The Secret Lives Of Adult Stars

This is not a porn film. Those looking for sex should look elsewhere. This film is mostly interviews with people in the porn industry giving a look at how the films are made. The interviews are with the old pros- Nina Hartley, the established stars such as Asia Carrera and Jill Kelly, as well as newcomers to the industry. The film covers almost every possible topic you can think of in an 80 minute film from fans to parents to on set etiquette to burn out to disease. Its Cliff Notes version of the industry.

I’m not a fan of the film. It seems to be a good (if cursory) overview of the industry. However in an age when the adult film industry is moving more and more toward the mainstream this film is one of many films that are throwing light into what once a dark, and it doesn’t stand out as anything other than a by the numbers film. Its a mechanical view of the industry (much like the sex in the films) that presents the information as if off a check list and with almost no context for one new to the subject. A better view of the industry is Dag Yngvesson’s Rated X:A Journey Through Porn, which takes the director’s personal quest to find out about the industry and makes it our own.

I also didn’t like many of the people we encounter in the film. a few seem sleazy, a few drunk or stoned; and more than a few seem to be distracted, probably the result of having a camera in their face on the set while waiting to perform (which is probably the reason that the interviews are so uneven in detail).

Recommended for those who really must know everything about the adult industry, for everyone else I’d take a pass.

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