Performers of the Year

Elegant Angel

Brianna Love

Genre: Gonzo

Director: William H. Nutsack

Rebeca Linares

Cast: Brianna Love, James Deen, Rebeca Linares, Anthony Rosano, Alexis Texas, Mr. Pete, Eva Angelina, Jada Fire, Mark Ashley, Sasha Grey, Mick Blue, Jenna Haze, Mark Davis

Length: 259:32 minutes

Alexis Texas

Date of Production: 1/5/2008 (box); 1/6/2008 (credits)

Eva Angelina

Extra's: Double disc sets from high end companies like Evil Angel and Jules Jordan are almost standard these days but the rest of the industry shies away from providing the kind of serious amounts of fuck for the buck, claiming the extra sales don't justify the expenses involved. Thankfully, Elegant joins the ranks of the serious contenders with this package, starting off with a wealth of previously released bonus scenes that look unaltered, including Brianna Love's scene from Massive Asses 1, Eva Angelina's scene from Cum Drenched Tits 2, Jenna Haze in Celebusluts, and even Jada Fire in her Squirtwoman title (totaling up to almost two full hours of quality smut!). There were also six trailers, a lengthy photogallery, a Blooper Reel lasting 2:24 minutes, an interview with the director lasting 14:12 minutes (shot by Mason), spam, a 29:30 minute long Retrospective of 2007 for the company (using footage taken from the BTS features of their movies in the year), a pop shot compilation, a sweet picture of Alexis Texas on the back cover, and a relatively mild 13:35 minute long Behind the Scenes feature. I have long liked the goofy antics of William on his sets (as shown in various BTS offerings) and his musings about the show seemed quite interesting as well but the quantity of strokable porn added in made this a winner out of the gate!

Jada Fire

Condoms: None

Sasha Grey

Audio/Video Quality: Performers of the Year was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color as shot by director William H. Nutsack for Elegant Angel. The camera work was solid with plentiful lighting to reduce the grain, video noise and shadows but the picture did not appear as crisp this time; likely as a result of jamming so much information on the two discs (lowering the compression rate allows for more material on the same size disc). This is one area that William used to be less consistent so I applaud his efforts at continually improving the quality in his better works; proving William works at making the best porn possible. I saw a few compression artifacts (it was largely falling around the mid 2 Mbps video bitrate) and the composition of the camera angles strongly favored the female performers better than some of the director's previous works (but still on par with his more recent efforts for those in a comparison mode). The 2.0 Dolby Digital English track was pretty basic with little separation or dynamic range yet I could hear the cast well enough in most cases. The scenes were largely quiet so those of you into Nutsack's musical interludes might feel left out, even the ending a techno offering sans his comedic touch. For those keeping track, the audio was offered in a 192 Kbps offering, plenty of room considering how little took place on it but leaving room for future efforts too.

Jenna Haze

Body of Review: William H. Nutsack is best known as one of those crazy gonzo directors working for Elegant Angel these days, the man seeming to sport the "golden touch" these days as more fans jump on board his brand of smut. In person, he is very low key, almost shy, but letting his work speak for itself suits the man and having seen a lot of it, it sure speaks loudly. Every year, each company puts a lot of additional resources into making a standout fuck flick or two for awards purposes, one such title, a title that was featured as a cover we crave not too long ago here at Xcritic, that serves as a shining example of this dynamic in play is Performers of the Year, a double disc extravaganza using some of the very best ladies in porn today. Unlike some of Elegant's showcase titles of late, this one relies less on the appeal of an individual so much as the collective appeal of a full cast of top notch hotties that have garnered a lot of acclaim, some of them more recently then others. When names like Brianna Love, Eva Angelina, Jenna Haze, Sasha Grey, Alexis Texas, Jada Fire, and Rebeca Linares appear in a single movie, you can't help but believe this was designed to appease all the hardcore crowd at once, silencing the critics in the process. There was a lot of anal, plenty of extras, and more stroke material than even I could get through in a single sitting so you know it had to be something special. If that sounds appealing to you, here's a quick glimpse into the double disc set, noting that no condoms were used:

Scene One: Brianna Love, the great looking blond on the far right hand side of the cover, was up first and she began the scene by talking with the director about how she "exploded" in 2007 after years in the industry. He mentioned it as her being the "talk of the town" but realistically it had more to do with her being the large-assed gonzo favorite of the masses (and getting three highly publicized showcase titles by various companies didn't hurt either; this scene shot in the second week of December). The scene itself was interesting in starting off like a music video, complete with credits on the lower left hand corner as is the standard, her ass shaking tease taking place in a large warehouse space. Once the music video introduction was over, she was immediately paired with moper James Deen; the pair kissing passionately. He pawed her titties while she felt up his package, James moving to her ass in no time. Brianna's active oral skills were put to good use as well, the gal focusing her efforts as if trying to milk his nut way too early. He then spent almost no time going down on her before pounding her pussy as hard as he could, Brianna cranking up the vocals and eventually doing some PTM. They then moved the act to a conveniently placed couch in the middle of the room, Brianna bouncing on his cock anally as he slapped her rump. The scene closed up with him jerking off to her face with a modest load of population pudding, Brianna smiling as she gave up some post coital sucking. Whew!

Scene Two: Rebeca Linares, a very seductive little brunette from Spain, was up next as she followed the formula by giving a limited interview with William in front of a TV set. He tempted her with fruit and tested her language skills, the lean girl another extreme queen anal performer gaining a following in 2007. Her music video was more of an erotic styled clip as she teased in the make up room, the music a couple notches above usual here too. Her scene was then with moper Anthony Rosano, making me wonder if the money saved by using third tier males to pay for the top females was such a good idea. I know porn is all about the women to most of us but my experience is that females respond better to quality partners so I had my doubts at the pennywise idea explored here. Rebeca was a darling in all ways though and responded like Anthony was the main man, going beyond mechanical screwing to savor the experience. He paid tribute to her feet and foot fetish fans will adore how she purred in delight to the treatment, the guy moving up to her cookie before she went all out on his rod. The blowjob was high powered and hardcore, the streamers flying about and Rebeca showing that youthful or not, she had what it took to display the goods really well. She immediately mounted him after that and pumped on his modest member aggressively, driving him crazy as she slapped and choked him. It was almost as if she were fucking him the way her hips moved; Anthony taking the rough stuff she wanted in stride and serving it up almost as well. As expected, Rebeca did anal here too, this time in doggy and showing how she could pump back on cock, but it was not her very best such scene to date even if she did do ATM before the ending facial. Still, it was a solid scene and contributed to the replay value of the double disc set.

Scene Three: Alexis Texas, the only gal in the movie with a bigger ass than Brianna, was up next as she gave her interview; William pointing out how big a splash she had made in the first nine months of her career. The native Texan was shown on the far left hand side of the front cover and gave the term "ample sample" a whole new meaning thanks to her award winning ass. She shook her money maker in the music video ever so slightly, building up the heat with her moves and adding in some oil antics that drove me crazy. Her scene was with Mr. Pete in the kitchen and having seen the pair signing at the recent AEE together (at the RLD booth), I got a head's up on the scene that both of them swore I would love. She was looking better than ever and he was insistent as he bent her over the counter, exploring her labia to discover a lot of wetness that he then fed her. His oral antics were minimal but she came out sucking as she inhaled his dick so enthusiastically; wrapping her lips around the shaft to service him as best she could. Pete may look like a lame guy but he likes women and can perform up to speed so this was the first scene that both of the performers were giving 100%. They were into one another the entire time, not just when he throat fucked her, and she continued to perform really passionately as they bumped uglies; pounding herself down on his lap as he spanked her after they moved to the living room couch. Of note too was the way they kissed so much, giving each other adoring eyes though he rubbed out the smallest load I think I've ever seen from the guy on her ass cheek. Yowza!

Scene Four: Eva Angelina, the sole brunette on the cover but certainly one that has been a top talent for a long time (winning numerous recent awards from all the usual groups too), was up next as she proved to be well worth the marketing hype. This was shot in December too and she had been in porn for four and a half years as well, her down to earth nature appealing on a different level than some of the others. She smoked during her interview and the metallic silver bikini from her music video was great looking as it hugged her curves. Relatively new to anal, she was sporting an ass stretching butt plug as she teased during the actual scene, her partner being Anthony Rosano. While not my first, second, or third choice for her to work with, Eva made the best of the situation and gyrated some more, going down on him after she removed (and tasted) the plug. He was in a suit and it came off to grant her full access, his balls getting some loving from her too. The hummer was one of the best in the show and I have to give him credit for holding out as she jerked him off and otherwise orally worked him so aggressively. They moved from the hallway to the bed where she warmed up her pussy with his dick; her cookie swallowing his penis "really deep" as she worked herself on top of him. That eventually led to anal in doggy where her perfect pucker was perforated while she loudly appreciated it. The lengthy scene finished on the yellow easy chair where he allegedly gave her an anal creampie (she farted some of it out) but she made this a great scene easily comparable to any of the others here. Sweet!

Scene Five: Jada Fire, a curvy black woman that has been in porn a longer time than most, was the second to last scene of the first disc and she broke the formula by giving an exhausted look from the end of her scene so she had little to say. Her fetish video out by the pool was sultry but not overt, her gyrations shown best by the full sun in her black outfit. She moved inside by the fireplace but it really wasn't the same though I wouldn't have kicked her out for it. Her partner was Mark Ashley and as the top male talent of the day (tied with Mick below)that I've seen her work with in the past, I knew where she was so tired from in that opener. He ravaged her breasts orally and both of them were all over each other, knowing exactly what to expect and how to get each other off being the best bonus of the day. He ate her ass and pussy before she engulfed his rod so heatedly, the chemistry better than any of the scenes to this point except maybe Alexis and Pete. He power pounded her pussy in numerous positions before she gave him a hot blowjob, moving to anal after that where she started talking dirty even more. The scene ended with him busting a nut on her great ass, launching the largest load of the day to finish her off; Jada totally exhausted. Yes!

Scene Six: Sasha Grey, a relative newcomer with an air of innocence about her all natural and skinny body, was the very last scene of the first disc and her interview was in color by the piano. They talked about her meteoric rise to infamy in the industry and what she liked to do, her freak nature liking it all (including BDSM). Her music video seemed like the sound was too distorted but it still suited her, especially how it ended with her in the arms of award winning stud Mick Blue. He hugged and caressed her body as he showered her with little kisses, removing her clothing to access all of her favorite spots. Sasha reciprocated with a sloppy hummer that included impossibly deepthroating his member in her tiny mouth; jumping on his dick as soon as he allowed her to do so. The penetration began with anal and she remarked how her ass "just sucks your fucking cock in, doesn't it?" Her dirty talk was heated and the couch served well as the launching point for him spreading her open to display a huge gape with a prolonged hang time. The only thing about this scene that wasn't top notch was how passive she was about riding cock; a viewpoint not shared by some people who like gals passive in their pornos. Mick also had a lot of chemistry with her and she took his facial with a sense of glee reserved for Christmas Day while opening jewelry boxes. Nice!

Scene Seven: Jenna Haze, the lean little legend seen on the front cover sandwiched between Eva Angelina and Brianna Love), was the only scene to the movie included on the second disc and she gave an informative interview that nicely described her growth over time in the industry. Her music video was an erotic vignette I'd have though Celeste shot more than anyone else but it led to the youthful lady all dressed up in sleek black taking on aging businessman Mark Davis. They kissed and he diddled her, his best years in the industry as a performer probably years behind him but he still managed to show up many of the other guys from the first disc. He rubbed her labia and clitoris, eating her as though they had just finished a creampie movie with him wanting his seed back. He DP'ed her with his thumbs and she taste tested them before she gave the second sloppiest blowjob of the day to the guy. Her aggressive oral skills led to a very active vaginal ride in a few positions, the anal starting out slowly but increasing in tempo with her dirty talk making it even better. The anal and ATM continued in numerous positions before the facial took place, some minor choking included at her request. Yes!

Summary: Performers of the Year by director William H. Nutsack for Elegant Angel had such a tremendous amount of quality footage that raincoaters should be talking about it for a very long time, the casting of such a fine group of female performers to be almost historical in nature. Each scene had a lot of stroke value and the replayability was superb to give this one a great deal of fuck for the buck. William pushed himself to provide a lot of creativity to match that which the ladies gave him, the entire two disc package offering over seven hours of material, most of it top notch. I have long appreciated the quality of the company and the skill of the director but with such a solid cast firing on all cylinders, the rating of Xcritic Pick was the only one I could bestow upon the set. In short, you simply can't go wrong with Performers of the Year as a gonzo title that is destined to win accolades and awards over the coming year; elevating the bar substantially for others to shoot for. Great job!