Les Petites Soubrettes Du Grand Hotel Review

Les Petites Soubrettes du Grand Hotel
Blue One
Directed by Ricky Grimaldi
Starring: Jessica Fiorentino, Krystal de Boor, Sandra Key, Giulia Dal Fuoco, Nikky Blu, Paola Valle, Terry Visconti, Franco 30lance, Luca Bazzluca, Denis Martin, Fausto Moreno, Andrea Monti, Andrea Nobili, Jackal, Mirone Danola, Miro Merola.
Running time: 2hrs 14mins (feature), 33mins (making of), 43mins (extra scenes)
Format: PAL/Region 2 encoded
Language: French

A polished Italian production, dubbed into French in this Blue One edition, "The Little Chambermaids of Grand Hotel" is the first I've movie seen from director Ricky Grimaldi.

The Story
The story is simple but effective - as the Grand Hotel is due for demolition to make way for a supermarket, hotelier Mario, played by Franco 30lance (Trentalance), reminisces about amorous events during the venerable establishment's golden age. Shown in flashback, these variously involve the staff and clients, from a nymphomaniac widow to a smooth film director, and an awful lot of hard sex, most scenes featuring explicit anal. Only one chambermaid, though! The women are mainly buxom and full figured, the sets and costumes harking back to a period from the fifties through the sixties to the seventies, with plenty of emphasis on lingerie, corsets, heels, and stockings.

It is unusual for me to suggest that more time should have been spent on the storyline in a porn film, but from reading an article on the movie (report - in Italian - with screenshots at Video Impulse; credit duly given for helping me with performer IDs), and from scenes shown in the trailer but not in the movie, it feels like the narrative and characterisations have been trimmed back in order to make way for the sex, and it would have helped to realise the grander aspirations of the tale. There's suggestion in the above article of hard & soft versions and also two-part VHS and one-part DVD versions, but whatever is the case, the story suggested in the article is fuller than in this DVD. For example, just adding a little grey hair doesn't quite give the full impression of time passing on the scale that it is supposed to, nor does the narration fully explain the characters, events and motivations - but then I am, of course, doubtless missing quite a lot due to my own linguistic shortcomings!

I'll leave the criticism at that, but suffice to say that this is a rare case of a porn film plot almost (and I stress almost) being of interest, and with the respectable acting, by porn standards, not to mention the obvious time and effort spent on costumes, location, period vehicles and even a little bossa nova music to set that mood of nostalgia, it would have been worth actually dwelling on the story just a little longer. Curtailing the storytelling does, however, make it easier to simply jump into the aspect of the film that represents all that many viewers really care about…

The Sex
Jessica Fiorentino
The first event to have a wistful eye cast upon it is a little reward arranged by the manager for gardener Andrea Monti and waiter Denis Martin. They enter the bar and are treated to lovely brunette Jessica teasing them as she sheds her coat and reveals red lingerie and stockings. She gives both workers a lot of wet, deep oral, before the action surprisingly jumps straight into some robust double penetration. The lucky hotel employees resolutely pound the good time girl, and though there are a few too many shots of the blokes' faces - and when they look like this duo, that's really not a good thing - this is pretty hot stuff. Curvaceous Jessica performs with a real glimmer in her eye, takes two loads and then sucks off the hotel manager too for good measure.

Sandra Key
Sandra is the neglected trophy wife who Fausto Moreno, playing an American ex-pilot, wines and dines and leads into temptation while her old boy plays cards with cigar smoking buddies. Brunette Sandra's fulsome figure really benefits from the sumptuous lingerie and old-fashioned stockings that she wears for this adulterous liason, and she looks great. Especially when sucking Fausto's dick, riding him and naturally accepting his thrusting tool deep into her arse. Some clever fish-eye shots, not for the only time, are framed to highlight stockings and shoes - this film gives fans with this fetish plenty of food for fantasy.

Terry Visconti
Denis and the bellboy (Luca Bazzuca), whom I gather is supposed to be Mario as a young man, spy on the maid as she makes a bed. This is an amusing little tease, prefacing a full-on romp with the older blonde. She strips off her maid outfit, revealing corset and stockings, and takes the two young chaps in hand. And mouth, too, for that matter. She blows them, they fuck her and stuff her ass too, but a word of caution, for though the sex is hard and fast, and well-shot too, the fish-eye view does the buxom woman's dimpled bottom few favours.

Krystal De Boor
Though the chapter captions appear to attribute this to someone else, Krystal's black outfit, including hat with veil, very much appears to suggest she is a widow, and a merry one at that. When he brings flowers, the bellboy is seduced by big, buxom Krystal's overpowering charms. He has the onerous task of satisfying her lust, or rather, with her big boobs spilling out of her corset and her legs pumping in sheer nylons, she uses him to satisfy it. Naturally her big beautiful buttocks are parted to allow him to spear her anus, and it all ends with his come on her slightly over-made-up face.

Sandra, part two
One day by the pool, Sandra is approached by a suave gent, Andrea Nobili, who clearly has designs on her other than just helping her join him in the movie business. Later, with her old man presumably still losing at cards, she joins Andrea for a moonlight stroll in the gardens, which soon turns into a passionate clinch. More lovely lingerie and extremely flattering stockings are in evidence as Sandra enthusiastically impales her bum on Andrea's tool and ends with a spunky reward for her efforts.

Krystal, part two
Not content with his colleague, Krystal is now fluttering her false eyelashes at Denis, who is far from being a handsome man, and after some passionate kissing, accompanied by some disappointingly tasteless smoochy music, they get down to it in a rather similar sex scene to her first - only the lingerie has changed! Not that it really bothers me, Krystal again looks fabulous (if sweaty, it was clearly shot on a sweltering evening) and her voluptuous figure is very much of those times before waif like models were in vogue.

Paola Valle
Apparently now the director of the hotel, this being some time later as signified by hair parted slightly differently and greying at the temples, Denis, along with Fausto gets together with Paola, another buxom little cochonne (as my friend Pierre might say), for some energetic sex that sees her well shafted, without anal for reasons shown in the "making of" footage, by the randy chaps. She's cute enough in her lingerie and stockings, and it's fine to see her slurp those cocks after they spill on her face, but she's actually not so pretty on a second look.

Giulia Dal Fuoco
A "hot", sultry brunette, Giulia joins Fausto on his yacht for a sex session that makes creative use of the fixtures and fittings. I always wonder why women with a fit, curvy figure like Giulia consider fake boobs an improvement, but for whatever reason, she's got them and I suppose they're in keeping with her rather unnatural looks. The sex is routine if energetic, and includes anal and a facial come shot that rather blows away on the sea breeze.

Nikky and Jessica
The first part of this scene is an attractive girl-girl encounter between slinky blonde Nikky and the marvellous Jessica. The pair has a great time peeling off their colourful swimwear in a bedroom, kissing, licking and eating each other with a good sense of fun to the fore. They briefly grind pussy on each other's thighs, before lying back and beckoning in Franco, who has been peeping on this luscious pairing.

Franco doesn't need to be asked twice, and soon finds himself benefiting especially from Jessica's talent for oral. Jessica repeats the feat as Franco removes his cock from Nikky's pussy, and then rides him herself. Again there's a nice chemistry among them, reminding us this is about sheer pleasure, something Jessica seems to find easily whether it be from the cock in her ass, or the come she shares with her girlfriend.

Overall
All that remains is for me to confirm that Les Petites Soubrettes… is indeed a quality production, with fine technical values and some absolutely glorious women, presented with a touch of glamour and style, without sacrificing the harder aspects of sex. By and large, it's a pleasure from start to finish. A little taste of La Dolce Vita?

DVD Comments
The picture quality is top class - easily one of the very best adult DVDs I have seen, due in part to the original footage being shot using Betacam. The audio is also excellent, though as always I'd have preferred original sound, with subtitles instead of dubbing. The sex noises are occasionally a bit much. The substantial extras really add a lot of value - the "making of" footage is cleverly linked with each chapter of the movie, so comparison can be readily made, though be warned it will certainly spoil the illusion, sometimes seriously! In addition, there's an entertaining selection of clips from older movies from both sides of the Atlantic, which follow the maid theme. It's perhaps just an original way of advertising the catalogues of Blue One and Alpha France, but I did enjoy some clips from the swinging seventies - quite sexy in a starkly contrasting way to contemporary porn.