Joy Of Erotic Massage, The Review

Running Time: approx. 60 min.

Production Date: June 2001

Director: Mark Schoen, PhD

Cast: Louise Andree, Dan Anderson, Kira Reed Anderson, Alex Alexander, Lisa Rolland, and narration by Lesley M. Blair

Initial Expectations: I’ve had pretty good luck with the DVDs form the Sinclair Institute, so I’m hoping for more good stuff here.

Initial Reaction: It’s Sinclair’s best DVD so far.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody interested in massage

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody that massage rubs the wrong way

Audio /Video Quality: Both the audio and video quality is very good. Lesley M. Blair’s deep voice comes across very well, although it is just a little hard to understand at times. The video is very clear with very few signs of any pixelation.

Music: The music is very sexy and relaxing. It reminds me a lot of Saint’s music from many of Adam & Eve’s features. It ranges from a very nice balance to being just a hair loud.

Disc Problems / Complaints: As with the rest of The Better Sex Video Series DVDs, there isn’t a time stamp. This always bugs me as I don’t always have time to watch an entire DVD in one sitting, and I know I’m not alone. A time stamp allows the viewer to skip to any instant whether they’re continuing to watch the feature from an earlier time or just checking out something during repeat viewings.

Menus: It’s Sinclair’s standard menu. It’s very basic, although the chapter menu is extremely detailed, which is great with the missing time stamp.

The Feature: The Joy of Erotic Massage reminds us right away that touch goes a lot farther than words. It’s something we’ve all experienced. Sometimes that kiss on a lover’s neck does just as much, if not more, than a few words. Massage is that touch put to full use. It can be done on any surface and is all about sharing. The giver receives just as does the recipient of the massage. The erotic massage uses the entire body and can help give a better orgasm by spreading the orgasm through the entire body.

The feature works its way through the entire body and the different techniques for the different areas. It even goes so far as showing a diagram of the foot with all the body’s pressure points located on it. It’s an amazing diagram and one that I wish would have also been enclosed as an insert rather than just on the DVD. Guiding you though the different techniques is Lesley M. Blair. A more perfect instructional voice would be hard to find. He has a deep, relaxing voice that should put almost anybody at ease. It’s like listening to James Earl Jones or Barry White, just a little softer. As he narrates, two different couples demonstrate the techniques. The couples are all extremely realistic looking and attractive enough that you don’t mind watching them. The camera uses many different angles so it catches close-ups as well as distance shots to give a full range of views on the techniques the couples demonstrate. It’s very well done and doesn’t have any of the dryness that some of Sinclair’s earlier features suffered from.

The Joy of Erotic Massage is the best DVD yet from the Sinclair Institute. It isn’t as dry as some of their other features and still does a great job of getting across a lot of information. The couples are real and the feature is just graphic enough to get the points across without becoming wanking material. If you have any interest whatsoever in giving your lover an erotic massage, buy, don’t rent, this DVD.

Extras: A few of the extras have been included on some of Sinclair’s other DVDs. The sexual health information is included on every Sinclair Institute DVD and the No Greater Love #2 featurette was included with 10 Secrets to Great Sex and The Big O: An Erotic Guide to Better Orgasms , both of which I thought were very good.

The main extra, however is a short film lasting a little over a half hour called Tantric Steps to Prolonged Orgasm directed by Joey Adams. It talks about how in tantric sex there isn’t a goal, just a journey with equal value put on both sexes. It discusses breathing exercises, full body orgasms, different positions, and multi-orgasmic tips. It’s not too exciting, but it’s a great bonus feature for anybody interested in expanding their sexual knowledge.

The other main extra is a ten minute behind the scenes featurette that was made just for this DVD. It shows a few of the bloopers and includes a few comments from some of the crew about what they learned while making the film. You also see some on how they made the shots for the feature. It’s a very different featurette but well done for this type of feature.

Themes: Educational and massage

Raincoat Factor: Medium low

Overall: Currently, The Joy of Erotic Massage can be found online for between $18 and $25 with several stores offering it for $20 and less. If you’re at all interested in massages, you must buy this DVD. It’s extremely well done and very detailed. The transfer is extremely good and the extras add nicely to the package.

Note to Sinclair: Yep. It’s yet another mention of that pesky time stamp that everybody I know that watches DVDs wants. From what I understand it takes almost no effort to include. Please include it in the future. On the plus side, your additional extras are showing a lot more care about what the consumers like to see.

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