Breathless (Wicked) Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  6/30/2003

Running Time: 101 min.

Production Date: 4 / 26 / 2002 (feature) 1 / 23 / 2003 (DVD)

Director: Michael Raven

Cast: Devinn Lane, April, Holly Halston, Sydnee Steele, Venus, Evan Stone, Steven St. Croix, and Troy Halston in sexual roles and Gino Greco, Mike Horner, Frank Bukkwyd, and Michael Raven himself in non-sex roles

Initial Expectations: Let’s see, Michael Raven always amazes me and Devinn Lane watching Devinn Lane normally means I have so much blood rushing to get below my belt that I’m starting to think about inviting my doctor over whenever I watch her. Yeah, I’d say I’ve got darn high expectations here!

Initial Reaction: It didn’t quite meet my expectations, but I also know that I had them so high it would have been very hard to.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody wanting a well done story with some hot sex

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody who doesn’t want a lot of plot with their porn

Audio /Video Quality: As usual, the technical aspects are top notch. The audio is very clear and very well balanced. The movie was shot on video, but was treated so as to simulate film. It has some slight grain, but it doesn’t have the depth of film. The lighting varies from scene to scene, sometimes looking natural, sometimes being very low, and sometimes being very overdone. This helps with a lot of the artistic feel of the movie, and is done well enough that it never seems out of place.

Music: There isn’t music in every scene, but where there is music it’s almost on the loud side. The music had a bit of a techno feel, and worked well in the scenes that had it.

Menus: The menus are very nicely animated. The main menu blends a little animation with the boxcover in a very pleasing way. The chapter menu lets you choose a scene based on a small clip of each scene and a scene number, with the scene being numbered using bullet holes rather than the standard number.

The Feature: Breathless tells the story of Devinn Lane, the daughter of police captain Mike Horner. She turns to girls after a destructive marriage, and then leaves April when she meets Evan Stone in the pool hall where she works. She doesn’t know why she’s drawn to him, but soon finds out he’s a hardcore criminal and joins him just as the police as closing in on him.

Devinn Lane starts things out with April, which is about as good of a way to start a movie as I can think of! April starts out working over Devinn’s pierced hood with her pierced tongue before letting Devinn tongue her twat in return. They move on through a bit of sixty-nining before the scene ends with Devinn having what looks like a great orgasm on April’s face. It’s a slightly disjointed scene, but works well to open things up. April and Devinn look like they’re having a great time together, and there’s just enough plot interjected at the start to let you know what’s happening between them.

Prostitute Sydnee Steele gets it on with cop Steven St. Croix in the second scene after he chases off her john. Steven quickly gets down to business and goes down on Sydnee, burying his face in her muff and lightly fingering it. Sydnee gobbles his knob very nicely, as she always appears to do, before letting him fuck her from behind and spoon her on the squeaky bed. They finish things up missionary style before Steven sprays a nice pop across Sydnee’s tight tummy. It’s a good scene, but dragged just a little for me near the end. There’s nice chemistry and great energy, but the lighting threw me off just a little at times. It’s dark and has plenty of shadows, which gives it a more artistic feeling, but also interfered with things just a little for me.

Real life couple Troy and Holly Halston, a good looking bleached blonde, get it on for the third scene. They kiss passionately before Holly slides down to suck Troy’s tool. Troy kisses Holly’s bald beaver in reciprocation before sticking it to them from behind. They work in a bit of missionary as well, with Holly doing a great job of trash talking, before they finish it up with a great facial. It’s a hot scene with great chemistry, as it should have with a real couple. The energy is also nice, but Holly’s vocals and trash talking really made it work for me.

Reporter April gets it on with Steven St. Croix in hopes of getting an exclusive story. She gives Steven some great knob gobbling before Steven tongues her twat. April starts fucking Steven with her patented grind before sitting back and letting him fuck her, and lets him finish it up spraying his seed on her stomach. It’s another very nice scene with very good chemistry and energy.

Finally, Evan Stone gives Devinn Lane a big surprise after a big kiss, namely Venus. Venus and Devinn share another great kiss before Evan and Devinn team up on her pussy. Venus gets between Evan’s cock and Devinn’s tongue and fingers for a little warmup before Evan fucks her while Devinn plays with her pussy. They finish things up with Evan giving Venus a great pop in the eye and around her mouth. It’s an extremely hot scene, and one of the best in the movie. Once again, Wicked has managed to put Devinn in a threesome and let her only work on the guy but never feel like a third wheel. Devinn has done this more than a few times, and her ability to do it so consistently is one of the reasons that I’ve become such a big fan of hers.

in Breathless, Michael Raven once again blends mainstream movies and porn masterfully. Devinn Lane gives what’s easily her best acting performance, and is nicely paired with Evan Stone who does just as good of a job. The story reminded me a little bit of Raven’s Adrenaline, but does a good job of taking it in another direction so that the only similarity is that they’re both crime movies with Evan Stone as the male lead. As usual with Raven, the sex is very couples friendly, and there isn’t even any real anal action in the movie. There is a little lesbian action, but even that is downplayed. Breathless is a very well done couples movie that’s very well deserving of the attention it’s received.

Extras: Wicked has put more than a little effort into this DVD. There’s the usual Wicked Web, promotinoal materials, a listing of award winning and nominated titles, a commercial for the Free Speech Coaltion, and the Wicked Casino. There’s also audio bios for Devinn Lane, Sydnee Steele, April, Steven St. Croix, and Evan Stone, each of which is tailored to fit the overall menu style, and includes a few photos, a little personal information, and a link to one of the star’s scenes. Trailers are included for Conquest, Euphoria, Dream Quest, and Double Feature!. There’s also several photo galleries, interviews, bloopers, a behind the scenes featurette, and a commentary track.

Photo galleries are included for the production, behind the scenes, and many of the stars. The production gallery lasts about two minute, the behind the scenes gallery lasts about two and a half minutes, and the star galleries, which are included for Holly Halston, Devinn Lane, Sydnee Steele, Venus, and of course Devinn Lane, last about a minute and a half each. In each case, the photos look amazing and you get about five seconds per photo.

The blooper reel lasts about three and a half minutes. You get the standard flubbed lines as well as a few other problems that were encountered shooting the movie. There’s even a couple deliberate mistakes. It’s a pretty standard blooper reel with a few chuckles.

Interviews are included from both the set during the making of the feature and after Breathless won plenty of awards at the AVN show. Steven St. Croix’s interview from the set lasts about ten minutes. He talks about his role in the movie, the changes he’s seen in the industry and why he took a few years off, what he likes and dislikes about the adult industry, and working with Sydnee Steele. He also mentions wanting to re-team with Jonathan Morgan for another Nights movie, which I really hope happens! Devinn Lane’s interview from the set lasts about three and a half minutes. She talks about being tired due to Jello shots, a little about the movie and her role, and crying on cue. The Post Awards Show interview with Devinn Lane lasts roughly seven minutes, and includes a clip of the award show where Devinn wins the Best Actress Video award. She talks about how much it means to her to win an acting award, working with Michael Raven, and resisting Evan Stone’s charms (at least in Breathless), as well as giving plenty of thanks to plenty of people. Finally, there’s a Post Award Show interview with Michael Raven that lasts four minutes, and also includes a clip of Michael winning the best director award. He talks about cheating to win the award and graciously gives plenty of thanks to all the people involved with the movie. It’s a nice selection of interviews, and does a nice job of mixing it up between set interviews and interviews looking back at the movie.

The commentary pairs Devinn Lane with Michael Raven. Surprisingly, for most of the movie the level of the commentary is a little low compared to the audio level of the movie. This makes it a little hard to hear at times. There’s also more than a few dead spots through the movie, which appear to be due to both Michael and Devinn really getting into watching the movie themselves. They talk quite a bit about the movie itself, but also work in a little talk on shooting the movie, their personal turn-ons, sex, , and food. It’s a decent commentary, but the dead air held it back a little.

All Access: The Making of Breathless lasts about twenty five minutes. As usual with Wicked’s behind the scenes featurettes, everybody’s very nicely identified as they take the screen, and it nicely blends interviews with the stars with the scenes being shot. You also get more than a few words from Michael Raven and a few glimpses at the cast between takes. Yes, there’s even a bit of Evan Stone screwing around on the set. It’s a nice behind the scenes featurette and worth checking out by anybody interested by it.

Themes: Straight, lesbian, group, and rimming (female > female)

Condoms Usage: 100%

Raincoat Factor: Medium

Overall: Currently, most Wicked DVDs can be found online for between $20 and $30 with most stores offering them around $22. This is more than fair for what you get here, and will please anybody who’s a fan of Michael Raven. The story is very well done, as is the sex. There’s a great selection of extras, and the technical aspects are also very nicely done. Basically, it’s about everything a person would hope for between Michael Raven and Wicked.

Note to Wicked: Three words: anamorphic widescreen please!

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

Other reviews by Astroknight