Exhausted Review

Distributor: MG Media Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic, Feature Film, Documentary Also known as: Exhausted: John C. Holmes, The Real Story Run Time: 75 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1981 Director: Julia St. Vincent Written by: uncredited Cast: John Holmes (as John C. Holmes), Seka, Jesie St. James (as Jesse St. James), Annette Haven, Georgina Spelvin, Linda Wong, Paula Wain (Christin Sarver), Laurien Dominique, Fatima Hamoud (as Fatima Hammoud), Melba Bruce, Felecia Sanda (as Felicia Sanda), Kyoto Sun (as Kyoto), Phaery I. Burd (as Fay Burd), Candice Chambers, Jennifer Richards, Eileen Welles (as Eileen Wells), Bonnie Holiday, Kitty Shayne (as Kitty Shane), Jessica Temple-Smith, Cris Cassidy (as Chris Cassidy), Monique Starr, Phadre (as Phardre), Laurie Smith (as Lori Smith), Lauri Noel (as Laura Toledo), Joan Devlon, Bob Chinn, Damon Christian, Elliot Lewis, Michelle Scher Voices: Julia St. Vincent, Morgan Lofting Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

John Holmes, the man, the myth, the legend. Why has John Holmes become such a household name in an industry where male stars are rarely known to people who watch adult movies, let alone the general public. Rumored to have slept with over 14,000 women and to have appeared in over 2,500 adult films, videos, and loops; he has been the focus of many films including Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, which was partially based on Exhausted, James Cox's Wonderland, and Cass Paley's documentary Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes, which appeared, albeit in an edited form, on the Lionsgate DVD release for Wonderland. It has been almost 29 years since John Holmes passed away; yet, still to this day the prolific male adult film actor is well known.

John Holmes was a notorious liar and Julia St. Vincent's “documentary” Exhausted promises to tell the true story of the blue screen legend. Composed of interviews with industry members, people of the street interviews, interviews of John Holmes, and footage from his films, it quickly becomes apparent to the viewer that the only real aspects to Exhausted are the people on the street interviews. Sadly, for viewers seeking a real glimpse at John Holmes, it is not to be found anywhere here.

Exhausted was made during the waning years of John Holmes as an in-demand adult film star when drugs were affecting his performances and according to Bob Chinn, the production of Exhausted ended just days before the Wonderland Avenue murders on Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon that John Holmes allegedly participated in (which was the subject of Wonderland). Exhausted was an obviously rushed effort. Despite a laundry list of adult stars that appear in the “documentary,” only one star is actually interviewed for the film, Seka. All of the numerous others listed in the credits only appear in footage from films that John Holmes starred in, most of which were directed by Bob Chinn. The only behind the scenes member of the adult industry that was interviewed was Chinn. All of the other interviews that appear in the film are of people on the street that were shot in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Most of the interview footage with John Holmes is shot at what appears to be the filming of the never-to-be next Johnny Wadd film Waikiki Wadd. This backdrop is as fake as the rest of the documentary. While there was some footage shot for Waikiki Wadd, the set you see in the documentary was put together just for this film. By the time this film was shot, Bob Chinn had already abandoned Waikiki Wadd due to John Holmes' drug issues. Chinn used some of the shot footage for Waikiki Wadd in Prisoner of Paradise that was released in 1980.

Exhausted is also not a compilation of sex scenes. There are roughly 35 sex scenes in the film, but none of them are at all complete. They are literally clips from various scenes from, I believe, Freeway Films releases in rapid succession showing John Holmes in action. Viewers looking for a compilation film will be sorely disappointed with this release.

So, if Exhausted is not a true to life documentary on John Holmes, what does it provide the viewer? What Exhausted ends up being is a fake puff-piece exhibiting Holmes with the persona he wanted people to believe about him. However, even at this sometimes the film fails. For example, Holmes talks about how Chinn allows him to choreograph his own fight scenes. Chinn, who is standing next to Holmes, contradicts him stating that he doesn't.

It is too bad that Exhausted was a rushed effort. Since Julia St. Vincent had no problem creating a fake documentary, it would have been a far better effort if she had made a mockumentary on a porn star like The Compleat Al, that was made about “Weird Al” Yankovic years later, Exhausted might hold up better. As it stands, it is not much more of a vanity piece on John Holmes offering the viewer little to no real information on the legendary adult film star.

Is Exhausted worth viewing? That depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for either a compilation of Holmes' work or a true account of Holmes' life, Exhausted won't offer you anything. If you are looking for a fake look that shows the mythos of John Holmes, Exhausted isn't bad.

MG Media has done a great job with their release of Exhausted. Exhausted was shot on film and is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i. Exhausted appears to have been mastered from a film print and looks nice on the release. The image sports print damage, grain, and artifacts. Colors look nice. Overall, there shouldn't be any disappointment over the image quality on the release.

Exhausted is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The dialog in the film is clear and easy to hear at all times. The only issues with the track are a hiss throughout the film and pops and crackles. None of this detracts from the viewing experience.

MG Media has included a nice collection of extras on the release. There is a feature length commentary track with Julia St. Vincent, Bob Chinn, and Gloria Leonard (who is only present for part of the track). There is a 22-minute rough cut interview with John Holmes by Julia St. Vincent from 1980 included on the disc. “Julia's Diary” contains scanned items of Julia St. Vincent's from working with John Holmes with narration. There are also text biographies of Julia St. Vincent, John Holmes, Seka, Jesie St. James, Annette Haven, and Georgina Spelvin. The photo gallery listed on the DVD box is missing from the release.

Exhausted is a hard film to categorize and review. If one is looking for a true documentary on John Holmes, Julia St. Vincent's documentary is not what you are looking for. If you are looking for a pseudo-documentary that highlights all of the myths and false images of the adult film industry and John Holmes, Exhausted is your film. MG Media has done a great job with their release of Exhausted with a nice image and audio along with a great set of extras.

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