Nina Hartley's Guide to Sex Toys Review

Running Time: 87 min.

Production Date: 4 / 10 / 1998

Director: Nina Hartley

Cast: Nina Hartley, Angelica Sin, Inari Vachs, Dee, Ian Daniels, Mark Anthony, and the ironically named Rich Handsome

Initial Expectations: I’ve had mixed results from Nina’s educational series, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.

Initial Reaction: It’s well done and fun to watch.

Who Should Watch It : Anybody curious about sex toys but isn’t sure where to start or who has chipped their teeth with a vibrator

Who Should Avoid It: People looking for male anal sex toy information

Audio /Video Quality: As usual with the earlier installments of Nina Hartley’s educational features, the technical aspects leave quite a bit to be desired. The audio is a little muffled and often has a few balance problems. The video is has much more grain than normal, and is fairly comparable to a movie that’s shot on film.

Music: The music has the cheesy style that people have made fun of since the start of porn. Unfortunately it’s normally too loud and covers up much of the audio, making it hard to hear Nina’s narration.

Menus: The main menu is extremely with a little animation. The chapter menu is pretty basic, allowing you to choose a scene based on a small clip of the scene and a title.

The Feature: Although it’s something that everybody does, and normally with other people, sex is something that many people have problems getting comfortable with and exploring. Nina Hartley, one of the leading ladies of the adult film business, has put together a series of educational features with the help of her friends in the business. This time she’s focusing on a wide array of sex toys.

Nina starts out reminding the viewer that sex is adult play. As most people have known since they’ve been a kid, play can be a lot more fun with toys. Nina gives a nice rundown of penetrative, vibrating, tactile, sensory deprivation, and constrictive toys for both men and women. After a nice intro to a long list of toys, Nina takes the girls in back to choose their toys while leaving the guys to examine some of the toys Nina used for her demonstration.

Everybody heads into another room for sex. Nina doesn’t get involved in any of the sex, but watches, gives pointers, and points out some of the nicer techniques. Each couple, Inari and Ian, Dee and Mark, and Angelica and Rich, find a place around the room and the guys start warming up the girls naturally. Dee and Marc take up much of the original focus, but are the last couple to try out a toy. Later on, Marc tries out a sleeve toy and Dee tries out a dildo. Nina soon moves over to Angelica and Rich, who’s the first to break out any toys. Angelica sucks on a G-spot vibrator while Rich works on her pussy, and is the first to try out any toys. Not only does Angelica try out vaginal toys, she quickly tried out an anal toy also. Rich also joins in on the toy fun by trying on one of the cock rings and a cock leash. Last but certainly not least, is Ian and Inari. Inari shows herself almost immediately to be one of the most creative girls, and by using one of the sleeve toys that nobody else wanted to try on a bullet. Unfortunately, it’s the only toy that Inari and Ian try out.

Once again, Rich and Angelica take on a first by Angelica sucking and jerking Rich off, taking his love lotion on her hands. Ian soon follows Rich’s lead, unleashing his milk of man-esia onto Inari’s gorgeous face. Finishing things up, Marc unloads his ball butter on Dee’s nicely natural tits. It’s a nice range of cumshots that definitely covers the bases.

Finally, Nina finishes the feature with a group scene with Ian and Inari. They move around so everybody gets a nice warmup before Ian plants his cock in Nina’s ass, which Inari enthusiastically spanks. Inari also gets her turn at the end of Ian’s cock while Nina eats her pussy and gives Ian’s cock an occasional sucking. Ian gives Nina’s pussy a little more attention, moving back to using his tongue, as Inari slaps Nina’s feet before fucking Inari again. As Inari gets another dose of Ian’s cock, Nina watches and fucks herself with a jelly toy. Inari takes her turn watching and fucking herself also, but makes sure to keep one hand free to continue her role as leading spank-meister in the scene. Finally, Ian gives Nina’s bush a small spooge spray. It’s a hot scene with great chemistry that nicely works in the toys. My only complaint about it is that Ian and Inari were the only ones to join Nina out of the rest of the feature.

Nina Hartley’s Guide to Sex Toys is a nicely done educational feature. The toys are used in some nice sex scenes with commentary that should make this one easily watched even for those who are familiar with them. It’s very easy to watch thanks to the energetic and eager cast. Dee seems a little restrained, but Angelica and Inari’s enthusiasm take over. I really wish that Inari would have been shown a little more, but she and Ian only use one toy each and Inari wasn’t that well known back when this was made, so it’s understandable. Nina does a nice job of keeping it focused, but does branch out when she sees that it could do some good. If you’re curious about sex toys, but not really sure where to start, you should definitely pick up Nina Hartley’s Guide to Sex Toys.

For other perspectives on this DVD, please check out reviews by reviewer and Draken.

Extras: The only extra is a small biography of Nina.

Themes: Straight, educational, toys, lesbian, group, and spanking

Raincoat Factor: Very high

Overall: Currently, most of the entries in Nina Hartley’s educational line can be found online for between $13 and $24 with several stores offering them under $15. If you’re not sure where to start with sex toys, this one is a bargain. It’s nicely done and very hot. Unfortunately, there isn’t much for extras and the transfer lacks a bit.

Note to Adam & Eve: If people are going to pick this DVD up, they may also be interested in some Nina’s other educational titles. It might be a good idea to include some kind of trailer for the other features or maybe a short interview with Nina talking about them.

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

Other reviews by Astroknight