Nina Hartley's Guide To Erotic Massage Review

Description
This is an instructional dvd with two scenes of massage leading to sex.

General Impression
Jeez, I always want to like these Nina Hartley dvd's. But it doesn't work out. I took a lot of notes on this, gave it a couple of weeks, and watched it again. I even got a second opinion from someone else. The results were the same. It has its good points, but I still can't think who I'd recommend it to.

Notes
As a serious massage primer, I'd like to see more emphasis on some basics. For example, no mention is made of warming the oil in your hands rather than ever pouring it directly onto the body (although we see the oil always poured into the hands). We see legs and arms stroked in a direction away from the heart, without any commentary. We see Alec break contact with Marie's body while he reaches for more oil. I cringe when he strokes the back of her knees, because any pressure there bothers me so much (as it does many people) -- for me, the stroke needs to become light even as it slowly approaches within several inches of the back of the knees, or I may tense up in anticipation. Candle wax is dripped onto Marie without anyone pointing out that only low-temperature melting waxes should be used for this, in order to avoid burns.

On the other hand, Nina makes some good suggestions. Many of them are about having helpful attitudes for approaching massage. She also demonstrates some good, firm pressure on large muscles, and some interesting techniques, but for a how-to, you'd definitely want to add a book or some other instruction.

Introduction
The dvd has a weak beginning. Adrianna Nicole joins Nina for an introductory talk. It's very obviously scripted and almost painful to watch. After watching it, I'm still not entirely sure what they said, because I was so distracted by their mannerisms. Adrianna does not appear to want to be there. She leans away from Nina, reads her lines woodenly and unconvincingly, and at one point pushes away from Nina. At one point Adrianna sighs, "It all sounds pretty great," with an inflection that implies that she'd rather be having her wisdom teeth removed. I can hardly believe that it wasn't edited out. Nina also adds a lip smack at the beginning of many of her sentences, an affectation that doesn't happen when she speaks without a script. Sorry to say, I couldn't give any fairer reception than to wince through the intro.

Scenes
The first scene features Nina with Randy Spears. Although the production values are not good (odd sound, and a red cast to the light), the light looks good on the oiled contours of Randy's body. The scene starts well. Nina gives a nice, happy, relaxed massage, varying speeds and pressures. This part would be nice to watch for someone who is unfamiliar with massage and unsure how to begin. Throughout the massage, Nina gives some good advice that is easy to absorb, and she demonstrates useful techniques. The scene progresses to a very nice blowjob, then onto a fairly standard sex scene with anal. My suggestion here would be that, like most instructional dvd's, it would be better to have the demonstration done smoothly without the interruption of directly addressing the camera, and have the information added with a voice-over.

The second scene begins with Marie Luv posing in a white outfit, and then posing and stretching nude in front of a mirror. Alec Knight then joins her as she lays down on a massage table. He does an appealing and attentive massage, with good pacing and flow. He has nice hands, and a very smooth glide over the contours of her body. She's enjoying it, and he then gets out a massage candle to drip hot wax on her, before also bringing out a contour massager... and then a second vibrator. She has some orgasms. This scene is very pleasant, but not scorching. Again, the massage continues on to sex, including anal.

Extras
Extras include Gallery, Behind the Scenes, bonus scene, an interview with Nina Hartley, plus website and ads.

Summary
I'm not sure who this one is for. It won't appeal to raincoaters. For serious porn, look elsewhere. For serious massage, you'll want a serious massage book or dvd. There are 10 or so enjoyable minutes in the heart of each of the massages, but it's just not enough for me.