D. for Digital Playground. The lighting was very good in all the scenes, limiting most of the grain and video noise during the sex. The amount of shadows was also limited, thanks in large part to the seasoned eye of director Robby but also the others who participated on the project (Nick's editing for example). The composition of the shots enhanced the look of the gals in every case although the limitations of the gonzo format prevented Robby from truly innovating much here. Thankfully, the goal of gonzo porn is not to be innovative so much as convey heated performances, something this series has long been established as providing in spades. The other good news is that the DVD mastering was as good as ever and I didn't see any compression artifacts. The audio was presented in a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English where the vocals were likely captured in monaural but the limited music and sound effects were added in on the other channels. In large part, this being a gonzo release means the audio wasn't a huge concern but the vocals were clearly discernable and added to the heat of the scenes.

Body of Review: Digital Playground was once known for providing artistically shot erotica for couples and women to enjoy with the occasional feature title for the gathering of awards. In the last few years, the company diversified by placing a lot of stock in the talents of director Robby D.; a man known for expanding the boundaries of whatever he was tasked with shooting to the point allowed. This led to numerous gonzo series all but taking over the company with the result that many fans and critics alike have shown some surprise at the conversion. They still make some erotica and their features are well known (ever hear of Pirates?) but their gonzo titles have been extremely well made of late so I gave one of their latest a look, a title called Hard Candy 2. Much like Hard Candy 1, the emphasis was on young ladies having sex without any impediments, including a lot of anal and other hardcore action that would have been completely out of place in the company's previous releases several years back. Still, while I prefer some experience in my gals, the end result was pretty solid so here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used:

Scene One: Charlotte Stokely, the milky white 19 year old on the front DVD cover, was up first as she played with a jack-in-the-box in a bedroom. Losing interest while she combed her hair, she was soon getting punished by Scott Nails for owning a dildo that he came across. He paddled her fleshy behind with a hairbrush, adding some color to her near-albino flesh as he savored the moment. She ended up in the corner as he jerked off, taking off her clothing as directed to as she masturbated and looked longingly at his meaty member. He obliged her desire and fed her his cock, which she actively sucked while on her knees. Once fully erect, he started banging her pussy with her putting on an act like it was larger than she was capable of easily handling. She was passive in terms of the vaginal ride and it was far shorter than usual with him rubbing out a light load to her face to close things out.

Scene Two: Riley Shy, a redheaded gal playing a cheerleader in need of money, decided the best way to raise the dough to go on a road trip with her squad to the finals was to play the submissive sex slave of studly Erik Everhard. She was in her uniform and blindfolded as he licked her body in the living room, arousing her by the looks of her erect nipples that he so enjoyed playing with. This wasn't enough for him as he brushed her white cotton panties to the side and started eating her out; with her cooing in pleasure as he did so. This led to her blindfold coming off and her sitting on his cock as she actively rode his cock in her pussy like she wanted more. She did some taste testing between positions and was soon covered in semen all over her face. It wasn't a great ride either but fans of youthful gals will undoubtedly appreciate that her skills have yet to be developed fully.

Scene Three: Claire Robbins, a gal that has show the world a decidedly tomboy look in many of her scenes to date, was up next as she sat in a chair with her ass sticking out as though it were begging for attention. Robby felt her up and made a few limited noises of delight but her tease carried on just the same as if she were ignoring him. She then masturbated on the couch, fingering her asshole and providing quite a little show until she was joined by both Tony T. and Scott Nails; each of whom was at half mast until she sucked them off with the kind of appreciation most men wish women had when they weren't seeking something special in return. Tony was the one who largely broke the virtual silence of the scene and she did seem to look at the camera several times but once they started screwing her, they went all out and tapped both holes at once in a DP. She got vocal as they took turns on her ass though and while she seemed much more happy taking on one at a time, it was a passive screw for the most part as the men did all the work. The scene ended with her smiling again and the men dropping out loads for her to appreciate; with her make up all messed up as a result.

Scene Four: Hillary Scott, a busty little cutie wearing a pink top and blue jeans, went to the kitchen to get a snack with the camera following her ass shaking throughout the house. She kicked back on the living room couch, drank her soda, and ate her red licorice as she eyed the television's remote control while on the cell phone. She described her previous night's bit of fun at giving a guy head when Erik Everhard sat down beside her to eat some potato chips. They annoyed each other (and it was made clear they weren't biologically related) to the point that Hillary claimed it was all the result of sexual tension so she teased him into whipping it out for her to suck. He was initially flaccid and after a few moments of her attention, this was rectified and the couple started getting into it as a result after that. She jerked him off as he jilled her clitoris, both getting sweaty and her performing like she was increasingly turned on (great vocals on her part by the way). It was an active vaginal ride that appeared purposefully awkward at times, with a technical DP taking place as the result of a knobbed glass dildo shoved in her ass. After more screwing of her tight little cookie, he took her anally as she begged him to do, with the ATM and load coming out as expected. It was a very heated scene with solid chemistry.

Scene Five: Jessi Summers, one of the cutest gals to recently leave porn, was up next on a couch with Jerry as part of a revenge fuck against her ex-boyfriend. There was some nice tease footage and Jerry didn't seem to care what her motivation was since he was busy tasting her all over as she showed herself. The scene advertised as her first anal and while I'm not one of those guys that cares about such things, I settled in to see if she would act like she was having fun. Jerry focused all his efforts at getting her warmed up and she gave him some fine head as she slobbed his knob in a happy manner. I was surprised that she rimmed him (tossing a man's salad isn't all that common in porn yet) but as part of her oral agenda, it made sense since she was very skilled and seemingly experienced from hundreds of cocks in her throat. He then gave her some attention with his fingers and mouth, leading to him porking her pussy and later ass. She talked a good game but relied on him to do the work as she passively kicked back to receive his offering in the various positions. She did give some energy when sitting in his lap reverse cowgirl style (vaginal only) and seemed to swallow the little load in her mouth but it was a limited scene in most ways.

Scene Six: Kinzie Kenner, a major hotty with brown hair and a great set of lungs, was up next as she drove in the rain to be interviewed for a position. All dressed up, she looked especially appealing to me and could be my personal assistant any time she wanted. Her interviewer was Jerry and he eyed her throughout the short interview (like most of us would) with her black leather skirt hugging her firm ass and her unbuttoned blouse offering a glimpse of heaven as he had her bend over the table. He spanked her and she seemed to enjoy it, coaxing him to work her fleshy ass all the more (with her responding favorably). He lifted her skirt and worked her over through her pantyhose, leading to him pounding her pussy hard from behind. The skipping of the blowjob wasn't missed but she made up for it later as she gave him one of those sloppy hummers she is so infamous for. She provided some excellent dirty talk as he banged her ass with her working it as best she could in the position she was in )reverse cowgirl modified by laying in his lap). He pulled out and came a whole lot on her pussy, abdomen, and all over their crotches with her licking it up off her fingers (as he "glazed her like a donut" as she put it). Amazingly, he put his cock back in her ass for some more loving and gave her another load, this time to the face, to close out. It was a great scene for me and almost enough to elevate the rating of the movie from the weaker scenes encountered.

Summary: Hard Candy 2 had two excellent scenes by director Robby D. but as much as all of the others had certain aspects I enjoyed watching, they also had a number of limitations that prevented them from claiming "gold" status as Robby likes to refer to. To be fair, the levels of fuck for the buck, technical excellence, and youthful ladies having fun were enough to put most releases by other companies to shame but it wasn't as good as many of his recent titles either. One of the pitfalls of making scores of great titles is that a release that isn't as much fun (but still better than a lot of what passes for porn elsewhere) suffers as a result so the best I could rate this one was as a Rent It. In short, Hard Candy 2 was more than enough for fans who are used to the lesser works of others but not up to the usual standards of Robby D. unless you're into passive ladies still working to live up to their potential.