Passages 1 Review

Reviewed by astroknight  on  2/21/2007

The Little Details

Running Time: 72 min.

Production Date: 1991

Director: Paul Thomas

Cast: Carolyn Monroe, Christy Canyon, Heather Hart, Jennifer Stewart, Blake Palmer, Marc “Dick O Death” Wallice, and Peter North

The Short Story

Initial Expectations: I remember watching this one a lifetime or two ago with very fond memories of it. I'm really hoping it stands up to the test of time.

Initial Reaction: It's a great movie and a piss poor DVD.

Who Should Watch It : Couples and anybody wanting an adult film with emotion

Who Should Avoid It: Anybody wanting graphic and nasty action

The Technical Stuff

Audio /Video Quality: The technical aspects look and sound just like they did on VHS. The audio has a nice balance and is mostly clear with a few crackly moments as the girls get extra vocal. The video is presented in the full frame format and looks very dated. The movie doesn't look like it was shot on film, as it doesn't have the depth I associate with film, but looks a bit blurry quite often (rather than grainy as one normally associates with film). It also has some fuzz that breaks up the picture a couple times. Technically, this DVD has no advantage over a VHS copy of this movie.

Music: The music is very nicely done. It has a soft feeling that varies a little through the movie, and is very well balanced with the rest of the audio.

False Advertising: Heather Hunter is listed in the cast on the cover, but doesn't appear in the movie. With how big of a star Heather was, this is a major mistake and I'm deducting a half point from the overall score because of it. There are others listed in the closing credits of the movie that weren't in on the action here, but I'm slightly looking over that due to the probability of them appearing in the background of this movie and having bigger parts in the rest of the series.

Disc Problems: I tried this movie on two of my players, one of which plays virtually everything and the other which is more finicky. With both players the movie freezes at 16:56 and the movie has to be restarted. It's a fairly minor problem that thankfully is limited to that one instance, but a problem nonetheless.

Authoring Complaints: This is one of the weakest authoring jobs I've ever seen, and easily the weakest I've ever seen from Vivid. To start with, there's no menus on the DVD. It goes right to the movie and that's it just like if you were watching a VHS copy of the movie. There's also only two chapters for the entire movie, with the break appearing around the forty seven minute mark. The authoring is so weak here that it easily holds back the entire DVD a notch or two.

Menus: None. That's right, Vivid didn't even care enough about this release to let viewers have a chapter menu!

The Feature

Christy and Jennifer are best friends as well as college roommates. While Christy's more than a little experienced with sex, Jennifer is still a virgin who's shy and unsure about it. Luckily she has Christy to question about sex and to give her support, but Christy might be feeling a little more than just friendship towards Jennifer...

Scene 1 – Christy Canyon and Blake Palmer

After playing around a little outside, buxom brunette Christy takes reluctant Blake to the school supply warehouse so they can be alone. She loses her shirt and teases Blake before having him take her bra off to suck her tits. She turns around so he can kiss her ass as well before she strips him down a bit to suck his cock. Christy makes sure that Blake works over her pussy a bit orally before letting him fuck it from behind as she gives him plenty of trash talk. Blake does a little talking of his own, but instead he talks about vegetables so he can try to fuck Christy as long as possible. They also get in a bit of missionary work before Blake pops on Christy's bush.

This is a very well done scene. It's not too graphic, but there's still plenty of heat throughout the scene. The action is nicely drawn out, and Christy really stands out with her trash talking. I love how she drives the entire scene and how Blake has to take his mind on her and put it on vegetables to not pop with her. This scene definitely starts the movie on a high note.

Scene 2 – Christy Canyon and Jennifer Stewart

In their dorm room, smoking hot dirty blonde Jennifer questions Christy about sex. Christy shows her a few positions before Jennifer comments on how Christy's pussy looks different from hers. They compare pussies before Christy rubs Jennifer's pussy to help her find her clit. Jennifer rubs Christy's pussy in return before Christy hops off the bed when she asks if they're masturbating.

This is another great scene. It's extremely soft and the girls don't really do anything to each other, but there's some nice tease and the chemistry is fantastic. Once again the scene is nicely drawn out, and I couldn't help but really enjoy it.

Scene 3 – Jennifer Stewart and Peter North; Christy Canyon

Peter comes to Jennifer in a dream next. They explore each other a bit before he lets Jennifer stroke and suck his cock. They move on with a little doggie fucking before Jennifer teabags him as he strokes his cock. Finally he pops on her chest and stomach. As they go at it, Christy sleeps and wakes up in the middle to start masturbating listening to them.

This is another very nice scene. Jennifer plays the unsure virgin extremely well, and as always looks fantastic. I was a little disappointed that there was only one position here, and the teabagging seemed to go on a bit long. Christy playing with herself, however, added very nicely to the scene. This is another good scene, but it isn't quite at the same level as the earlier scenes.

Scene 4 – Jennifer Stewart and Marc Wallice

When Jennifer and Marc hit it off and kiss outside, he takes her to a dark alley so they can get to know each other better. They kiss a bit more before he moves down to suck her tits and give her pussy a little tongue and finger action. Jennifer returns the favor by kissing his nipples and then dropping down to suck his cock. They play with each other without fucking more, and Marc finally pops on her hands.

This is another very nice scene, despite having Marc Wallice in it. There's very nice chemistry between them and I really love how the action is drawn out without them ever fucking. I also really like Jennifer's uncertainty about what to do in the scene, but she mixes in a little experience with things like throating Marc's cock. Finally, there's a bit of humor as they try to deal with Marc popping in her hands. This is one of the best oral scenes I think I've ever watched.

Scene 5 – Caroline Monroe and Heather Hart

Blonde Carolyn licks brunette Heather's pussy at the edge of the shower. She plays with her from behind as well before Heather drops down to lick and finger her. They finally kiss quickly and get dressed as Christy and Jennifer come out of the shower.

This is a pretty wasted scene. It only lists a few short minutes, and feels fairly chopped up. They do continue playing a little as they get dressed in the background as Christy and Jennifer talk and get dressed themselves, but it's nothing really worth mentioning. This scene seems like a background scene more than anything.

Passages is an excellent adult movie. There's attention to characters and the sex fits into the movie and the story nicely rather than feeling like it's jammed into the movie. There's some nicely done characters in the movie complete with realistic emotions, and you can see them starting to grow a little as the movie goes on. The sex is also very nicely done, and is drawn out extremely well. There's chemistry in the scenes along with a feeling like it does matter if the women have orgasms too. This makes the sex feel like it's a part of something bigger than just jerkoff material, and it ends up feeling just as important to the movie as the plot sequences. Passages is an extremely well written and acted start to a four part saga, and definitely leaves a feeling of satisfaction as well as a yearning for something more when you know it's out there.

The Extra Stuff

Nothing. That would have taken care or effort.

The Down -n- Dirty Sex Stuff

Themes: Straight, tease, lesbian, and masturbation

Raincoat Factor: Medium

Condom Usage: None

The Bottom Line:

Currently, Vivid's lower tier of DVDs can be found online for between about $7 and $25. Even at the low end this one's stretching it. Yes, the movie is great, but there's so little effort put into the overall DVD that I really can't help but recommend that people stick with their VHS copy of the movie if they have it because they aren't going to gain anything by picking this one up. Great as the movie is, this is a sad DVD overall.

Note to Vivid: I doubt that I was alone in being excited seeing Passages come out on DVD, but this was a pitiful job. I really wish you would have released the Passages series as an entire series. It could easily be fit on two DVDs, and if you really wanted to go all out you could have hopefully brought back Christy Canyon to do a commentary with Paul Thomas for the movie or to have a couple interviews looking back. I remember this being a major series when it came out, but here it looks like you're ashamed of it.

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

Other reviews by Astroknight