Annette Schwarz Is Slutwoman 2 Review

Reviewed by Crucifixio Jones  on  7/6/2008

"I adore you so much. You're so special to me and I wanted this day to be very special for you. You've had the most profound impact on my life." - Elegant Angel director Mason, fighting back tears, to performer Annette Schwarz

There's a scene in the Coen brothers' "No Country For Old Men" where Javier Bardem's psychotic hitman Anton Chigurh quietly intimidates a small town gas station owner with the mere flip of a quarter. "Do you know what year is on this coin? 1958. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it's here." With how effortlessly their souls have meshed one might be able to say that Annette Schwarz has been traveling twenty-four years to get here, to be directed by the one woman capable of understanding her off and on camera, Mason.

Annette and Mason see the world through the same eyes. But Schwarz does on video what Mason can not. However, without her, Annette as we know her would not exist. She is all things at once to Circus Pferdchen: instigator, facilitator and enabler, providing the sick stage for this twisted marionette to perform her decadent dance. Mason is a director with a very distinct vision with her own world, her own reality but presents it to us in a very non-pretentious, not preachy way. She is somehow able to dig deep into both sides of Schwarz's personality and vicariously gives her, in the spirit of Alexandra Quinn, the courage she needs to be the risk-taker she truly is.

"I never thought about the other Slutwomen [as I was making this movie]," says Mason. "They were all in a league of their own. I wanted Annette to stand alone as the others did. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked at how much [viewers] not only accepted but embraced her. That was and always has been my objective for these movies: to contextualize this incredibly intense sexual being with a bit of humanity."

Kimberly Kane gushes about Annette in the Behind the Scenes after their scene together: "And no one knows she's the sweetest, most shy thing ever." And therein lies the mystery, the fascinating dichotomy of Annette Schwarz. How can one be such a sincerely open book as a person yet have an impenetrable exterior when performing? I compare her sexuality to a secret, one kept far too long and held in reserve, boiling, rotting, festering way down deep in her insides for such a while it feels as if it is a part of her, fighting against every fiber of her being and yearning to be free yet like a curse, the only time she is free to release it is during the time when society has taught us we should be most ashamed. And it is a marvel to witness.

Words will not suffice when discussing the action. The opener (which features Steve Holmes) has almost been universally praised already and is easily the best thing I have seen all year long. It also stands as a highwater mark in the career of Kimberly Kane. You won't see her better and the girl/girl between she and Annette is nothing short of amazing. Schwarz is reteamed with Manuel Ferrara and the two continue to build on the chemistry they've previously explored under Mason's direction in the first "Slutwoman" (and initially in William H's "Big Wet Asses 11"). The difference here is the realness, rawness and intimacy provided by the small hotel room they occupy. There is no set, no predetermined scenario to be played out. Just Annette, Manuel, a bare mattress, their unbridled attraction and overwhelming, almost out-of-control lust. A field trip leads to a blowbang with nine brothers in an alley that turns into an impromptu gangbang ("[Annette] wanted to have sex that day, but we didn't know who it would be," Mason confides). Also included is the first scene Mason and Annette Schwarz ever shot together, an airplane hangar romp back in March of 2006 with Brandon Iron.

In a bit of continuity, Schwarz takes the time to address criticisms of the first movie and the fans that doubted the legitimacy of a particular scene or anything she does. Anyone who has any reservations about how genuine Annette may be or her friendship with Mason need only see the moment the two share when Mason gives Annette the first part of her Valentine's Day gift (the second part being a rose-bearing Talon). I wouldn't dream of spoiling it but if ever a porno were to give a grown man a lump in his throat, this would be the one.

"Slutwoman 2" is, to borrow an oft-used phrase from a more well-known reviewer, unmissable and unforgettable. With a running time of over three hours, Mason had a clear and definite goal. "I wanted to make it an extension of the first -- and I wanted it to be more powerful." She can consider her mission accomplished and a more than fitting sendoff to one of the most dynamic performers to ever grace our screens.