Adult Stars at Home Review

Reviewed by Nat Hocken  on  1/29/2003

I was looking forward to Adam & Eve’s “Adult Stars at Home.” I don’t know why exactly. I don’t typically watch such shows about mainstream celebrities; I’m not a particular fan of the “Behind the Scenes” features that are a regular addition to DVDs. But I do enjoy learning something about the private lives of porn stars. Or maybe I crave reassurance that the people involved are involved by choice. Whatever the reason, I was, as I say, looking forward to watching this film. And, initially at least, I wasn’t disappointed.

At its best, “Adult Stars at Home” is hopelessly amateurish, but I expected that. It’s even a little amusing the way the cameraman, no doubt so used to filming sex scenes, could never quite work out how to get a good shot of a room in any of the four houses he visits. (Once the amusement wears off, of course, it’s simply frustrating. Here’s one guy whose Hollywood aspirations will never come to fruition.) The home tours are little better: they’re badly paced and meandering. Yet we see enough to form a fuzzy image of the way these particular stars live.

The premise of the film is a simple one, ostensibly designed to offer the viewer both a sense of the home life of the stars and some sex to go along with it. First comes the tour of the house, then the sex. It all gets started with Nicole Sheridan and her husband Voodoo.

The segment works—and is the best in the film—despite the fact that their house is a work in progress. A large, custom pool stands unfinished in the back yard and, upstairs, the couple’s planned “vampire room” is a goth dream unrealized. (When finished, they explain, it will be predominately black with lots of mirrors on the walls. Mirrors? In a vampire room?) What saves the segment are the stars themselves: they’re the cutest couple in the film. Each appears to be very proud of the other, especially Voodoo, who not only points out Nicole’s incomprehensible artwork, but asks her to do a few ballet turns as well. (Evidently Nicole has had some training in this regard.) They come off as pleasant, friendly people and their sunny enthusiasm is a delightfully refreshing change of pace from what we see in most porn films.

The sex in their segment is also the best in the film. I oversimplified earlier when I said the tour came first, then the sex. In fact, the couples split sex up among two or more rooms as the tour progresses. Nicole and Voodoo begin at the bottom of the pool, where Nicole gives her husband a choice blowjob, and complete the act in their bedroom. This scene contains the only truly hot moment this film has to offer: with Voodoo seated on the edge of the bed, a standing Nicole mounts him, ordering him to look at her as she grinds away. There’s real passion in Nicole’s expression and behavior. She ends with a squirt and he by cumming inside.

Chennin Blanc and husband Cheyne Collins star in the second segment. Theirs is a more modest home, but one filled with pictures and knickknacks that give it an endearing homey feel, even if it is a bit cluttered. Neither star is as comfortable in front of the camera as either Nicole or Voodoo, however, and their sex is somewhat more porn-oriented (it even comes complete with a belly cum). Still, it offers a legitimate and enjoyable glimpse of the couple’s lifestyle.

The second half of the movie isn’t nearly so enjoyable or illuminating, and it’s a shame because the first half is a lot of fun. Much is lost when we don’t feel any real connection between the two stars; the novelty fades and is replaced by something a whole lot closer to ordinary porn. Charlie is the star of the third segment and she, evidently, has no significant other. So she plugs Lola into the role of playmate for the day. If Charlie and Lola have a history together we never find out about it. Lola is there not to help us understand what Charlie’s home life is like, but simply to have sex with her. Even at that I question her suitability for girl/girl actress Charlie. The bios include the stars’ answers to a basic set of questions; responding to the question about her fantasy, Lola writes, “To be ravished by 5 men and fucked by all in different positions,” and her turn-on is, “Big dicks and nice asses.” Charlie’s brief, sex-centered tour doesn’t help much either. She shows us her office, which has her homepage up on the computer screen, and the collection of toys she keeps in the closet. And the sex? A below average lesbian tryst that doesn’t even appear to include an orgasm.

The last segment stars Zana and Billy Glide. Zana mentions a husband, but Billy ain’t him. I don’t for a minute think Zana’s husband, whoever he is, isn’t aware of what she’s doing, but unless Zana routinely screws porn star friends in her home while her husband’s away, this segment doesn’t tell us much about how she really lives. Billy’s refusal to take the premise seriously weakens the segment still further. And, like Charlie, Zana makes it a point to show us her toy collection after which Billy cums on her tits to finish things off.

Mathematically “Adult Stars at Home” is an average film: two good scenes, two poor ones. But I never did much like the idea of punishing the good for the transgressions of the bad. Give this one a try; I think you’ll agree.