The movie
that tore up the rules, broke the mould, rewrote the history? Who knows!
All I can say for sure is that after John Stagliano first took on the
mantle of Buttman in this 1989 production, pornography seems to have changed
for good. Take a trip back to the genesis of that much-abused genre, gonzo,
back to the days of girls with crispy-fried bleach blonde hair so hair-spray
stiff it seems it might snap, days of trying to pick up those sexy tan-lined
girls on sun-drenched beaches. It all seems so innocent now.
The Adventures of Buttman is a tale from the perspective of a cameraman
for hire, who keeps getting into sexy scrapes due to his obsession with
women's bottoms. It hardly seems credible now that something so simple
could be so effective, literally changing the course of porn movie production
forever, but here, in a glorious remastered, re-edited DVD edition, we
shall see the many reasons why this movie was and remains so important.
Tianna
The opening scene starts off as though a moonlight pick-up by a kerb-crawler,
the sort of scene that I don't tend to appreciate. However, it's well
worth sticking around. Eddie (Jamie Gillis) follows streetwalker Tianna
into a sparsely lit alleyway, where he finds himself the victim of a mugging
by the hairy thug who tailed him. Tianna proves to be a saviour, smashing
a bottle over the mugger's head. Jamie ends up on the deck himself, worshipping
the legs and ass of his guardian angel. The moonlight catches her curves
as he noses her rear, but before Jamie can get too involved in ass worship,
the enraged mugger awakes and chases them.
The mugger safely locked out, Jamie drops to his knees in this apartment.
Money changes hands, and though the prostitution theme is again one I
don't usually like, I can't deny that the kinky vibe of what transpires
here is much more important. All is not as it seems. But first, Jamie
indulges his desire for ass worship, allowing Tianna to raise her tight
black dress and smother him with her silky buttocks, standing up, and
then lowering her ass onto his face. Slowly, Jamie comes to take charge
and whacks his cock off as he calmly but firmly orders her to put a slim
ridged dildo and then anal beads in her anus. He then produces a dildo
for her to use on her pussy with the anal beads still in place.
Jamie's continued calm mastery of Tianna, as he pushes his cock into her
mouth and orders her to keep her hands down so he can fuck her face, is
an object lesson to those who think you have to rant and rave to achieve
domination. This is not as hard as contemporary deep throat scenes, but
I find it genuinely kinky, edgy stuff. Tianna may be a good actress but
it seems like real lust on her face, not to mention real tear-stained
mascara, as she asks for his cock inside her - not before he's pushed
the money in her ass and made her hold it in place as they fuck. See what
I mean about kinky?
Tianna still has her dress and red fishnet stockings on as they fuck,
the actual sex being perhaps the least part of the scene. Jamie ends up
coming on her ass, and all is revealed. Tianna and Jamie are a couple
who've hired cameraman John to film their kinky games, the mugger was
merely an actor. The vibe of the scene is truly intense, the subtle change
of control plays realistically, and it's all done in a suitably grubby,
immediate style that strings the viewer along till the end.
The camera is turned off between scenes, to symbolise John turning it
on and off in the real story, as the whole thing, or at least the vast
majority, happens from his camera viewpoint. When the camera is turned
on again, we see John in his editing bay, fielding calls for new work
and whacking off over the footage. Porn mags strewn around give the impression
of a real butt obsessive.
As a side note, I was intrigued to see what appears to be a copy of Parade
magazine, a cheap but cheerful British mag and, later, a copy of Men Only,
another fine British publication. The former appears to display one of
those sets where they line up a bunch of girls by the pool (similar to
this movie's cover shot), the latter seems to feature one of those fabulous
cover shots by Donald Milne where he would get girls like Gaynor Bell
to bend right over and grab their ankles. So I can certainly appreciate
where Mr Stagliano is coming from on this whole issue.
Tanya and Mark
Back to the matter at hand, as John's next gig is to film a pool party,
thrown by Mark for birthday girl Tanya, and populated by men with moustaches
and girls including Victoria Paris (who really should have been in this
some more than just a couple of ass shots) and Debi Diamond. John can't
help filming the girls' asses rather than their faces, to some annoyance,
and during an enforced break in filming, he misses a little drama between
Victoria and the awesomely curvaceous Tracey Adams, who shoots some wistful
looks his way.
The real deal here is that Mark wants John to film him having sex with
the striking blonde Tanya. This very sexy girl, all about a luscious pout,
fluffy platinum hair and a tanned, curvy frame, kisses and touches with
her man out in the hot sun. Mark shows her trim body to the camera, her
boobs spilling from the white bikini. Her ass is raised high, diddling
her clit as she lovingly fellates the young guy. She rides cowgirl (either
her pussy is very creamy or it looks like he comes inside her but they
continue whatever), facilitating those all-important ass shots and then
he licks her naturally furry pussy. Her icy blue eyes light up as he takes
her a little harder in doggy and spoons, but the scene is really more
about admiring Tanya than the sex, which is nowhere near as hot as the
sun that beats down on them. A quick suck and a flick of the wrist have
Mark spunking on her tits, to no great effect.
John is out in a park after dark, making double entendres about the moon,
when he thinks there's something out there. Back at home, he checks the
footage and fancies that he can see a certain shape there, vaguely reminiscent
of the film Blow-Up, he returns to the park to try to see what was there.
Unfortunately, he finds nothing but inadvertently makes himself the future
target of crooks led by Randy Spears.
Heather Torrance
Next, to the beach, and buxom beach bunny Heather paddling in the waves
and catching the rays. Bill (Tom Byron) comes over to John's house to
propose a scam to use in picking up this star-struck girl. Back at the
beach, Tom hams it up brilliantly, spinning her a line about auditioning
as a dancer for MTV. The bouncy blonde agrees to bring her sexy ass and
big tits, sexily marked with tan lines, over to John's house.
Returning there, John's camera spends quite some time just going over
her body, barely concealed by her hot pink bikini. Gosh. John gets the
camera down low and then up close to her big boobs (which did require
plenty analysis before I could conclude they are "enhanced" - a good job
as these things go), which inevitably come out. Wriggling about to music,
pulling panties into her crotch, she knows what it's about. Heather gets
Tom's cock out, gives him a swift but sexy BJ, and in return he worships
her ass and pussy…but wait, is that really a bleached bush? The fuck in
cowgirl, doggy, and an "acrobatic" position she finds too much, and then
doggy again, where the sight of her "perfect" ass seems to set Tom off,
and he shoots over her cheeks. The sex isn't the greatest, but the scene
is great fun, Tom Byron's performance is so natural you'd think he did
this all the time, and this is, after all, the archetypal Buttman pick-up
scene.
Champagne
Inexplicably loitering in the dark in that park again, John finds himself
being flashed at by a cheeky blonde. All of a sudden, unseen attackers
jump him. When the camera is turned on again, we see John is being held
captive at gunpoint by beered-up, small-time crooks Randy Spears and Rick
Daniels, and they want him to film them in a threesome with that sexy
blonde flasher, Champagne - full bodied and bubbly, or is that too obvious?
The threats from the 'orrible guys are vaguely unpleasant, but in the
end it just feels like Randy in particular is having a whale of a time
improvising for the camera. He gets right into the role, I feel.
While watching themselves in action on the TV monitor, the guys drink
beer from the giggly girl's full, natural tits and reveal the rest of
her to the camera. Playing with her tits and pussy. She sucks Randy's
cock while Rick amuses himself slipping a little dildo into her ass. What
great eyes she has, it's just a shame we see a little too much of the
gruesome twosome ordering poor John about. Not quite sure if there's a
subtext to read into this male humiliation scenario…
Randy moves to the "back end" of Champagne and slides his dick into her
pussy, boasting that he'll show how a real man fucks. Needless to say,
Champagne has a really nice ass and John shows it off in suitable style.
Her bouncing tits get good coverage too during cowgirl, as an adventurous
Randy licks her clit while Rick's dick is still in her pussy. The clearance
is in microns! The guys proceed to really enjoy this party girl's talents
to the full, with great shots of her in doggy, one guy at each end.
From missionary, Randy comes on her pussy, and then Rick enjoys the only
full anal sex of the movie with her, in missionary and doggy. Rick comes
on her full butt. John catches the last drip of come falling from Champagne's
bum, before realising the inept criminal trio have all fallen asleep and
he can sneak off, leaving the tapes as a reminder. It's a funny end to
an entertaining scene where all three performers really throw themselves
into their roles in a way that means the initial unpleasantness and unnecessary
gunplay are readily overlooked.
Bionca and Sascha
John returns to the beach on another bright day, filming the amazing bodies
of a trim brunette and a buxom blonde as they sunbathe. John spins them
a line about making an audition tape, and Bionca, for it is her, persuades
her reluctant friend Sascha that it would be fun. Back at the house, Bionca
gets right into the swing of it as the girls start to have some fn dancing
around in skimpy swimsuits that delve deep between their butt cheeks.
Mmmm! They indulge in a little harmless tease like bumping their butts
together and playfully smacking each other. I must say that Bionca is
just so sexy here, effortlessly playing the innocent while barely hiding
that little twinkle in her eye, though Sascha's slightly snotty attitude
oddly turns me on as much as her ample, meaty ass. This tease really gets
a sense of fun and play into the scene, showing the girls' natural sexuality
and character and not just using them as faceless body parts. I think
many directors today could learn something here.
Anyway, Sascha sucks on Bionca's prominent, thick nipples, and she flicks
them and pulls her costume right up into her soft pussy. Bionca leaves
lipstick kisses on Sascha's pale boobs but she can't pretend to be reluctant
when asked to lick Sascha's pussy. You know she loves it! This is a great
moment. Bionca uses a dildo on Sascha's lubed slot, and happily rims her,
which just looks so good. Bionca pile on top of Sascha, grinding as she
makes a pile of pussy and ass, and presenting John with another great
shot.
I can't help reflecting on contemporary anal excess when watching the
sight of Bionca making a big deal of taking a small, ridged toy in her
tight ass, but then that is surely something worth considering. When John
tentatively floats the idea that he might just have a little feel, the
girls are outraged and storm off. What I like about this scene is that
it doesn't pretend to be a serious girl-girl scene - its very nature acknowledges
it's all about playing and having fun showing off to the camera.
Tracey
Next, John's back in more trouble, caught filming Victoria Paris' ass
(who could blame him) at another party, and so he finds himself moping
in the moonlight once more. This time the surprise comes from someone
who means no harm. It's Nikki (Tracey Adams), a girl from the party who
had a sneaky eye on John. Back at his house, she teases him while quizzing
him about his butt fetish, and boy is she built to fuel that obsession.
I first admired Tracey in Michel Ricaud movies from around this time,
and her effortless sexiness is as welcome on my screen as it obviously
is in John's house. Her shaggy blonde hair, amazing curves and gently
persuasive ways are what get me interested, but then off come her clothes
(really bad sweater!), as she wraps her awesome form around the stair
rods, an impromptu cage where she teases John with her awesome butt and
amazing boobs - her bra is a fortified construction that makes the Forth
Rail bridge look flimsy.
John sets the camera down and makes a foray in front of the lens, finding
it impossible to resist the allure of Tracey's derriere. He gets right
in there to indulge in his characteristic butt worship before Tracey gives
him a blowjob. There's a really great shot here demonstrating the way
the full curves of Tracey's back and butt flow together so perfectly,
as John gets down to spank her a little and eat her pussy.
A little artistic license comes into play here as a third party takes
up the camera for more conventional coverage of the sex - the shooting
is somewhat rudimentary, in truth. Again, I feel the sex itself isn't
the greatest part of the scene, but it's light and fun and we do see a
lot of Tracey's figure. As if you could avoid it! From doggy to cowgirl
- a great position when the ass is as good as this - and back to doggy,
John can hardly stand it and comes over Tracey's ass. She rubs the last
drop on her boob, sucks John a little and then they kiss, neatly ending
a fun and intimate scene. It may have obvious flaws but I feel it really
captures the essence of the appeal of Buttman, putting a really sexy girl
so in front of the camera that you almost feel that you could reach out
and touch her.
Overall
Having missed this movie in its original form but being well aware of
its importance, I was especially keen to see for myself what is essentially
the naissance of gonzo . I was not disappointed. Sure, The Adventures
of Buttman has its flaws from a technical standpoint, and yeah, maybe
it does seem a little sedate by contemporary standards. But for its simple
idea that the camera should represent the Buttman character's perspective,
not just a passively observant window on a fantasy world, well, the importance
for contemporary porn is incalculable. On a personal level, the notion
that the wide and cumulative influence of this movie and its successors
indirectly saved me from having to tolerate crappy plots, bad acting and
sundry distractions from my real interest in porn, the girls, is
eminently praiseworthy.
It's also interesting to compare it with John's latest mould-breaking
creation, The Fashionistas, and to ponder the significance of each, and
even if there's no direct comparison between the content of each movie,
both stand as landmarks in porn film history. Personally, while accepting
this is a technically inferior movie, I simply like it more. I have a
better feeling about it, perhaps a certain sense of nostalgia for times
gone by, but it's just a much more approachable piece while still possessing
a strong sense of eroticism.
I can understand that some viewers will find it looks dated and the sex
is far from being a total rampage. Indeed, the sex scenes are shorter
and there is only one full anal scene, but the focus is as much on the
girls and some outstanding tease. Besides, the Tianna and Jamie scene
shows that less is more, perhaps - physically weaker but psychologically
strong, the action may not be so full on but it's still so creatively
kinky and intense and the efforts of the players lend it an extra credibility.
Generally too, the cast is so good, mainly apparently having a whale of
a time, and good acting performances by Jamie Gillis, Tom Byron and Randy
Spears are contrasted neatly by the allure of Tianna, Tracey Adams, Champagne
and Bionca in particular - so damn sexy.
The other aspect of this movie that I think is most important is that
other directors today could still learn from its style and more importantly
from John's stated focus. I'm not suggesting anyone else copies the movie,
though obviously so many did, I just think there's an attitude here that
people should rediscover. I can't help thinking that in a market seemingly
obsessed with complying with trends and filling niche market demands,
the idea that John simply went and made the movie he wanted to see himself
still has so much value. I wish more people would take this approach today,
then we might see something just as unique as this.
For anyone with an interest in the development of adult movies, this is
a must-see. That said, I don't generally watch porn to be impressed or
reminded of some historical significance, I watch it to be entertained
and hopefully turned on. In that regard The Adventures of Buttman still
stands up as a enjoyable, sexy and varied movie - it's just great fun!
DVD Comments
Following that, it's also a superbly presented DVD - yet another labour
of love from Tricia Devereaux and Evil Angel. The disc hasn't had the
fanfare it deserves, which is disappointing, because John and Tricia have
really gone to town here. As is explained in a short in the DVD extras,
the remastering process actually involved a re-edit from the original
tapes, and this new cut has 21 minutes more footage. In addition, the
disc has around 14 minutes of extra sex, 5 minutes or so of behind the
scenes, and a brilliant hour-long video commentary where John buzzes through
the movie and explains the shooting, the ideas and his philosophy on creating
porn. I found myself in hearty agreement with much of what he says, but
it's well worth checking this out for yourself.
Obviously, a full compliment of menus, photo gallery, cast list and so
forth, as typically offered by Evil Angel are present and correct, and
with excellent picture quality (allowing for some slightly iffy original
shots - especially in the dark) and generally good sound (again, some
of the wind-swept original sound, on the beach, is slightly rough) this
is just a great package.
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