Reflections (Adam & Eve) Review

Reviewed by YogaGrrl  on  5/31/2002

Cast: Tina Tyler, Danielle Rogers, T.J. Hart, Alexandra Silk, Elle DeVyne, Mandi Frost, Taylor Moore, Jennifer Worthington, Randy Spears, Tony Tedeschi, Steve Hatcher and Alec Metro.

Director: Bud Lee

Production date: 4/20/98

Length: 107 min.

Extras: Two trailers and a silent slide show with 20 photos.

Audio/visual quality: The visual quality is adequate, though it lacks in crispness. Emphasis is on soft-core shots. A boom mike dances around the edge of the screen in scene two, creating a minor distraction.

The soundtrack is synth rock and light jazz. It won't win any awards, but it's mostly inoffensive. The volume of the music varies a bit within the scenes, but it's well balanced with the sex sounds. Some audio noise and background sounds are present. In general, the volume is on the quiet side, though not intolerably so.

False advertising: This is a subtle point, but both reviewer and Astroknight have mentioned that Tina Tyler should appear on the cover. I agree. I still remember the first adult movie that I purchased on my own—it was a VHS copy of Caballero's The Illustrated Woman, and the cover girl was Asia Carrera. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Arianna was the real female lead, appearing in just as many scenes as Asia and delivering much more dialog. In Reflections, Tina is clearly the star, and she appears in more scenes than Danielle. I like Danielle, but putting her on the cover seems a little careless and/or deceptive.

First impression: It's a very soft yet likable movie.

Scene highlights: Tina Tyler plays a psychologist looking inward to examine her soul. Her two best friends, Danielle Rogers and Randy Spears, are a married couple who help Tina heal the sexual trauma from her past. The script is more of a framework than an actual story, allowing us to see sex scenes from the lives of Tina's clients as well as her own.

T.J. Hart and Alec Metro lead off with an anonymous fuck in a four-poster bed. Alec kisses T.J.'s feet and then fires her up with oral stimulation and two finger penetration. The action progresses to some slightly rough sex, with Alec grasping T.J.'s throat during missionary. Her blowjob is never directly visible, but Alec enjoys it so much that he exclaims, "God bless America!" T.J. nearly wears Alec out in reverse cowgirl, and she beams with joy while clinging to a bedpost in doggie. Their otherwise energetic performance drops a notch or two when T.J.'s mind drifts during the cumshot. ("Stay there," Alec warns her as he jerks off onto her face and upper body. "Hmmm?" she replies.) It's still an excellent scene that includes some interesting camera angles in the bedroom mirrors.

Tina and Danielle share a heart-to-heart while soaking in an outdoor tub. The dialog is a tad overintellectualized, but the sex is worth the wait. Many viewers will be very, very pleased with this slow and sensuous scene, which features mutual undressing, copious kissing and no toys. Both women look luscious as they rub their bodies together and caress each other's vulvas. They take turns giving and receiving oral. I couldn't help but laugh a little at Tina's yoga poses, which seem like they might have been contrived for the camera. (The first one is commonly called the "fish"—I hope this is not someone's idea of an inside joke!) I will say they're extremely elegant postures, and Tina looks fantastic doing them.

Alexandra Silk knows Tony Tedeschi would like to watch her have sex with a woman, so she brings home Mandi Frost. Mandi accepts a little anilingus and then goes straight to work on Alexandra's pussy. Meanwhile, Tony watches and masturbates largely off screen. Alexandra's blowjob is enthusiastic and deep, but her hair initially blocks the view. Mandi diddles herself lazily in the background while Tony and Alexandra get it on. The footage of the vaginal sex is entirely soft-core, but thankfully the anal sex is explicit. Tony dribbles weakly on Alexandra's chest at the end. Alexandra totally outclasses her partners here, and she pretty much carries the scene single-handedly, thanks to her innocent, spunky charm.

Elle DeVyne and Steve Hatcher can't wait to get out of their modeling clothes after a photo shoot at a ranch. They never actually roll in the hay, but Elle repeatedly lassoes Steve's cock with her mouth and tits, and he plows her vaginal valley in doggie. The only warm-up she receives is a finger in her butt while he continues to jack. We see some nice shots of Elle's facial expressions and breasts during the anal positions, which include missionary and doggie. Images of a dreaming Tina are superimposed on the action in several places. Most of the facial lands on Elle's tongue.

Tina attempts to break through her mental and emotional stagnation by visiting a sex club. The bartenders, Taylor Moore and Jennifer Worthington, try to make her comfortable by offering to be her guides. Jennifer purrs while receiving a nice tongue bath from Taylor. The two blondes move to the pool table, where Jennifer happily services Taylor with her mouth and a couple of fingers. Taylor attempts to entice Tina into the action, but Tina is so nervous that she can barely hold Taylor's hand. As more patrons begin to trickle in, Taylor and Jennifer work their way over to the sofa. Tina finds the courage to sensuously kiss Taylor's foot, but her shyness soon overcomes her and she hurries away. This scene is equally good as the earlier lesbian pairing between Tina and Danielle, but the voyeurism makes it edgier.

Still anxious from her club experience the previous night, Tina confides in Randy. With perfect porn logic, this sets up a three-way the moment Danielle comes home from work. The couple sandwich Tina in a hug of support, and we're whisked away to a 2-on-1 blowjob in Randy and Danielle's bed. Danielle and Randy enjoy a condom-free coupling in doggie, and Tina and Randy pair up in missionary with latex. Danielle's handwork leads to a very small pop on Tina's chin and tongue. In a strange finishing touch of unreality, no one seems particularly concerned that the ménage à trois will affect their friendship. As Tina puts it: "You guys are friends, I'm worried about what'll happen with somebody new."

Thumbs up: Although the plot is minimal, the acting is nicely professional. It's obvious that Tina, Danielle and Randy are not reading their lines cold. Much of the dialog is rather difficult, yet Tina does an especially good job of making it sound as natural as possible. She has a fabulously sexy voice, and I like the voiceovers that narrate what's on her mind.

Half of the scenes include mirrors, and they're normally used to very good effect. Occasionally it's possible to see the performers and their reflections at the same time, providing an interesting multiple angle effect. The crew members also manage to stay out of the mirrors altogether, which might constitute a minor miracle on a couple of these sets.

Thumbs down: This might be an odd complaint coming from a woman, but Reflections is too soft-core for my taste. Out of curiosity, I checked the clock during T.J. and Alec's scene. There are exactly three and a half minutes of doggie footage, and of that, only 54 seconds reveal the penetration. So three-quarters of the action is soft-core, which I would estimate is typical for the remainder of the movie, as well. That could be a "thumbs up" if you like soft-core, but personally I feel a little dissatisfied with it.

In addition, the extras are incredibly lame. I realize the movie was made long enough ago that a featurette or commentary would be impractical. But two trailers and 20 photos? It would have been thoughtful to include some biographies, at the very least.

Themes: Straight, lesbian, three-way, masturbation, voyeurism, oral, anal, rimming (female to female), tit-fuck, foot worship, facials.

Condom use: Yes, for the anal action in scenes three (Alexandra/Tony) and four (Elle/Steve) and also for some vaginal action in scene six (Tina/Randy only).

Juice-o-meter: Medium.

Final analysis: Reflections held my attention the first time I watched it, but not the second. The camera angles are creative yet frequently soft, which leaves me wanting more. The actors do a nice job, though, and I'm so glad to finally own a DVD in which Tina Tyler plays the leading role.


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Special thanks to astroknight, reviewer extraordinaire, for his screenshots. Read his review of Reflections here.