Caribbean Undercover Review

Reviewed by Saki  on  4/17/2000

Caribbean Undercover (2000)
Studio: Ultimate Pictures/Adam & Eve
Directed by: Nicholas Steele/Steven St. Croix (behind-the-scenes feature)
Starring: Tera Patrick, Caroline Cage, Cheila, Jessica Drake, Schelly Elson, Judy, Vanda, Evan Stone, Brick Majors, Mark Davis, Anthony Crane, and Mickey G.
Running Time: 1:54 (feature) plus 1:28 (behind-the-scenes feature)
Format: Single Sided, Dual Layer
DVD Features: Full motion video main menu, full-motion video chapter selection menu, 20+ picture photo gallery, 88-minute behind-the-scenes feature, and 12 preview trailers

The First Word: Caribbean Undercover is a good effort from Ultimate/Adam & Eve, with a high budget look to go along with the great value. However, it has a few flaws, most notably a poor plot and some weak acting performances.

Plot Synopsis: Jonathan Bennett (Brick Majors) is a CIA operative, assisted by his boss (Mickey G.) and support assistant (I guess) Paige (Tera Patrick). He goes after bad guy Martin Ives (Mark Davis), who is using a bevy of beautiful Eastern European women to smuggle computer chips to nuclear weapons out of the island of St. Maarten. Carribbean Undercover has everyone getting lucky in paradise, whether it's the smuggler having his way with his couriers, or the good guys and gals having sex with each other.

What I liked: Beautiful women in exotic locations: All of the women in this picture are very pretty, and except for one of the girls, they're all natural too. I can definitely understand the appeal of Tera Patrick, with her exotic features, large & natural breasts, and toned & leggy body. I only wish that she was a little more animated during sex--she comes across as a very glamorous but passionless porn star. Tera Patrick may be the star of this movie, but based on the character she plays, she takes a backseat to the male performers and comes across as just another pretty girl who gets fucked in the movie. At any rate, the girls fit right into the beautiful surroundings that they are filmed in. Whether the sex is filmed in a jeep, on a yacht, at a seaside villa, in the surf, or under a small waterfall, it looks great and is a cut way above most porn.

The extra movie: The main extra on the disc is a feature-length behind-the-scenes video that could almost stand alone as a full-length gonzo. Shot by Steven St. Croix, the video isn't exactly a true behind-the-scenes look nor is it a "making-of" documentary. Rather, it's a mix of some home video footage, a few scenes of "extracurricular activities," and a glimpse at some of the behind-the-scenes happenings. The "home video footage" gives us a tour of the villa that the production used during filming, captures the arrival of the girls, shows a lot of T&A, sunbathing, and swimming, and provides some other random looks at the cast and crew. We also get to see Mark Davis get lucky with a couple of the girls and one of the production assistants. The three full-length sex scenes don't appear to be outtakes from the Caribbean Undercover production but rather some "off camera" encounters. Finally, one of the scenes in the video shows the shooting of the jeep scene between Evan Stone and Vanda. It's a pretty good glimpse into the shooting process, as we hear the director give instructions to the talent as the taping of the scene progresses, among other things. In all, the extra video isn't the most revealing, sexy, or funny behind-the-scenes feature I've seen, but it's really adds to the value of this disc, since you're almost getting two videos for the price of one.

What I didn't like: Weak plot and acting: Despite the lavish locations and high production budget, the actual plot is pretty weak, completely forgettable in my book. The acting performances are weaker. Tera Patrick may have a beautiful body, but she can't act. Neither can Mickey G. They sound like they're reading cue cards, and it's painful to listen to them try to deliver serious dialogue. The others in the cast don't have very many lines at all, so I can't judge their acting abilities.

Travelogue style: I'm sure you're saying, "WTF is 'travelogue style'?!?" I don't know a better way of describing the visual style of this movie other than to call it that. Basically, the sex scenes are shot in extravagant outdoor locations, shot in reduced speed, with instrumental music as the only sound. The production sound (moaning, etc.) is completely absent. It looks like a cross between a swimsuit video and a travel program, only with hardcore sex in it. Only one of the scenes in the main feature is shown at normal speed, and only two have anything resembling production sound. To me, the style is good for eye candy enjoyment, but definitely serves to remove some of the heat and passion in the scene. It's likely to appeal to couples, but raincoaters are going to complain that it's not hot enough.

The "Hot Shot" feature: I like the idea of having a way to skip to the "money shot" or climax of the scene, but the way Ultimate implemented this feature just sucks. Part of the way into the scene, a yellow link shows up at the bottom of the screen with the words "Hot Shot." The idea is that you press the "select" button on your remote and it skips you to the cumshot at the end of the scene. Unfortunately, the link is there for most of the scene and is completely distracting to the action. It ruins an otherwise beautiful looking scene and just reminds you that you're watching an X-rated movie--so much for the fantasy. And you know what, folks? All the "Hot Shot" button does is skip to the next chapter break. Call me silly, but that's what the "next chapter" button on every DVD remote is for. This irritates me so much that this "feature" knocks down both the Overall and DVD Extras ratings by a half-point.

DVD Extras: Other than the 88-minute behind-the-scenes feature I've already talked about, there's a standard-sized photo gallery and a bunch of preview trailers. The gallery is nothing to write home about, and the photos are too small to be worthwhile, since half the screen space is used for the Adam & Eve and Ultimate logos. The dozen trailers are pretty nice, and it was a nice touch to put them all on one track so that you can watch all of them in a row, rather than having to individually select each one.

A/V Quality: Having seen some of Ultimate's previous DVD attempts, I wasn't expecting too much from this one, but I feel better about Caribbean Undercover than their earlier releases. It's definitely not among the best adult transfers I've seen, but it is slightly above average. The colors tend to be oversaturated--all of them, reds, greens, and blues--so the colors looks very vibrant but almost unnaturally so in some cases. This is especially obvious in fleshtones, were people tend to look pink or purple. The audio suffers from quiet dialogue combined with a too-loud background music track, so you'll be reaching for the remote often to turn up and down the volume. And as a minor nitpick, where is the "AC-3 Dolby Surround Sound 5.1" that is advertised on the back? Looks like a standard 2-channel stereo mix to me, and the mastering note at the very end of the movie even says it was recorded in Digital Surround Sound (though I can't locate any sort of surround channel on the disc).

The Last Word: In general, this DVD is a good one, with a mix of beautiful babes, high production values, and a pretty good behind-the-scenes feature. It's an all-around good effort from Ultimate, not without its flaws of course, but a step in the right direction. With a better transfer or an improved plot, this could have been a real winner. I would still recommend it, but I wouldn't expect a masterpiece, just a nice looking, couples-safe movie that's a good value.

Themes: Exotic tropical locations, Eurobabes, outdoor sex, facials, oral cumshots, anal