Better Sex Video Series 3: Making Sex Fun Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  2/6/2005

The Little Details

Running Time: 90 min.

Production Date: 1991

Director: American Video Productions

Cast: Dr. Roger Libby, Ph. D. and Dr. Judy Seifer, Ph.D. host while others give demonstrations.

The Short Story

Initial Expectations: I’ve had mixed luck out of the Sinclair Intimacy Institute. I’m not quite sure what to expect here.

Initial Reaction: It has a few ideas, but is fairly hit or miss and way too concerned with not offending anybody.

Who Should Watch It : People who are wanting to spice things up but are completely lost as to where to start

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody looking for sex ideas by people who aren’t completely afraid of offending anybody

The Technical Stuff

Audio /Video Quality: The technical aspects are a little weak, and very similar to what I’d expect the VHS release to look and sound like. The audio is pretty clear, but nothing too outstanding and it does have a few minor background noises. The video is much the same. It’s nicely lit, but it has some very minor grain.

Music: The music is soft and very non-threatening. Although I’m sure this is great for some people, for others it might make it too soft and non-threatening and cause it to be boring instead.

Disc Complaints: There’s’ no time stamp to the feature, so if you stop the movie, either on purpose or by accident, you might end up starting it again at the beginning of the chapter. This is something that always annoyed me, but this is also an older DVD and I think Sinclair has moved past this problem.

Menus: The menus are extremely basic. The main menu is plain and almost sterile. The chapter menu lets you choose a chapter based on a still of each chapter and the subject of the chapter.

The Feature

Currently, we live in a culture that’s fairly negative sexually. Yes, it’s getting better in many ways, but it’s still hard to talk about sex in most places. Due to this attitude, the Sinclair Institute has put out several instructional movies. They’re developed as being a video textbook, and Sinclair advocates watching them with your partner so you can stop it and talk about different subjects as you go. This time around, the subject is ways that you can spice up your love life with toys and games.

After an introduction to the doctors including listing their credentials, the doctors talk about sex toys and some of their benefits, such as enhancing some sexual fantasies between couples. They cover a few different sex toys, both battery operated and non-electrical toys as well as toys for men, women, and both. They give suggestions for each toy, including tips for using them in public for an added thrill. They cover the advantages and disadvantages of each toy as well as covering some of the different varieties and materials used for each type of toy. After focusing on how soft and inoffensive the games they suggest will be, as well as pointing out anything else that might go wrong, the doctors suggest a few variations and games. They start out with trying rooms other than the bedroom for sex and move on with sex in the pool, at the office, or outdoors. They also briefly cover dressing up for sex and food play before moving on with bondage games and romantic sex. There’s a decent variety of sex toys and games covered through the movie, and often the different ideas have a sex scene to go along with them as a demonstration.

The topics covered through this episode are fairly hit or miss. The toy section is okay, but the warnings at the start of the games section come off as overly concerned with what might go wrong. The doctors also hold things back a little but seeming a bit full of themselves while also being extremely dry. They try so hard to be non-threatening that they kill the fun that sex is often supposed to be. On the other hand, the sex scene with office sex is a lot of fun. There’s great chemistry, but the couple is so vocal that I think everybody in the building would know what was happening in the office. Surprisingly, with all the warnings from the doctors about what might go wrong, there’s nothing ever mentioned about keeping it quiet if others are around when you’re going at it at the office, limiting how much you take off in case you hear somebody coming, or about watching where the guy pops. The scenes are easily the best thing in the feature, and they do a much better job of showing the ideas as being fun and approachable than the doctors do. Unfortunately, the doctors frequently talk through the scenes which interrupts the action and cools down what could be some hot action to get people in the mood to play. There’s some good ideas and information here, but it rarely seems to be presented as well as it might have been.

The Better Sex Video Series Vol. 3: Making Sex Fun With Games and Toys lacks a bit overall. Yes, there are some good tips and ideas here that are nicely demonstrated, but they often feel so concerned with making sex nonthreatening and making sure that everybody knows what might go wrong that it took much of the fun away from the sex. The only time it didn’t was with the office sex, and then they left out some very important thoughts like noise, people coming, and cleanup. I also credit a lot of the problems with the feeling being too soft and nonsexual to the doctorshosting the feature, who often come off as condescending (as well as being two people I really don’t want to think of having sex). I know that I might not be the person this video was designed for because I’m always looking for something new to try sexually, but I doubt I’m the only person like that who checks out this type of feature in hopes of learning something new. There were many times that I wanted to turn off this feature just because of the hosts, as they often acted like they were talking to an eight year old, not an adult. Yes, there are some decent ideas in The Better Sex Video Series Vol. 3: Making Sex Fun With Games and Toys, but the presentation often holds it back from being as strong as it might have been.

The Extra Stuff

There’s several pages of Sexual Health Information covering the Sinclair Intimacy Institute, a definition of sexual health, the history of explicit sexual health films, testimonials, and key points from consumer, customer, and professional research. It’s all pretty dry, but makes a decent extra.

The Down -n- Dirty Sex Stuff

Themes: Educational, toys, masturbation, and male anal stimulation

Raincoat Factor: Medium high

Condom Usage: None

The Bottom Line:

Currently, many DVDs from the Sinclair Intimacy Institude can be found online for between about $10 and $22 with several stores offering them for around $15. Rent this one first. It does have a few good things, but it’s often so soft and concerned with not scaring anybody that it cripples itself a little. The technical aspects also lack a bit and there isn’t much effort put into the extras.

Note to Sinclair Intimacy Institute: I know that it’s a good idea not to scare anybody off with instructional features like this, but it can be just as bad to make it so soft that you turn people off to you overall. I know this is one of your ‘beginner’ movies, and it’s nice to know that you pick things up over time after watching some of your later movies

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me .

Other reviews by Astroknight