Debbie Does Dallas: Uncovered Review
Docurama
Studio: Docurama
Category: Softcore
Directed by: Francis Hanly
Starring: Eric Edwards, R. Bolla, Herschel Savage, Robin Byrd
Released on: 3/14/2006
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Like thousands, maybe millions of
people, Debbie Does Dallas was one of the first X-rated films that I ever
saw. Burned into my memory are the music, the dialogue, and, of course,
the sex from this landmark flick. Only recently have serious documentaries
tried to shed some light on the cultural and historical impact that pornography
has made on our society, especially from the early days of the industry.
Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered, a made-for-TV special (albeit for British
TV), is one such attempt to show why a run-of-the-mill X-rated parody became one
of the most recognized pornos of all time. This documentary, which was clearly meant to fit in an hour time slot with commercials, sets off with a simple premise: to locate as many of those who were associated with "one of the top 5 grossing porn films of all time." But, as the narrator ominously points out, there is a dark history associated with Debbie. Not coincidentally, Uncovered is one of four specials produced by the UK's Channel Four that form "The Dark Side of Porn" series. Is it a morality piece that vilifies the porn industry? Not really, but it's not going to make the Free Speech Coalition's recommended watching list either, I imagine. Uncovered tries to do a just a few things: explain the plot of Debbie to those who are unfamiliar, interview some of those who were involved in its production, discuss the film's organized crime ties, delve into the question of how adult actors fare in an a profession without residuals, report on the high suicide and drug rate among porn stars, and answer the question of "where is Bambi Woods," the girl-next-door star. As you can imagine, with only about 45 minutes to do all of that, "depth" doesn't describe this documentary at all. Contrast this to the film Inside Deep Throat, which manages to explore the history and politics of that film in much greater, um, depth. Aside from the narrated story, Uncovered relies heavily on interviews with some of the stars of the film, using their real names: Herschel Cohen (Herschel Savage), Robert Kerman (R. Bolla), Rob Everett (Eric Edwards), and the only female cast member willing to be interviewed, Robin Byrd. They discuss their experiences making the movie, and there are some good candid moments as they watch the footage of themselves, some 25+ years later. They discuss what they did after Debbie and what they are doing now (a porn actor again, a bit character actor in mainstream, a single dad and adult video editor, and a cable TV porn show host, respectively). There's also some interviews with two of the FBI agents who were involved in Operation MIPORN (MI as in Miami) to bust organized crime's tie-ins to the adult industry at the time. Debbie Does Dallas was financed by mobster Mickey Zaffarano, who these agents chased. Ultimately, Zaffarano died of a heart attack as the Feds closed in to arrest him on charges of interstate distribution of obscenity. Ultimately, the whole legal angle is really superficial and doesn't put the government's crusade or the mob's involvement into any historical context. Another section of the film recounts the search for "Debbie" herself, Bambi Woods. Debbie was her first film, and her last other than the sequel. No one knew her well, and she disappeared shortly thereafter. There's speculation that her family or religious upbringing pulled her away from porn. There's also speculation that she died in 1986 but there's no proof. The filmmakers hired a private investigator to track her down, but in an era where no legal identification was required (since filming adult movies was illegal in New York where the film was made), he didn't have real name to search for. Like Al Capone's vault, the search came up empty. Someone made the good point that if she did disappear like that and stay hidden, she probably wouldn't want someone showing up and asking her for an interview. To fill some dirt for "The Dark Side of Porn," they insinuate that a lot of porn stars meet unhappy ends, showing the Dead Porn Star web page showing lots of suicides and deaths. They also talk about the death of Arcadia Lake, one of the stars in Debbie, who died from a drug overdose. From mainstream media, it's to be expected that they use this stereotype to drum up some ratings, unfortunately. From an "naughty bits" perspective, no bits are shown aside from boobs and a few out-of-focus and strategically cropped sections from Debbie. Compared to anything you're likely to watch that's reviewed here, it's puritan. Probably premium cable faire, since US cable TV is pretty squeamish about showing breasts. So this is strictly an educational, not an erotic, video. The DVD includes another Channel Four documentary in "The Dark Side of Porn" series called Diary of a Porn Virgin. As the title suggests, it chronicles three people trying to make it into England's porn industry. "Frankie" is a 38-year old corporate manager who gives up her well-paying job to get into porn. She's married and has kids, and has a fairly rough time going from amateur porn to pro-am, including girl-girl and a 3-hour gangbang. Expect tears and a pretty accurate portrayal of the harsh and unforgiving nature of the porn industry. "Sahara" is a much younger girl--an Asian, former Muslim--who also gives up a good job to enter porn with a much different result. She goes from nude modeling to webcam shows featuring golden showers, and beyond. And, as a side story, there's a look at the male side of the industry, with some auditions for new male talent, who naturally have a hard time keeping wood. Diary is nothing new if you know even a little bit about the behind-the-scenes working of the industry, but a nice extra nonetheless. Overall, Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered is probably rental material due to its lack of depth, but something that fans of classic adult cinema should see. I enjoyed it from the curiosity of what the actors look like now and what they are doing. It also made me a bit sad, especially as you could see the pain in R. Bolla's face as he expressed regret for having done porn because he wasted his prime acting years on it. While it's not the whole story about the people involved in the industry, I've seen enough accounts that seem to indicate that it's probably true that porn tends to benefit only those producing it.
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The opinions expressed in this review of Debbie Does Dallas: Uncovered from Docurama are not necessarily the opinions of Adult DVD Talk. Adult DVD Talk provides a public forum for consumers to post their DVD reviews. Adult DVD Talk does not edit these reviews.