June 21, 2013

Love, Marriage, and Other Bad Ideas, from New Sensations Romance

★★★★½
Time: 1:48, Director: Eddie Powell, Date: 2013
Screenshots: On our Tumblr
Cast: Lexi Belle (26yo), Anthony Rosano (36yo), Dana DeArmond (34yo), Xander Corvus (25yo), Natasha Nice (25yo), Wolf Hudson (29yo), Alison Tyler (23yo), and Richie Calhoun
Source: DVD

Review

Dr Paul Highland (Richie Calhoun) is a couple's therapist whose clients have serious relationship issues. But the advice he is giving them is not, at the moment, being well-received, as he gets black eyes from two of the men involved, and one of the women knees him in the groin. The problem turns out to be that his own marriage broke up not long ago, and he is a mess. But things start looking up for him when he meets a new client, April (Alison Tyler), who is an associate of his sister (Jacky St James), who also happens to be his bartender. April is engaged, but she is clearly not into the guy she is about to marry. We'll let you guess what happens.

Interestingly, it is almost always the women who take the sexual initiative here. We also appreciated the fact that two of the four women who have sexual roles are on the curvier side: Natasha Nice, and even more so the female lead, Alison Tyler. This is neither highlighted nor downplayed but just treated as normal, which it is very nice to see in a porno.

The problems the couples have are fairly stereotypical. But we really liked how the movie plays with these stereotypes, and even with some common porn tropes. For example, Lexi Belle is Anthony Rosano's "trophy wife", and she spends huge amounts of money to make up for his lack of attention to her. In the end, they divorce, but he takes responsibility for his own mistakes, not just blaming her. But perhaps the most interesting of the stories is that of Natasha Nice and Wolf Hudson, which revolves around his problems getting an erection. We won't spoil it by saying how this gets resolved, but it's probably not what you'd expect.

The acting here could be a bit better in places, but it is never terrible and is often quite good. Richie Calhoun, at least, is his usual excellent self, and Jacky St James is terrific, too (in a non-sex role). The story overall is amusing enough, and the movie is quite funny in places. Moreover, the sex is very, very good.

Overall, then, we really enjoyed this movie, enough that we watched it a second time, and we may even have enjoyed it more the second time.

The camera work during the sex scenes is, generally speaking, fantastic: about as good as one will see in porn from a mainstream studio. It isn't perfect. There are times when the camera is framed too tightly on the woman's body, so we can't see much of him at all. But this is rare, and there are plenty of shots of the men's faces and bodies, too.

Richie Calhoun rightly won the 2013 XBiz award for Best Actor in a Couples-Themed Release, and the movie itself was nominated for Best Romance Release at the AVN awards.

The script was written by Jacky St James.

Scene 1: Lexi Belle and Anthony Rosano (⚤)

★★★★☆
Time: 15:30
Features: I'm Gonna Cum, Orgasm
Pleasure ♀, Passion ♀, Balance ♀

The first scene features a couple (Lexi Belle, Anthony Rosano) that Dr Highland has told should give up and get divorced. Ironically, this leads to her trying hard to restore their commitment to each other. So, one night, Lexi unexpectedly appears for her husband in cute lingerie as he lies in their bed in his pajamas.

There is decent chemistry between them, and they both seem to enjoy the sex. We especially liked it when he asked her to turn over onto his back at the end, so he could see him face when he came. The cunnilingus seemed a bit cursory, though.

The camera work is very, very good. But the music is a bit too loud, and it sometimes threatens to obscure their sounds. It isn't standard-issue porn music, by any means, but it's not so good either that one really wants to hear it rather than them.

She cums when she is on top of him, rocking her hips and grinding her clit into his pubic bone. He cums on her stomach.

Synopsis

They kiss on their bed as she lies over him. She pulls him up, and he lowers her bra and kisses her tits. He lies back again, and she opens the top of his pajamas and strokes his cock through his bottoms. She works her way down his body, takes his cock out through his bottoms, and sucks him. She then lies back, and he eats her pussy.

They start fucking in a spooning position. She is then on top of him, rocking her hips on his cock, and he thursts up into her. She announces an orgasm, and probably does in fact cum. They switch to doggy style, and it seems his condom is about to fall off. He asks her to flip onto her back so he can see her face when he cums, and he cums on her stomach.

Scene 2: Dana DeArmond and Xander Corvus (⚤)

★★★★★
Time: 18:00
Features: Cunnilingus Orgasm, Footjob, Handjob, Orgasm
Pleasure ♀, Passion ♀, Balance ♀

The second scene features another couple (Dana DeArmond, Xander Corvus) that Dr Highland manages to insult. On the way home after their appointment, she stops the car and gets into the back seat, saying she wants to "lose control". He jumps into the back seat with her, and they start making out.

The sex at the beginning is passionate and almost desperate, as fits the story, and it's reasonably varied as well, with her tweaking his nipples and giving him a foot job. There is also some excellent communication between them, and really great chemistry between them, as well.

She seems to cum while he is eating her and fucking her with a finger. She finishes him off with a handjob.

Synopsis

They start making out in the back seat, then her dress comes off, and they kiss passionately. He lowers her bra and sucks her tits. They take off his pants, and she tweaks his nipples. He then pulls her onto his lap and rubs her pussy over then around her panties. He puts his hand into her panties and rubs her clit, and she pulls off her panties, almost desperately, and he keeps rubbing her.

She takes off his pants and sucks him through his shorts. She pulls his cock out and sucks him, then lies back and rubs his cock with her feet while she strokes her pussy. He drips saliva on his cock to lubricate it, and she keeps at him with her feet. She asks him what he wants, and he says he wants to eat her, which he does, fucking her with a finger as well. She cums, or gets real close to it.

She says she is "ready", and he grabs a condom. They spoon, then switch to doggy style, then to a sort of sitting position. He then lies on the back seat, and she gets atop him, kneeling. She gets off him and strokes him until he cums. They kiss, and exchange "I love you"s at the end.

Scene 3: Natasha Nice and Wolf Hudson (⚤)

★★★★★
Time: 14:00
Features: Orgasm
Pleasure ♀, Passion ♀, Balance ♀

The third scene features another couple (Natasha Nice, Wolf Hudson) who are clients of Dr Highland's. She is frustrated with their sex life, so they decide to let her try having sex with other men. But she misses the emotional connection: "As much as I want, and need, and crave sex", she tells her husband, "I need you more. I love you, just as you are." She goes off to take a bath, and he gets into the bath with her, clothed. It's a bit corny, but her love for him solves his erectile problems, and his emotional honesty with her leads to the hot sex they both crave.

The sex is sweet, romantic, and convincing, affectionate, loving, and hot. She cums while lying on her back, masturbating as he fucks her. His orgasm at the end is maybe the highlight of the scene because of how it is shot: to let us see his face as well as his furious wanking of his cock as he cums on her stomach. That's the highlight of the camera work, too, but it gives a pretty good sense of its overall feel.

Synopsis

With her naked in the bath, and him still in his clothes, he sucks her tits, and they kiss. They then pull off his shirt, and they kiss chests and necks. She sits on the edge of the tub and he eats her. She pours lotion all over her tits, and they rub them together, then kiss. Her rubs her pussy, and then she does.

He stands, and she pulls off his pants and sucks him. She then stands at the edge of the tub, and he fucks her from behind. She then gets on her back, wth him standing in front of her, and she rubs her clit until she cums. He finishes on top of her, fucking her hard, and he cums on her stomach.

Scene 4: Alison Tyler and Richie Calhoun (⚤)

★★★★½
Time: 18:00
Features: Orgasm
Pleasure ♀, Passion ♀, Balance ♀

In the last scene, Paul and April finally get together at the bar Paul's sister runs. They have a sort of negotiation at the beginning, which is sweet, but not incredibly well acted.

But the sex is romantic and passionate, though not as much as one would expect from the story, though they do look into each others' eyes quite a bit. The sequence where he fingers her is really hot and convincing. She cums while sitting on a barstool, as he eats and fingers her. He cums on her stomach.

The camera work is once again excellent.

Synopsis

They kiss, and he pulls down her top and plays with her tits, then sucks them. She undoes his shirt, kissing his face and then his chest. She turns around, and he holds her from behind, squeezing her tits. He reaches under her skirt and strokes her pussy through her panties, then she sits back on a stool and he eats her, rubbing her clit hard. They kiss, and he fingers her to an orgasm.

She then undoes his pants and sucks his cock, looking up into his eyes. They fuck doggy style, with her leaning onto a barstool, and she stands up with him. She then sits on a barstool, and he stands in front of her. He cums on her stomach.