Falling From Grace (Wicked Pictures) Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  3/23/2003

Running Time: 98 min.

Production Date: 8 / 17 / 2002

Director: Brad Armstrong (with Jonathan Morgan credited as co-director)

Cast: Sydnee Steele, Brad Armstrong, Stephanie Swift, Stormy, Felecia, Jessica Drake, Nicole Sheridan, Kitten, Randy Spears, Dillion Day, Joey Ray, and Voodoo in sexual roles and Mike Horner and many others in non-sex roles

Initial Expectations: I’ve heard great things about this one and am going in with very high expectations.

Initial Reaction: Wow. This one deserved all the praise it received.

Who Should Watch It : Couples and anybody who likes some plot with their porn

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody wanting nastier sex or sex with altar boys

Audio /Video Quality: The audio is very clear and well balanced, just as one would expect from Wicked. The feature is presented in non-anamorphic widescreen, which I must confess disappointed me a little. Normally Wicked takes things all the way, and this seems to hold things back just a little (especially since they’ve released features in anamorphic widescreen in the past). Falling From Grace was shot on film, which means there’s a bit more grain than one would find in features that were shot on video, but it doesn’t get completely in the way here. The only problem with the video is there are a few artifacts that show up every now and then.

Music: The music normally has a techno feel to it, and is often a bit on the loud side. There’s also some nice religious chanting in parts that fits things extremely well.

Menus: The menus are very nicely animated. The main menu works in a little of the movie and the chapter menu lets you choose a scene based on a small clip of the movie and a scene number.

The Feature: Five years after Sydnee Steele is caught banging Brad Armstrong’s roommate Dillion Day, she returns to try and make things right. She’s surprised when she finds that Brad is now a priest who has taken a vow of celibacy. He doesn’t want anything to do with her, but when he tries to resolve things between them he finds himself drowning in doubt and questioning his faith.

Sydnee Steele starts things out with Dillion Day. She gives him some of her normally amazing head with great eyes, and continues to stroke his cock while she rides his face. They continue to work through most of the common positions with some great passion and energy until finally Dillion deposits a hearty helping of his dick droppings on a blissful Sydnee’s tits. It’s a great scene to open things up with, and is one of the most passionate scenes I’ve seen in a Wicked movie in quite a while. Sydnee and Dillion have great chemistry together, and seem to feed off of each other throughout the scene.

Joey Ray gets a little action from Kitten in the next scene. He stays behind the wheel while Kitten bends over to blow him. She puts some nice energy into sucking him, and trash talks to him while she works until he pops onto her hands. It’s a nice oral scene, and if it would have went any longer it would have been too long.

Stephanie Swift confesses to Brad about sleeping with her roommate, Felecia, in the next scene. Felecia starts out sampling Stephanie’s sweet snatch and letting Stephanie suck her own juices off her fingers before allowing Stephanie to return the favor. Stephanie also works on Felecia with a dildo while Felecia plays with her own ass. Felecia gives Stephanie a little dildo action in return before they finish things up with a little anal masturbation and a kiss. It’s a damn hot scene, and very easy to see how much Stephanie and Felecia enjoy working with each other. It was also great to see Stephanie getting a little anal action, which isn’t that common anymore.

Next, Randy Spears and the super cute Stormy get busy in the porn star’s fantasy location, a bed. They nicely exchange oral favors, with Randy taking a tender lead that Stormy doesn’t follow. They continue on through most of the common positions until Randy decorates Stormy’s great ass. It’s a great scene with excellent energy and chemistry to match.

Sydnee Steele gives Father Brad Armstrong some oral loving in the back room in the next scene. Brad resists her at first, but eventually can hold out no longer. Sydnee gives Brad a quick but energetic hummer until he baptizes her with his joy juice. It’s short but very well done. Armstrong’s more MTV-like editing comes into play for some of the scene here, and works very well since it’s a fantasy scene.

Voodoo takes on hookers Jessica Drake and Nicole Sheridan, his real life wife, in the penultimate scene. The girls start out gobbling Voodoo’s knob as he leans against a car before they let him go straight to fucking them, which is probably a good idea for Voodoo since they’re hookers. He fucks each of them in the pussy before giving Nicole a good ass fucking and decorates their faces. It’s a hot scene, but for some reason, didn’t hit me as well as some of the other scenes. I had very high expectations for this scene, which very well might be why I was a little disappointed.

Finally, Brad Armstrong loses his way and gives in to the temptations of Sydnee Steele. He pulls her away from dinner and onto the bed in her hotel room where they start kissing passionately before Sydnee gives Brad some oral love. Even though it’s been five years since Brad’s done it, he somehow (cough, altar boys, cough) lasts beyond Sydnee’s blowjob and lets her ride him as well as fuck her in the extremely appropriate missionary position. Finally, Brad decorates Sydnee’s stomach before kissing her passionately. It’s a hot scene with great chemistry and energy, but I was a little disappointed with it just due to the subject despite being very well done.

Falling From Grace is a very well done adult film. It proceeds nicely, and does a great job of making Brad’s conflict the central focus of the movie. Much of the credit here goes to Brad Armstrong’s skill as an actor, as well as a sexual performer. Just as much should go to Sydnee Steele, who thinks that her feelings are all that matter, and turns in what very well might be the best scene of the movie with Dillion Day. The sex is just as well done, with every couple and group doing very well and nobody really overpowering anybody else. I think Sydnee Steele and Dillion Day’s scene might be the best in the movie, but it’s so close that I can’t definitely say that it’s the best scene in the movie. Falling From Grace is an extremely well done adult film that’s well worth checking out.

Extras: Not surprisingly with the reception Falling From Grace originally received, Wicked has put some very nice effort into their extras. Audio bios are included for Sydnee Steele, Felecia, Jessica Drake, Nicole Sheridan, Stephanie Swift, Stormy, Brad Armstrong, and Randy Spears. Each bio includes a few photos of the star, a little personal information, and a link to the star’s scene, and in a nice touch, you select the star by their name and a photo rather than just a name. Trailers are included for Double Feature!, Dream Quest, Flashpoint, Heartache, and Crazed. There’s also an audio commentary, interviews, deleted and alternate scenes, bloopers, photo galleries, the listing of Wicked’s award winning and nominated features, promotional materials, a company profile, the weblinks, the Wicked Casino, and a commercial for the Free Speech Coalition.

Interviews are included with Sydnee Steele, Stormy, Nicole Sheridan and Jessica Drake, Dillion Day, Randy Spears, and Voodoo. Sydnee talks for almost six minutes about making the movie and things like the controversy about the set and religion. Stormy talks for about a minute and a half about her scene and getting turned on by the priest’s robe while she gets ready for her scene. Nicole and Jessica take about four and a half minutes about their scene, fetishes, and working for Wicked. Dillion Day takes three minutes to talk about working with Sydnee, his diet, and fipping. Randy Spears takes about two minutes while eating to talk about what he’s doing in the movie. Finally, Voodoo talks about three and a half minutes about getting paid to bang two of the most beautiful women in the movie. It’s a very nice selection of interviews, and definitely adds to the overall DVD.

The production photo gallery lasts over two and a half minutes and the behind the scenes gallery lasts just over two minutes, with each gallery giving you about six seconds per very nice looking snapshot or full screen photo. Star galleries are included for Sydnee Steele, Jessica Drake, Kitten, Nicole Sheridan, and Stormy. Sydnee and Jessica’s galleries last about a minute and three quarters, Kitten’s lasts nearly three and a half minutes, and Nicole and Stormy’s lasts just over two minutes. In each case, the galleries mix together full screen photos and snapshots and look great.

The blooper reel lasts about four minutes. There’s plenty of flubbed lines, a few forgotten lines, and a few fun moments. It’s a nice blooper reel, but not as humorous as many.

There are also deleted and alternate scenes. The deleted scene lasts just over a minute and a half. It gives you a bit more on Brad’s character, but seems like a wise cut. The alternate ending lasts almost a minute and a quarter, and is mostly presented in black and white rather than the color. With the two different directions the ending could take, one doesn’t need a lot of imagination to figure which direction the alternate ending goes. Personally, I’m really glad the feature took the direction it did rather than the alternate ending.

Brad Armstrong and Sydnee Steele team up to give a commentary for the feature. I was a little disappointed with the commentary. Brad and Sydnee do a decent job when they talk, but there’s a lot of dead air throughout the commentary. The talk is kept pretty tight around the movie, and rarely happens during the sex scenes. David Crawford pipes in for a little of the commentary, and adds a nice little bit with his questions.

All Access: The Making of Falling From Grace lasts about thirty seven minutes. Unlike many of the other behind the scenes featurettes on Wicked’s movies, this one is pretty much all business. You don’t get much of the happenings elsewhere on the set that normally make these so much fun. As usual, though, the cast is nicely identified as they take the screen so you know who’s who throughout the featurette and movie. Brad Armstrong nicely narrates the featurette, letting you know things like where they stand each day and some of his feelings on how things are going. It’s a nice featurette, just not as fun as some of the other behind the scenes featurettes from Wicked.

Of course, there’s also Easter eggs. There’s also roughly a minute and a half of Jonathan Morgan on the set questioning and commenting. It’s very amusing if you’re a fan of insulting humor. There’s about a minute and a half of Jonathan Morgan, Randy Spears, and Stormy bashing each other behind the scenes. It’s a lot of fun and definitely worth looking for.

Themes: Straight, interracial, oral, lesbian, toys, anal, spanking, and group

Condom Usage: Wicked has a mandatory condom policy, but efforts are taken to hide them here, such as removing the condom donut that makes them so noticeable. I actually rechecked a couple scenes to make sure that there really was a condom there.

Raincoat Factor: Medium

Overall: Currently, Falling From Grace can be found online for between $19 and $30, with several stores offering it for around $20. This is a bargain for what you get here. The story is extremely well done, and is nicely matched with some great sex. The transfer has some grain, but for film looks very nice. Finally, the disc is packed with extras. Give this one a chance.

Note to Wicked: It’s great to see you supporting the widescreen format, but please take your support to anamorphic widescreen in the future. Other than that, you did a very nice job here.

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

Other reviews by Astroknight