Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground

Vivid Entertainment/Teravision

Genre: Feature

Director: Paul Thomas

Cast: Tera Patrick, Tommy Gunn, Faith, Marcus Leon, Shy Love, Chloe Morgan, Trent Tesoro, Lanny Barby, Spyder Jonez, Ava Ramon, Aaliyah Jolie, Steven St. Croix, Penny Flame, Chris Cannon, Jean Val Jean

Non-sex roles: Samantha Ryan, Erika Jordan, Mikayla, Lisa Daniel, Sir Nik, Domenico; others uncredited

Length: 119 minutes

Date of Production: 1/13/2006 (box); 3/14/2006-3/16/2006 (credits)

Extra's: Most fans will appreciate the tossed in bonus scenes from other movies the most, including Monique Alexander & Derrick Pierce in The Sitter; Stefani Morgan & Courtney Simpson in Rawhide; Mercedez & Steven St. Croix in Karma; Lanny Barby & Lexie Marie in Spiked; and Briana Banks & Erik Everhard in an uncredited scene that probably came from Briana Loves Jenna. I actually prefer material made uniquely for the title in hand (especially since I tend to own a lot of movies) so the interesting 19 minute Behind the Scenes feature by director Ben "Hank" Hoffman was my favorite. It had director Paul Thomas making sweeping statements (with a gleam in his eye telling those paying attention that he was kidding), Tera looking lovely, Lanny as hot as ever, cutie Penny flashing Hank (and making him a life long fan as a result), showing Spyder and Jean in a lighter moment as well as a whole lot more. It was well done and I just wish it lasted longer, though Paul's digs on other director's for using Vampires, Pirates, and special effects in order to "tell a real story" seemed a bit curious given the lack of a plot in this one. There was a Tera Patrick biography, a positions room, some trailers, two photogalleries (mis-coded photogalleries though; click on Tera's and you get the main movie one and vice versa), a true double sided DVD cover, a unique plastic DVD case (the kind that break far too easy from my experience), and some spam.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground was presented in a non-anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen color as shot by director Paul Thomas (director of photography was Ralph Parfait) for Vivid Entertainment in cooperation with Teravision. The movie was another one shot on film (16mm or perhaps Super 8) and for those of you that pay attention, which translates into lots of grain. I know film provides a different set of attributes but even on a "big budget" movie as this was advertised on the front cover to be, the tradeoffs seem to be a mistake. The lighting was decent but the levels of grain and compression artifacts were a nuisance, especially in the darker scenes. On a curious note, there were some moments provided on video that were crystal clear by comparison (the BTS looked sharp and great by comparison too); further punctuating the mistake of film (to me, film is either an ego driven media in porn or done for awards in an obsolete category, almost all the time). The composition of the shots showed a lot of skill at enhancing the look of the ladies and while the editing seemed in great need of polishing up (perhaps for a director's cut in the future), it seemed to be a well made movie outside of the medium used to record the scenes. The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital English with a modicum of separation between the channels. The vocals were generally easy to hear and the music had sufficient variation that only a few pieces bothered me. The use of rap styled bits seemed out of place to the action but your mileage may vary in that regard.

Body of Review: Paul Thomas has been directing at Vivid Entertainment for many years now, sometimes showing the spark of creativity when all the elements come together. Porn is a decidedly guerilla shooting genre and with budgets as low as they are (even on "big budget" releases), how anything gets done at all is sometimes a mystery. In his latest collaboration with Teravision, he now presents Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground, a slight melodrama centering on skewering the fashion industry stereotypes we all recognize, using the plot device of a model trying to break out on her own. Starring Tera Patrick as the super model, her real life husband Spyder Jonez as the man desperate to win her back, and a side plot starring the cute Penny Flame as a fledgling reporter trying to make a name for herself, the movie was a fluff bit but a good fluff bit in many ways (sexually more enjoyable than Thomas' Emperor for example), so fans of his work and of Tera will have a winner to look forward to. The back cover said it like this: "Tera is determined to go out on top of the fashion model circuit. But she's surrounded by people dead set on bringing her down. Bitchy designers, luscious hard-body girls eager to take her place, fashion editors looking for the latest scandal to sell their magazines and news shows. But her biggest worry is the ex partner who's returned from prison. Not knowing what he's looking for or who he is out to fuck this time, she's doing her best to avoid him. She just wants to make a clean break from being the beautiful object of desire on the runway. And she's willing to put her ass on the line to do it." There was a lot more going on but in all, it was a fun flick, probably held up on purpose or by virtue of the difficulty of film past the AVN Awards deadline. Here's a look at the scenes, noting that no condoms were used:

Scene One: Tera Patrick, the hotty on the front DVD cover, was up first as she made out with studly Tommy Gunn in the privacy of a room after lots of set up for the plot about fashion world politics. Her black lingerie hugged her form nicely and he got her wet orally before she gave him a short but sweet hummer and titty fuck. Tera's sexual skills have grown tremendously over the years and her use of dirty talk enhanced the scene too. They moved to doing various positions of vaginal penetration, her getting more active as she warmed up, pumping on his cock with a nice amount of energy. They did some mutual masturbation before he popped on her chest with some post coital sucking. It was a solid scene to open with, Tera sweetening the package more than a little bit by her presence (with some ecstatic that she was working with a man other then her hubby after a reported three or four year break).

Scene Two: Faith, a gal with beautiful eyes and a lean body, wore a skimpy bit of see through lingerie as she enticed Marcus Leon to go down on her in the hotel bedroom. The two have long had a lot of chemistry together and she responded well to his oral advances before actively reciprocating with a blowjob. He then started nailing her cookie as she moaned for pleasure; the scene cutting away for the moment to be edited into the rest of the movie (a style I really hate). As the story progressed, they screwed pretty feverishly for those who care. That led to some heated anal action with her cheeks rippling as he tore into her ass, her rubbing herself as she got off in the harder action of the scene., ending in a pop shot to her ass.

Scene Three: Shy Love, a busty brunette, Chloe Morgan in her first scene, and mop squad member Trent Tesoro, were up next at the party when the ladies started slobbing his knob after warming each other up. Shy had more curves and better sexual skills but Chloe added something to the mix as well. The dynamic of what they did with one another changed a few times though, Shy riding him first as Chloe sat beside them on the couch and masturbated with a slight sense of indifference. Shy was an active rider of cock compared to Chloe, but the newcomer warmed up with time; leading to Shy doing anal. It ended with a facial and while it wasn't as solid as the previous two scenes (at least sans editing for scene two), it wasn't bad either.

Scene Four: Lanny Barby, the busty brunette mega-hotty contract Canadian gracing far too few Vivid movies this year, was up next with Spyder Jonez. I was guessing that this was his part of the deal to like his wife have scenes with other men in the movie; the scene ending up a sort of revenge fuck when their character's spouses went off together. Lanny had some dialogue in French earlier in the movie (a great idea since her language skills in English hold her back during dialogue scenes) and I am pleased to report that she was looking as exceptionally beautiful and sexy as ever. Say what you will about Spyder (and believe me, I have), but his acting skills were well above average for a porno, not needing the near parody level of over acting St. Croix seemed to affect in the flick. He may not have the biggest cock in porn but he did a decent job in the scene and most fans have come to accept that the meat puppet is secondary most of the time, Thomas using a brilliant idea to make the scene better; the use of a dark bedroom to increase the dynamic. She was as sexually aggressive as ever and both of them orally attacked one another with him throatfucking her before driving it home for real. There was a lot of energy this time and while the chemistry he has working with Tera might not have been present, raw energy has a way of making up for it nicely. The scene ended with a titty pop before going back to another round of scene two.

Scene Five: Ava Ramon, sporting a new blonde look to go with her large breasts, lean and all natural Aaliyah Jolie, and effeminate over actor Steven St. Croix, were up in the following scene as the ladies made out in the warehouse the designer was using to create his latest fashions. The gals were licking and sucking each other that even a gay man would want to get in on the action, him going down on them as he jumped right in on Aaliyah while she ate Ava. This led to them double teaming his cock orally, showing that sharing is caring, before Ava went to masturbating as she watched Steven nail Aaliyah anally (technically, she was in her own little world at the time but that sounds better). He then moved over to get some of the busty babe's goodies, drilling her with an equal degree of energy as the roles of the ladies switched (Ava adding some dirty talk); leading to both of them lining up for him. The ending pop on Aaliyah's cheeks was anticlimactic but aside from a lot of rough edges in editing, it wasn't a bad scene.

Scene Six: Penny Flame, having discarded her role as reporter in favor of sexual vixen, was up next in the kitchen with Chris Cannon. I like Penny for the kind of silly but passionate playfulness that she adds to most of her scenes, the Southern accent a hoot as her lithe form practically fell out of the skimpy black lingerie. He ate her out on the metal counter and the effect on her was immediate, interrupted (sadly enough) by the runway show with thumping (C) rap music. He was fingering her when the edit came back to them and she showed how great a cocksucker she can be before he started hammering away at her fine little pussy. She was bent over the counter as he tapped into her, giving her some PTM when they switched positions to do cowgirl, with missionary ending the warm scene before the facial. Except for the editing, the scene was another one worthy of lots of replay, thanks to her ability to generate heat from her skillful performance.

Scene Seven: Tera Patrick, having announced her partnership with Jean Val Jean, to start their own firm, celebrated their business union with a more carnal copulation then a mere handshake by going into the back room where she slowly slobbed his knob while on her knees. He appeared to like this act of submitting to his will and was soon taking her aggressively from behind as he pulled her hair. They did a lot of standing vaginal positions before the ending titty pop. It was a decent scene though more of the appeal came from the energy then the chemistry.

Summary: Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground by director Paul Thomas for Vivid Entertainment was surprisingly good for the entertainment value, strokability, and replay factor thanks to a star studded cast including Tera Patrick, Lanny Barby, and Penny Flame in their sexual roles as well as Spyder Jonez in his role as the escaped convict seeking revenge on a nonsexual basis. Most of the other performers seemed to be adequate to their roles (Steven St. Croix, often a very talented guy in his non-sex roles, was decidedly over acting; trying to be Evan Stone by the sounds of it with his effeminate character). For all the faults of film causing grain and artifacts though, the technical matters were handled well enough and the extras combined with the levels of fuck for the buck to warrant a rating of Highly Recommended for fans of the cast like me. The story lacked any real sense but you can always skip that in favor of the sex, the real strength of Tera Patrick's Fashion Underground. It may have been a slight melodrama dressed up with sexual encounters but they were often good enough sexual encounters that most people won't mind the missing vampires, pirate ships, and plot, so check it out.