Les 24h du Gland Review

LES 24H DU GLAND
(JTC)
Directed by Gabriel Zero
Starring: Ovidie, Adeline, Jessica Fiorentino, Justine Dessade, Sylvia Lancôme, Manuel Ferrara, Yann Scott, Andrea Moranty, Pavel

This French-released feature production from Gabriel Zero centres on a plot concerning some kind of revolutionary design for a motorcycle, or parts thereof, which Ovidie inadvertently signs over to some scheming businessman and uses her feminine wiles to win back. Doesn't sound exactly enchanting, but I suppose my scanty knowledge of French, for the dialogue is almost entirely in that language, hasn't helped me grasp the intricacies of the plot either. Anyway, what is interesting about this movie is the cast - some of the premier new Czech starlets - and the director. This is the first proper movie that I have seen from Gabriel on his own, though he has others under his belt. Seeing as I wish to assess him on his own merits, I will avoid reference to his more famous cousin and regular collaborator.

The tale opens with designer Andrea (AKA Andrea Vidal, or Tarzzan, - Nacho's cousin, isn't he? Something like that. It's a small world) consulting by telephone with Ovidie, the French star who is the star of this movie, who appears unhappy with test pilot Manuel's performance on the bike. Meanwhile, Yann Scott and his boss are conspiring in their office.

Sulking in a gym, Manuel is consoled by two horny French girls - slim Adeline (AKA Natalie Suc, a very trim, toned petite dark haired girl with not an ounce of body fat) and Justine Dessade (a reasonably cute girl of, I would guess, mixed Oriental and French heritage). Natalie, in gym gear, and Justine, in a chain harness under her hooker-style clothes, get to work on Manuel's cock, and there's a lot of oral action before Manuel gets to work with the vigour that's becoming his trademark (or is he just copying Rocco?). Hard fucking, with a politely rough edge, for both of these enthusiastic girls makes for some fine fun, including some creative piled-up positions on the gym equipment. There are some great views of Justine's pale, peachy ass being spanked, and hard, till it glows by Adeline and Manuel, while Justine tries to jam her fist into her own pussy. Then Adeline gets her ass soundly shafted in a few positions, showing off her lean little body, till Manuel comes on Adeline's ass and Justine's mouth. This scene features safe sex for vaginal and anal penetration.

Yann and boss arrive at the racetrack, and Ovidie excitedly signs the contract. She phones Andrea with the news, but he is otherwise occupied. In his mansion, the same one seen in Rocco's Initiations 4, some of the girls, among others, from that movie are decoratively arranged throughout the conservatory and pool area. Andrea slowly moves from one pair of girls to another, touching them, perhaps encouraging them to kiss or lick each other, gently exploring their bodies. It's largely soft core, but extremely erotic to me, and another opportunity for lingering views of some these maddeningly gorgeous Czech and Slovak girls, including Syliva Lancôme, Petra (AKA Dany Ricci), and especially one busty brunette who is new to me but has such a pretty face and superb, ripe tits. What all this really has to do with the story, I don't know, but who cares? Any chance to see girls this lovely showing their bodies and getting ever so gently aroused is welcome!

Anyway, now Andrea has the news, he gets to work with plans, leaving his girl Sylvia bored. She watches a porn video, and touches her lissom figure with a flower. A scene featuring wonderful Jessica Fiorentino, a curvaceous raven-haired woman with a great attitude, represents the porn video. Though Jessica looks great, especially those legs in black nylons, this is essentially a very generic scene, with oral, vaginal and anal sex shot in a notably static fashion, when compared with Gabriel's style. So much so, that I'd suggest that this was directed by someone else. Whatever the truth of its origin, it's nothing memorable.

When Manuel sees what Ovidie has signed up to, she realises she's made a mistake and heads to Yann's office to follow up advice Andrea has given. Yann leaves her alone, while he looks for the boss, so Ovidie takes the chance to rifle through the papers to make suitable alterations to the contract. On his return, leggy, dark-haired and pale-skinned Ovidie (who, with a few tattoos and piercings, is not really my ideal porn girl) comes on strong to Yann and they share a quite passionate encounter that gives reasonable intimation of genuine arousal. After sucking his big dick with some expertise, Ovidie sheds her clothes, revealing her pale body, and spends quite some time taking Yann's dick in her pussy in numerous positions. I don't really fancy Ovidie, but I can't deny it is hot stuff. Well, maybe medium-hot. She jerks Yann off on to her boobs, but his come-shot is miniscule. This scene also features condom use.

Andrea celebrates the success of Ovidie's mission by giving in to temptation with the superb Sylvia. He pushes aside his paperwork to get to grips with this fabulously horny young lady. She is of mixed Afghan/Slovak parentage, apparently (just in case you haven't heard), and has wonderful long legs, small, pretty tits and an ass that is going to drive all butt freaks wild. Sylvia lovingly sucks Andrea's cock, and then he slides it into her naturally hairy pussy. The subsequent anal is initially a little difficult, so it's perhaps no surprise to see her back on top with his cock in her pussy. But she's a game girl and again takes it in her ass during the run for home that sees Andrea take her fairly firmly, with Gabriel supplying lots of great views of her whole fantastic form, till Andrea spurts on her well-fucked bum.

I won't reveal the end, where Yann's conman boss comes to collect the motorcycle he is expecting. That's not to say there is an unmissable, wicked twist to the conclusion - "weakly humorous" is the best I can say.

Overall
I enjoyed Le 24h du Gland (I'd appreciate a proper explanation of the pun - something to do with Gland being French for glans, or helmet if you follow, and the Le Mans 24 hour race) but it is not without flaws. First of these is that the Czech and Slovak girls in the mansion scene don't get enough screen time - it was good, but one hardcore scene with Sylvia isn't enough. Secondly, the story is pretty feeble, though the acting is reasonable and Ovidie and Manuel look like modestly capable and personable performers. On the up side, there are some respectable sex scenes with enthusiastic, if not always the most attractive, girls and a brisk pace that means it never gets dull. The movie could have been a little longer, and with reference to my earlier point, why not use some more of the assembled talent for another scene?

I was really keen for Gabriel to deliver the goods, and in some ways he does show a little more invention, but it never quite breaks free from the usual constraints of low-budget porn. It doesn't even have the motorcycle action sequences that so impressed me on Super Moto Hard - just a couple of shots of the bike on the road, and no more. Okay, so motorcycle racing isn't what people watch porn for, but if you are going to go for some kind of theme like this, why not go for it, full on, rather than this earnest but half-hearted fare.

So in the end, Les 24h du Gland is watchable fun, with a few moments of particular delight for Czech talent spotters, but not quite the top drawer smut that one might hope for. I don't want to be too harsh - like I say, I did enjoy it, and would suggest you try it if it sounds intriguing - but it is not a must-see movie by any manner of means

DVD Comments
Where this disc does score is with the extra footage. There is an excellent "behind the scenes" section, approximately 15 minutes, combining a little interview with Manuel and a female companion whose identity I didn't catch (you'll definitely get more out of this DVD if you understand French), and on-set shenanigans at the mansion location somewhere in the snowy East. This shows more of the girls, and is great fun, and suggests to me that such a large cast wouldn't be assembled for the small part they play in this movie. So I hope for more. There are also some amusing bloopers - merely the expression on Manuel's face is enough to make Justine collapse in fits of the giggles. It's nice to see the human side to the people we all too often only appraise as sex objects.

There are also photos and an illustrated list of JTC DVD titles - only one has a very small playable excerpt. As far as picture quality is concerned, it is not bad. I feel there is a little too much compression and colour is slightly lacking, but it is watchable. Sound is fine, though sometimes the dialogue is a little distorted. This is a PAL, region free DVD, with French audio only - no subtitle or language options.