Better Sex Guide to Anal Pleasure, The Review

Studio
Sinclair Intimacy Institute

Genre
Instructional

Director
Mark Schoen

Starring
"Ben & Karen," "Wendy & Mike," "Julian & Lee," "Judy & Chris," and "Billy & Julie," "Eric & Wendy," "Leila & Charles, "Chris & Lisa"

Running Time
1:00

DVD Format
Single Sided, Single Layer (DVD-5)

Aspect Ratio
1.33:1 (full frame)

Special Features
10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, sexual health information, and a 2-minute safe sex public service announcement

Typical Watchers
Couples who are looking for an explicit, informative education in anal sex

Typical Haters
Guys who are not comfortable with depictions of male masturbation or anal play

Replay Value
Medium to high

Themes
Instructional, anal sex, male & female masturbation, rimming (both M&F)

Condoms
Used for intercourse

If You Liked This DVD, You Should Enjoy
Recent volumes of the Better Sex series

Anyone who has looked for sex education material for adults knows that it's really hard to find practical yet explicit information.  In the case of instructional videos, they seem to either be so clinical/non-explicit or porn disguised as sex ed.  So I was pleasantly surprised after watching some recent Better Sex Guide videos from the Sinclair Intimacy Institute.  A far cry from the early 1990's volumes, these are much more comprehensive in their information and much more explicit in their demonstration.

The Better Sex Guide to Anal Pleasure is one such recent volume that does an great job at presenting information in a very non-threatening but non-puritanical way.  Hosted by a very well-spoken woman, Jane Monreal, information on this somewhat taboo subject is articulately presented.  Sex therapist Jack Morin provides additional commentary, often explaining concepts and techniques while the couples in the video demonstrate them.  The range of information is broad, from a historical attitudes toward anal sex, to safe sex tips, to physical and emotional preparation for anal play, description of lubes and sex toys, and more.

Early volumes in the Better Sex series touted the "real life" couples appearing in the demonstrations, although several were very recognizable porn stars.  While there are still several adult actors among the couples in Guide to Anal Pleasure, they don't come across as phony as they describe their sex lives or relationships.  There's not quite as much diversity as in the past with most of the couples being young and fit Caucasians.  However, there's an African-American couple as well as an older one too to round things out.

From a sexual standpoint, the content is explicit, showing penetration and masturbation for dozens of seconds at a time.  This is different from the earlier volumes too, which tended to cheat toward the softcore with very, very brief hardcore segments.  And while the content is erotic in my view, it's not lewd or meant for titilation--sparing the production from the label of "porno in sheep's clothing."  There's no pounding, gaping, pop-shots, etc.--Anal Pleasure works because the purpose is to show you how to have great sex, not how to star in a gonzo.

The video's explicit segments fall into four general areas:  solo female and male masturbation with anal fingering, the introduction of toys and buttplugs, couple's anal play (including toys and anallingus), and anal intercourse.   The pace of the action is slow and non-threatening, definitely meant to ease people into anal sex, while clearly showing that pain doesn't have to be a part of the experience.  It's explicit enough to be enjoyable on a sexual level but informative enough to be educational.  Just as a note of caution for those who are uneasy about frank depictions of male masturbation and anal play:  this video is very fair about showing solo men and also women using sex toys on their partners as it is about showing the expected female action.

Anal Pleasure's production values are extremely high here...there are many crane camera shots, as well as the use of a plasma monitor on the set to show both a close up and a wide angle at the same time.  The sets are on the frilly side, but a step above the typical soundstage variety.  And the picture-in-picture presentation is not at all distracting--since this is an educational video, seeing Dr. Morin or the couples talking in the small picture while the intimate activities play out on the larger image works well.  Finally, as I said before, Jane Monreal is very articulate and adds a professional, if somewhat surreal flair to the video (I'm just not used to a fully clothed spokesperson describing sex toys or talking about inserting objects into one's rectum).

My only criticism of this excellent video is that the running time is short--only 60 minutes total.  It would have been nice to see some of the concepts expanded on, including more exploration of sex toys and different positions for anal sex.  Still, as it is, it's definitely one of the best instructional videos I've ever seen, and it's a definitely must-watch for those who are new to anal sex or who are reluctant to try it.  It's an easy pick for a Visionary Award!

- Saki (saki@sakivision.com)