Good, the Bad and the Wicked, The Review

Distributor: Wicked Pictures Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: All Sex, All Girl, Vignette, Western Run Time: 86 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 1998 Director: Brad Armstrong Written by: Brad Armstrong Cast: Missy, Charlie, Antonia, Stephanie Swift, Felecia (as Felicia), Shayla LaVeaux, Nici Sterling, Roxanne Hall, Shay Sweet, Dolly Golden, Brooke, Kelsey Heart (as Kelsey Hart), Mandi Frost, Syren, Ruby, Randi Rage, George Kaplan Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed) 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 Disc: DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Behind the Scenes, Photo Gallery, Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery, Star Biographies, Trailers, Promotional Material, Award Winners & Nominations, Star Galleries DVD-ROM Special Features: Wicked Casino, Wicked Web

Synopsis:
Archibald T. Nelson (George Kaplan) tells a drifter, Missy (Missy), stories about the sleepy little western town that she has just ridden into.

Audio/Video:
The Good, the Bad and the Wicked is presented with an English 2.0 Stereo track, which is more than adequate considering the audio needs for the film. The film consists of dialog in the short non-sex portions and music in the sex scenes. The dialog is clear and easy to hear but the music can get loud in portions, which is distracting. Wicked has also included a dubbed Spanish 2.0 Stereo track but has included no subtitle options on the disc.

The Good, the Bad and the Wicked is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which appears to be the original aspect ratio for the film. The movie was shot on film and looks good in this presentation. The print does contain artifacts throughout, but not enough to ruin the viewing experience. The color levels are properly set.

Special Features:
As usual, Wicked has included a collection of extras on the disc of which several relate to the feature film. First up is a seven minute piece called “Behind the Scenes of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” which shows shots of the filming of the movie mixed in with clips from the film. There are star biographies, which include audio and text information with a picture, a link to the scene containing the star and a Wicked filmography, for Shay Sweet, Syren, Missy, Felicia, Ruby, Charlie, Nici Sterling, Stephanie Swift, Shayla LaVeaux, Kelsey Hart, and Brad Armstrong.

There are a few photo galleries included on the disc. There is the main photo gallery that contains 20 stills from the film on a track. There is a behind the scenes photo gallery that contains an additional 20 photos involving the production crew that is also on a track. There are star photo galleries, each containing 20 photos on a track for Missy, Charlie, Antonia, Stephanie Swift, Felicia, Shayla LaVeaux, Nici Sterling, Roxanne Hall, Shay Sweet, Dolly Golden, Brooke, Kelsey Hart, Mandi Frost, Syren, Ruby, and Randi Rage.

There are also the standard Wicked extras available on the disc as well. The promotional material hides the past adult convention reels from Wicked's booth. Wicked Awards — Winners and Nominations is a listing of all past films from Wicked Pictures that have been nominated for and/or won various industry awards. And last, but not least, there are trailers for Vengeance, Knockout, Pornogothic, The Kissing Game, Flashpoint, Sex Safari, Hell on Heels, and Dream Quest.

DVD-ROM Special Features:
This disc is a PC Friendly enhanced title and Wicked has included their standard DVD-ROM extras on the disc. There is the Wicked Web, which is a gateway link to Wicked's website. Also included is the Wicked Casino, which is a free casino program that you have to install on your computer that allows you to play casino style games online against opponents for Wicked Cash or just by yourself for fun. The available casino games are Black Jack, Roulette, Baccarat, Slots, and Poker.

Navigation:
There are nine chapters available from the main menu for The Good, the Bad and the Wicked. They are identified by a video clip and a name for the scene that the chapter goes to. The chapters are decent for navigation through the disc. There is a time code for the feature film encoded on the disc.

General Review:
The Good, the Bad and the Wicked could have been an excellent western theme film, but numerous problems with the film end up making this film below average. The first problem with the film is that it can't seem to decide whether it is trying to tell a linear story or whether it just wants to be vignette film. The break between the scenes with Missy and George Kaplan works well for a vignette film to connect the vignettes, but then at the end they try to bring a little story into the film. This brings us into the next problem with the film though.

The sex scenes in the film have too much of a detached feel from the rest of the film. The film cuts from George talking to Missy right to the scene, which starts immediately from an obvious start. The film would have flowed much better if there had been a short lead into the scene after the cut from George and Missy talking to more establish the scene. For example, when the film switches to the second scene, the cast is standing still and then start moving, making the film look like the scene was originally intended as a stand alone vignette and the George and Missy dialog was added as an afterthought. The idea behind the film was good, it is just the execution that falls short.

The sex scenes look nice but they are also rather tame. Unfortunately, as with most lesbian scenes in adult films, the scenes don't feel complete at the end. Most of them just seem to end in the middle of what is going on. The sexual themes in the film are oral sex with lesbianism, pussy fingering, anilingus, strap-on vaginal sex, vaginal toy use, anal fingering, and anal toy use.

The costuming is a mixed bag. Some of the costumes in the film are excellent and enhance the mood created by the film but there are others that just don't fit in right. For instance, in the second scene, the Indian and confederate soldiers don't fit the scene. It looks like Brad Armstrong found the costumes and decided just to use them because he found them. If he had really wanted to use the costumes this much, he could have written scenes for which the costumes fit better and the film would have flowed better. There are also some occasions of designer jeans popping up which threw the reality that this was just a porn film up. While I'm on the topic of things that didn't fit the film too well, the use of toys in some of the scenes doesn't fit the film either since these toys didn't exist in the time period the film takes place in. The film would have been much better sans toys.

The sets used in the film are excellent. They completely fit the mood and feel of the film and if the other technical problems listed above weren't present, this film could have been excellent. The sets are above average for an adult film and give the viewer the ability to believe this is a small Midwestern town. Normally I wouldn't be this hard on an adult film for such little details, but Brad Armstrong has proved himself to be a good director and the film holds so much latent potential, so it is a shame to see it fall so short of where it could have gone.

The Scenes:
The first scene brings us Charlie and Stephanie Swift for a scene that includes pussy eating with some anilingus and some pussy fingering. The second scene, with Brooke, Shayla LaVeaux, Stephanie Swift, and Syren includes pussy eating, pussy fingering, vaginal toy use, vaginal strap-on use and some anal fingering. The third scene gives us Antonia, Dolly Golden and Randi Rage for a scene that includes pussy eating and pussy fingering.

The fourth scene brings us Nici Sterling and Roxanne Hall for some pussy eating and pussy fingering. The fifth scene gives us Missy and Ruby for some pussy eating and pussy fingering. The sixth scene, with Felicia and Mandi Frost includes pussy eating and pussy fingering. The seventh and final scene, brings us Kelsey Hart, Missy, and Shay Sweet for a scene that includes pussy eating, pussy fingering, some anilingus, vaginal toy use and some anal toy use.

Parting Thoughts:
This film has the elements of being an excellent film, but unfortunately, due to the execution, the film ends up falling below average. The sex scenes are nice, but don't flow well with the rest of the film and there are costume and sex toy problems. If you are a fan of western theme adult films, you might want to pick this film up, but I'd recommend a rental or making sure the film was on sale before buying it.

Screenshots:

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