Hey everybody guess what? Wicked Pictures made an actual movie! And it's kind of a rip off. Well not really. A reprieve from the usual hardcore porn doldrums of intro, foreplay, sex, finish, intro, foreplay, sex, finish, "Kissing Girls" is an eighty minute hardcore porno that also--what?--tries to take the porno format and turn it in to a narrative with fleshed out characters and conflict and situation comedy that we usually see on Cinemax. Thankfully though, "Kissing GIrls" is a lot more charming and better acted than the aforementioned softcore dynasty except for one thing. We've seen this movie before and it's called "Kissing Jessica Stein." A girl fed up with straight relationships tries for girl on girl relationship and finds difficulty in giving in to her lust. What irony.

That said, "Kissing Girls" doesn't seem to really want to rip off the movie, it just does, but there's just a lot more girl on girl for audiences not satisfied with the soft petting and make out scenes with saw with Charles Herman-Wurmfeld's indie romance comedy. "Kissing Girls" is a lot different from the usual material I review at X-Critic because it inspires me to review it as a movie rather than a porno, hence doing without the usual segment breakdowns yet again to take a look at the deeper ins and outs of the Wicked Pictures production.

Zoe, as played by the lovely Jessica Drake, is a woman who wants someone in her world who she can talk to and connect with on a deeper level and she's sadly just content with sleeping with her boss while his wife is away. When we first meet them they're engaging in some heavy sex with Zoe lying back and taking a soft tongue lashing from him, she bends over to take his cock in her mouth and sucks him deep and hard then shoots her face down and up in sharp motions finally sliding over to take a fucking sideways. Zoe is pleased by this latest meeting of the bodies and is so sure of her life that she's willing to put up with the constant promises from her lover that he'll leave his wife, hence heroine Zoe's frustration.

"Kissing Girls" is a great approach to the porn because it features plenty of hardcore sex scenes but director Micheal Raven also adds some good old fashioned relationship comedy that' often very funny thanks to star Jessica Drake who would have certainly held her won in an actual relationship dramedy. But films that come before it, it's a his or miss prospect with the fucking as a second priority in regards the struggle for Drake to find a mate in her city that never quite pan out. Though obviously a rip off, Raven performs his method of the speed dating a la "40 Year Old Virgin" that's not laugh out loud funny, but definitely pays off with the walk on players, one of whom is the mnther of a contestant begging Zoe to date him.The focus of "Kissing Girls" beyond the hot fucking that nearly melted me was that most of the men in the movie were all nothing sleazebags who took advantage while leading in to the inevitable girl on girl climax. Don't worry: I didn't spoil a thing even in spite of the porn tag given by Wicked Pictures.

"Kissing Girls" is one of the few titles I've seen that could have worked with or without the hardcore fuckin and for once I was more interested in Zoe's exploration in the same sex and journey for female companionship.Though we all know how it all eventually turns out, "Kissing Girls" has a fair share of truly unique gorgeous women including star Jessica Drak who is stunning in her performance as this needy girl who wants a relationship will find one if she searches for both sexes instead of just one. The caveats for said adventure is incredibly reminiscent of Kissing Jessica Stein from her inability to try female relationships to the sense of self discovery she steps through in her life.

There's also Dana De Armond as Moonbeam the tool to her realization who begins as a blind date and never hesitates to ask: Are you a lesbian or just lonely? And that nugget that made me slump down with a heavy groan: "Oh my gawd... you're a girl virgin!" Then there's also August and Scarlett Fray who engage in some great one on one with gentlemen callers in offices that feel more like they detract from the forward motion from the movie but hey, there's no such thing as a perfect porno even if all of the sex scenes are quite passionate and arousing.

Raven conducts a very great series of sex scenes along with an interesting story I was happy to see on my big screen for. In terms of sophistication I'll likely rank it on my top 10 of 2008. Who says porno can't have a story anymore? When it's good, you get double your money's worth with production value that really turned this production in an utter stand out this year.

Audio/Visuals:

As you can see by the screen grabs above is the primary problem. Are these pure fantasy or an attempt at realism because Raven makes every attempt to have his cake and eat it too. If you're gunning for qua-realism then what's the point of the hazy coke induced yellow tint? Other than that, the key to this porno is the ability to hear the dialogue and immerse yourself in to what the characters were saying most of the time Being a porno based on human characters, it's good to see that they don't skimp

Goodies:

We're given a bonus sex scene just as good as "Kissing Girls," which is surprising considering most cut segments suck, and we have an eighteen minute look behind the scenes interviewing the lovely Jessica Drake who flexes her ability to act and she even tells us a fascinating story about the rather large ring she wears through most of the movie. We also have the official trailer to the film that may garner some interest.

After Thought:

Good acting, good dialogue, granted a predictable premise but one that deserves my praise because it has a strong story simplicity that keeps the porn without losing the integrity of the story being told. Sometimes a change from the disconnected segments can be a good thing and "Kissing Girls" proves it two fold. Also Jessica Drake has a marvelous rump.