Neighbors (Wicked) Review

Director

Michael Raven

Cast

Stormy Daniels, Destiny St. Claire, Exotica, Nicole Sheridan, Roxanne Hall, Barrett Blade, Evan Stone, Eric Masterson, Mark Wood, Voodoo.

Genre

Feature

Condoms

All scenes have condoms.

Running Time of Main Feature

1 Hr. 12 Mins.

Female Orgasms

None

THOSE WHO MIGHT LIKE IT

Those looking for a sweet story with a little sex on the side. Those looking for a gentle, and fun introduction to story oriented hardcore porn.

THOSE WHO SHOULD STEER CLEAR

Those looking for a lot of sex, those who can't stand context with their porn, or those who are looking for harder, more extreme sexual acts.

REVIEW:
Mmm. Stormy Daniels. I think she's way sexy, and her recent forays into the writing and directing side of the business have certainly established her as a star with a head on her shoulders as well--and that makes her all the more sexy. I recently watched her directorial debut, One Night in Vegas, which she also wrote, and I rather enjoyed it. Neighbors is another script penned by Stormy, only this time the directorial reigns are manned by Michael Raven, a well established veteran who's done some extremely good work over the years for both Wicked and, previously, for Sin City. Before I wade into the mind-numbing details, however, I want to point out RubyRed's fine review of this title. I think he's spot on the money in his assessment of the movie, and he renders his opinions without hashing through the minutia that I will inevitably dwell upon. Please give it a read--I really think he nailed it. This is an unusual movie in a few respects, but I'll get to my own ponderings in that regard a bit later. For now, let's get on with it...

INTRODUCTION:
The movie opens with Miranda (Stormy Daniels) sitting in a car outside her house talking to her friend Gina (Roxanne Hall) about her recently estranged boyfriend Kyle.  Miranda is frustrated that Kyle is blowing her off because she's not adventurous enough to go SCUBA diving and engage in other similar activities of questionable safety, and Gina is quick to agree with his assessment--offering the suggestion that perhaps they just aren't right for each other after all.  Meanwhile, Miranda tells Gina that her step brother Rodney (Evan Stone) is staying with her after getting kicked out of his old apartment for almost burning the whole complex down.  Unbeknownst to Miranda, Rodney is gettin' busy in the house even as she speaks--dressed in snorkel gear, complete with face mask and flippers, and doing the kinky-ass nasty with Destiny St. Claire.

Destiny St. Claire & Evan Stone

This is a quick and dirty scene with a touch of the bizarre, as Rodney (Evan Stone) wears a snorkel, mask and flippers in Miranda's living room while Destiny sucks his cock.  It's quick to transition into some reverse cowgirl, and Joi (Destiny) is looking pretty good here.  She has sort of a plain face, and she has an odd propensity for sticking out her tongue at random points during intercourse, but I can't find much fault with her nice body.  They move through a couple positions, including a missionary where she's draped over the arm of a couch before she encourages him to cum on her face.  Before he does, she puts on his face mask, and he unloads all over that.  The scene rushes by quickly, and the strange accessories didn't really add much to it.  I never really got into it, finding myself more interested in how the story might progress after it was over.

Back out in the car, Miranda impresses on Gina that she really should get into the house to see what Rodney's up to.  On her way back in, she sees a man, Jake (Barrett Blade) moving in next door toting a fancy motorcycle.  When she goes inside, she finds Rodney and Joi fooling around on the couch.  There are a few laughs when Miranda takes Rodney outside to discuss his theft of her "scuba gear" (even though it's actually snorkel gear), and his recent copulation on an expensive Italian sofa.  Meanwhile, Jake (Barrette Blade) drops by to introduce himself, and Miranda gives him a quick "pointing tour" of the neighborhood and its strange inhabitants.  She points out two girls, Porsha (Exotica) and Alexis (Nicole Sheridan) as pornstars--they are frolicking on a slippery slide in sprinkler spray.  This sets Jake's mind in motion with a super-brief lesbian fantasy between the two girls that, although the most visually interesting scene in the movie, is really not even worth detailing.  Miranda leaves poor Jake alone to go yell at Rodney some more.

That night, Gina calls Miranda and invites her over to dinner, telling her to wear something sexy.  Not too surprisingly, two guys show up at Gina's door.  After realizing that Gina meant to set her up, Miranda leaves, somewhat in a huff, proclaiming that she's just not ready.  Later that night, she dreams about her old boyfriend Kyle.

Destiny St. Claire Video Captures
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Stormy Daniels & Mark Wood

Kyle (Mark Wood) appears next to Miranda (Stormy Daniels) while she's sleeping, when she wakes up, he tells her that he came to apologize.  She seems good with that, and they get down to the business of making up.  Stormy looks predictably great here.  I really find her attractive, and although there's not a lot fantastically interesting about this scene (visually or otherwise) it's always nice to see Stormy fuck.  Mark starts out by licking her pretty, wet pussy, and Stormy spends a good amount of time sucking his cock while he lays on his back.  It's not long before they enjoy two vaginal positions--cowgirl, and then missionary before Mark abruptly cums on Stormy's tummy.  Again, it's another short scene that really doesn't have all that much interesting to offer other than the context in which it is presented.  Although the context is nice, and being able to envision Stormy as a real person enhances the sex for me, the sex itself isn't really much other than there.  It's really too bad.  I've seen Michael Raven do much better, and I've certainly seen Stormy do better as well.

Miranda wakes to the sound of rock music, realizing she was dreaming before.  When she peeks her head outside to investigate the sound's source, she sees her neighbor Jake (Barrett Blade) through his window playing guitar.  She chuckles a bit, and the scene fades to the next morning.

Lots of story happens here, but the gist of it is more developing ties between Jake and Miranda when he rescues her from the kooky advances of Juan (Voodoo) and invites her to a bar where his band is playing.  She tries to get Gina to go with her, but well, Gina's a little busy...

Stormy Daniels Video Captures
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Roxanne Hall & Eric Masterson

The scene starts out interestingly enough.  Gina (Roxanne) has Brian (Eric Masterson) laying on his stomach on her couch while she lightly spanks him.  I can't complain too much about that, but since I know this is Wicked, I know they aren't going to take it far enough to really satisfy me.  They don't of course, and it's not long before Eric is doing a little playful spanking of his own, accompanied by some tit licking and heavy petting.  Roxanne sucks cock, Eric fucks her doggy, and I'm actually diggin' it pretty well.  Roxanne looks hot in her heels, and she has a way about her, no doubt about it.  Experienced performers like Roxanne have a tendency to shine no matter what and she is no exception.  I get really annoyed, however when I see that during some spoon position, the director has decided that doing some looping is a good idea.  Arrgh!!  I thought we were done with this crap, like... 8 years ago.  I guess it's a pet peeve of mine, but I HATE looping (a.k.a. repeating a section of footage more than once in order to lengthen the scene, or smooth out the edit).  The scene was going pretty well until I saw that.  It's not a terrible infraction, but it's enough.  Once again, though the scene ends really abruptly, and just feels cut off when Eric unloads onto Roxanne's stomach.  It's a decent looking scene, but it's not visually stunning, and it's just so... short and uninspired--then the looping on top of it all just pissed me off. 

Wow.  Lots more story here, with a some good chuckles thanks to Evan Stone, a few more thanks to Voodoo, and even a catfight between Nicole Sheridan and Exotica.  The gist of it is that after Miranda inadvertently misses hearing Jake's band perform, she and Jake manage to deepen their friendship a bit more after she has dinner at his house, along with a few other encounters.  Kyle (Mark Wood) shows up at Miranda's door for real this time, on her birthday--trying to get back together with her.  Jake leaves, disappointed, just as Miranda realizes she's in love with him, and she sends Kyle packing.  After getting caught in some rather wonderfully convenient sprinklers (the result of which we don't get to see near enough of), she convinces Jake to give her a chance, and the two finally consummate their ... neighborly friendship.

Roxanne Hall Video Captures
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Stormy Daniels & Barrett Blade

Because of the context, and simply because Stormy is such a damn hottie, this was my favorite scene in the movie.  That doesn't mean that it's any longer than any of the others, which I found frustrating, but it was certainly more passionate and interesting.  When Miranda (Stormy) gets to the door and professes her love for Jake (Barrett) she attacks him with some nice ferocity, and he in turn bends her over a counter in the kitchen, pulls her jeans and panties down to her knees and fucks her with that feeling that he can't get inside her fast enough.  That's more like it.  Now that's not to say this equals most modern day gonzo in terms of sexual intensity, but the sense of context really lends a certain edge to this scene that most gonzos can't duplicate.  Granted, you've got to be a bit of an active viewer, and bring a little of your own imagination along for the ride (the acting and the direction just aren't good enough to take you there themselves), but if you can do that, feature porn can have some pretty rewarding moments.  For me, this was one of them.  Once again, though, the scene is just too bloody short--not developed enough.  After fucking her doggy, he lays her on a counter and fucks her missionary before coming on her stomach.  Ultimately, the scene was more frustrating for what it could have been, than it was satisfying for what it was.  Still... I liked it anyway.  I just wanted more.

The last little scene sees Miranda trying something daring with Jake--it's not SCUBA diving, but it's a start...  Awww--she's so cute!  :)

Stormy Daniels Video Captures
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EXTRAS:
Bonus Sex Scene with Stormy and Mark Davis from Suspicious Minds : 10 Mins. This is a fun scene with Stormy where she plays the part of the "princess", which she's not afraid to scream at the top of her lungs while she gets fucked.  It's funny, and ... you know... kinda kinky too.  Anyway, it's short, and fairly unremarkable as sex goes, but it certainly sparks some interest in why she's so eager to be identified as royalty, and may prompt a rental of Suspicious Minds for yours truly.  She's super cute--and reminds me of my wife--who one day would like her own pair of "pretty pretty princess" panties--but well, I digress.  :)
All Access--The Making of Neighbors : 30 Mins I found this just as much fun to watch as the movie itself. It takes us through the process of shooting Neighbors from beginning to end with a few laughs provided by Evan Stone, and assistant director Jonathon Morgan along the way. I just find it fun seeing the interaction behind the scenes, and this is well worth watching.
Behind the Scenes Sex Reel : 52 Mins.  This is all the sex in the movie, some of it as captured by the behind the scenes camera, put together in an uninterrupted sequence. It's good if all you want to see is the sex without the story, and want to see a few alternate angles thrown in as well. One notable inclusion is a fair amount more of the girl-girl encounter between Nicole Sheridan and Exotica--which for some unknown reason they decided to severely shorten in the movie itself.
Take 5 with Stormy -- A Writer's Perspective :  4 Mins.  Just a little of Stormy's perspective on how the realization of her script progressed.  I don't know what it is, but I just eat this stuff up.
Anatomy of a Cat Fight : 2 Mins.  This is a fun look at Michael Raven, Exotica and Nicole as they debate the ins and outs of how their catfight is going to go down.
Getting Wet : 2 Mins.  More fun with Nicole and Exotica, this time with some outtakes on the slippery slide.
Interview with Stormy and Exotica :  4 Mins.  Stormy and Exotica talk about their friendship prior to doing porn, and some of their perspective on the industry in general.
Interview with Destiny St. Claire : 3 Mins.  A fun interview with Destiny, talking about how she reacts to her own scenes, and how she got started in porn.
Trailers : Space Nuts, Beautiful, Eye of the Beholder, Killer Sex and Suicide Blondes, Fluff & Fold.
Photo Gallery
Star Galleries
Star Stats
Easter Eggs :  Two of 'em, that I found. :)

OVERALL:
This is a tough one. It really is. I'll tell ya, there's not much sex here. Not much at all in fact. From that standpoint, most of today's hardcore porn freaks would probably consider this title borderline laughable, and at only 1 hour and 12 minutes long, there is certainly more than enough room available on the disc for them to have added a couple more sex scenes and significantly lengthened and developed the ones that were included. Finally, the visual stylings of the movie are not really up to the level that I know Wicked, and Michael Raven can produce. The production was competent (except for the damn looping in Roxanne's scene)--nothing looked necessarily bad--it just didn't look great. All of these aspects were quite frustrating to me.

However...

I loved it! I really did. I don't know what it is, but I liked Stormy's attempt to tell a sweet, funny little story that tries to take things beyond just a superficial level. Yes, it suffers from some poor acting by mainstream standards. Sure, the storytelling isn't particularly poignant, but I'm damned if I didn't see something wonderful here that I really loved anyway. Stormy is a cutey, and she's a smart cutey at that. Between the male stripper scenes, and the bathroom anal with Pason in One Night in Vegas, and the catfight, snorkel sex, and the climactic attempts at a passionate encounter between two new lovers in Neighbors, I really think Stormy's bringing a fresh, albeit still a bit tentative, fire to the projects she works on. As I said before, with most porn features of this kind, the audience has to bring a little of their imagination with them in order to overcome the shortcomings of porn's production standards, and Neighbors is no exception, but if you can turn off your hyper-critical eyes for an hour or so, this is a wonderfully sweet, quirky, and optimistic story smack dab in the middle of an otherwise sexually jaded, hardcore world. If you're at all interested in something a little different, and you have a little time and a couple bucks to spare, give this one a try. I think Stormy's efforts deserve to be encouraged, and oh how I wish I could be permitted to give her a big cuddly hug for writing a movie that made my heart swell, when so much of the rest of today's porn just makes me want to weep.

Questions or constructive comments about this review? Email me at MLyons@my.adultdvdtalk.com


Other Adult Movie Reviews by Mike Lyons