Secrets Of the Velvet Ring Review

Director

Brad Armstrong

Cast

Stormy Daniels, Alexis Amore, Roxanne Hall, Lezley Zen, Felicia, Teanna Kai, Gianna, Michelle Lay, Dani Woodward, Brad Armstrong, Steve St. Croix, Cheyne Collins, Trevor Zen, Talon, Chris Evans, Tommy Gun.

Genre

Feature / Vignette

Condoms

All male / female scenes have condoms.

Running Time of Main Feature

1 Hr. 58 Mins.

Female Orgasms

1 -- Possibly Felicia in Scene 5

THOSE WHO MIGHT LIKE IT

Those looking for a little bit of a harder sexual edge from Wicked Pictures without sacrificing their quality production values.

THOSE WHO SHOULD STEER CLEAR

Those who dislike anal sex, those looking for a developed story, rather than just a series of connected vignettes, or those looking for the super nasty.

REVIEW:
From what I understand, this Brad Armstrong directed feature from Wicked is a little more sex oriented than most--featuring a fair amount of anal, and several multiple partner scenes.  Although I've never been one to gauge the value of a movie based on the acts presented and the number of partners involved, I'm hoping to see a little less inhibition and a little more adventurousness here than I normally see in Wicked's fair.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you--Wicked, even at their softest, is plenty watchable for me, particularly because they still have some of the best production values around.  And, hey, I'm a sucker for context as well.  Anyway, between cast members like Stormy, Lezley Zen, and the delectable Dani Woodward, I'm very excited to see what this one has to offer.

INTRODUCTION:
Nadia (Stormy Daniels) introduces us to an exclusive women's club called the Velvet Ring via an expository voice-over.  Without coming right out and saying it, Nadia suggests that the Velvet Ring is basically a place where women fulfill their sexual fantasies.  Once everyone is gathered around, Nadia begins the ritual by opening a couple of sealed envelopes that contain the names of the "chosen ones" for the evening.  The first is Monica (Lezley Zen) who apparently has a fantasy about being the "other woman" and she's introduced to Greg (Brad Armstrong) before the two of them trundle off and do what they're going to do.  We don't see that encounter (at least not yet), but we do get to see the fantasy of the other "chosen one" Helena (Alexis Amore).  Helena has an interest in becoming a dominatrix, and Nadia (Stormy) is only too eager to offer her assistance in getting started.

Alexis Amore, Stormy Daniels, Tommy Gun.

Stormy and Alexis take turns whipping a manacled slave (Tommy Gun), but their domination of him is short lived.  Stormy un-cuffs Tommy and both women go to work on his cock.  After some nice initial tease-talk by the girls, where the domination vibe is still in effect, that dynamic unfortunately bleeds away and we're left with just fucking.  The sex does finish up on the nasty side, by the time it's all over however.  Alexis gets fucked in a standing, sideways, leg-over-the-shoulder position while Stormy does some condom filled pussy to mouth work.  Stormy takes it in her pussy in reverse cowgirl for a while, and it all finishes up with Alexis taking anal in missionary/spoon position, and then a little DP as Stormy helps out with a silver dildo.  Both women share a decent facial, and although for some reason the scene didn't work for me as well as I'd have liked it to, it still had a few things going for it.

Scene One Video Captures
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Lezley Zen, Brad Armstrong.

Meanwhile, in another room, Monica (Lezley) is getting to play out her "other woman" role, although... the extent of her playing the role is asking Greg (Brad) if he's sure "she" is not coming home.  After he says no, the flimsy context is out of the way, and they get down to some fucking.  Lezley looks sexy, and hey, who are we kidding.  Lezley is sexy.  I like the way she teases, and drool-kisses Brad before she slinks down and sucks on his cock.  From there, though the scene gets even more interesting.  Lezely bends over on all fours on the bed while Brad starts finger fucking her ass hole, and playing with her pussy.  It's damned hot action if you ask me, and when they start fucking the heat doesn't abate at all.  Like I said, I find Lezley to be an authentically sexy woman.  I don't know what it is, but analyzing it seems a bit silly.  Suffice it to say that even though they don't follow through to full blown anal sex (a real shame--I thought sure after the anal fingering that they would ::sigh::) this scene worked for me very nicely.  Lezley does all the work in jerking Brad off into her mouth, and even though you don't see a whole lot of his cum, there's enough to get the point across.  After it's over, Brad's "wife" (in the form of Michelle Lay) enters and starts a row with Lezley, and the scene fades out.

Just one little complaint here.  If Monica (Lezley) wanted to be the other woman, why not actually have her DO it?  Wouldn't that have been more interesting, and dangerous a context to lend to this whole thing?  Why not send her out as part of the Velvet Ring, with the task of actually seducing another woman's man, and fucking him--ensuring that his wife would find out about it?  Maybe that's too dark and risky for Wicked's liking, but I think that could have been much more interesting than setting up a safe, inocuous environment for Monica to "pretend" to be the other woman, and another girl to "pretend" to be the wife.  ::sigh:: Ah well.  Opportunities unrealized.  Again, it's obviously not what Wicked or Brad Armstrong had in mind, but I wish they'd taken the more daring route and raised the stakes a bit.  The sex itself was great, it was the context that I wished had a bit more meat.

Anyway...  back at the Velvet Ring, Stormy introduces us to Stephanie (Roxanne Hall) who in the real world is evidently always in control--a real powerhouse of a business woman.  But her fantasy is to give up control and be submissive.  We see her with two guys flanking her, and you get the feeling that giving up control to them is what she's just about to do.

Scene Two Video Captures
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Roxanne Hall, Chris Evans & Talon.

Roxanne gets plenty worked over by these two.  The scene starts out on the average side, with a little cock-sucking and some pussy licking.  Roxanne looks quite fetching with her skimpy, black lingerie draping off her body, and as things move forward, this turns into quite the raunchy little sex scene--especially by Wicked's standards.  Roxanne gets her pussy plundered, and eventually she takes it up the ass, and is even up for some double penetration action before it's all over.  Two great facials finish things off, and Roxanne once again proves that, even though she's been in the business a long time, she can hold her own with the best of 'em.  It's not my favorite scene so far.  I could have done with some more of that "domination" vibe that Stormy promised in the setup, but otherwise, there's honestly very little to complain about here.

Nadia (Stormy) explains the difficulties of keeping the Velvet Ring's gatherings a secret, and the overwhelming interest that countless men have demonstrated in wanting to be included.  Two guys try to get in the door, but are rebuffed by Leo the bouncer.  Jessica (Gianna) is apparently next in the hot seat, and her fantasy involves a glory hole, which Stormy claims they don't have.  Not being one to disappoint, however, she's going to see what she can do...

Scene Three Video Captures
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Gianna & Three Faceless Cocks

This is a brief, but interesting (and quite pretty) scene that starts with a great lookin' Gianna teasing the camera in a room lined with white curtains.  One by one she rips small holes in the fabric to reveal three hard cocks for her to suck.  She services them, and looks quite yummy doing it, and before long, all three of them deposit cum onto her face in turn.  It's not fancy, but it's not boring either.  I quite liked it.

Scene Four Video Captures
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Stormy Daniels, Felicia & Teanna Kai

Nadia tells us a little more about the Velvet Ring, and she soon finds herself on a couch flanked by Felicia and Teanna Kai.  All girl scenes usually aren't my thing, and I'm afraid this one did very little for me.  They all look great, particularly Stormy, but that's no big surprise.  There's a fair amount of fingering, licking and toy play (including a little anal for Felicia), but as usual with these kinds of scenes, none of their performances really seemed all that authentic to me--although I admit that at one point Felicia looks pretty darn into it.  Anyway, you could do worse than spending a few minutes watching a sea of toned female flesh writhing all over each other.  It's a good lookin' scene if nothing else, but beyond that, I'm afraid I can't be much help.

Nadia closes with some half-baked parting thoughts about the irresistibility of the female touch, and then transitions into the benefits of a man who knows how to give a massage.  An example is laid out before us, and I think we're all well-aware of where all this is going to lead...

Scene Five Video Captures
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Dani Woodward, Michelle Lay, Trevor Zen & Steven St. Croix

I have a pretty big weakness for Dani Woodward, so I'm predisposed to liking this scene.  Dani is a super-cute dark red-head with a fantastic little body that's perfectly my type.  Michelle is lookin' pretty good here as well as both girls get some massage action courtesy of the guys before things get a little untoward and the whole scene becomes an orgiastic foursome.  In keeping with the rest of the movie, this is some pretty damned good sex, with some beautiful positions, some really nice energy demonstrated by all, and a couple a of gorgeous girls to boot.  I enjoyed it, and although I admit that most of my attention was concentrated on Dani, Michelle managed to draw my focus now and again as well.  Two decent facials end the scene, and once again I'm happy with what I saw.

After some ... well, rather badly penned dialogue between Stormy and Michelle Lay, discussing how everything went with her massage, Stormy tells them that it's her turn to be rewarded for a job well done with the Velvet Ring.  And just like that, she's off to realize her own fantasy.

Scene Six Video Captures
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Stormy & Cheyne Collins.

Cheyne is working on a rather impressive vintage vehicle that my wife would no doubt drool all over if given the chance.  Stormy explains that her normal life is the well dressed man showing off his trophy wife at parties, and for a change, she wanted the rough and rugged younger type to take her in his garage.  Cheyne does just that, and although Wicked's watered down version of "rough and rugged" is somewhat on the "soft and cuddly" side, this is still a pretty good scene.  Stormy is gorgeous as always, and she's nicely shown off here.  It's the usual progression of acts and positions, albeit amidst a nice backdrop of good lighting, and a gorgeous car.  Stormy gets nicely fucked, and Cheyne finishes himself off by giving Stormy a facial that drips down her amazing breasts.

Stormy sums everything up with a voice over while we watch her play with Cheyne's cum, and after a brief reminder to the guys that the Velvet Ring is invitation only, the credits role, and we're treated to a brief epilogue with the two guys who tried to gain entrance to the club earlier now reappearing in skirts, hoping that will get them in.  I say--good luck to them.

Scene Seven Video Captures
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EXTRAS:
Bonus Scene with Stormy Daniels & Barrett Blade From Neighbors : 9 Mins. This is probably the best sex scene from the movie Neighbors, which I recently reviewed.  You can find more detail about it here.
Bonus Scene with Stormy Daniels & Felicia From Cargo : 9 Mins. From my admittedly narrow perspective, this is a typical girl/girl pairing that I found little interest in.  There's some pussy licking, fingering and grinding amidst the normal amount of moaning.  Both girls look good, of course, but unless there's something very remarkable happening, girl/girl scenes just aren't for me.
Behind the Scenes : 30 Mins. I think that Wicked's behind the scenes featurettes are just as fun to watch as the movies themselves--in some cases, they're even more fun.  This is in no small part thanks to Mark Stone, the Wicked behind-the-scenes camera guy, who really is adept at talking to the performers in a way that loosens them up and keeps things fun.  This particular featurette is no different, and I just thought it was great--a real chance to become attracted to the performers as people and not just sexual objects.
Stormy's Box Shoot : 2 Mins. Some video from the boxcover shoot with stormy.  It's just a string of images, mostly--with Stormy saying goodbye at the very end.  ::shrug::
Michelle Lay and Dani Woodward's Landing Strip Tips : 3 Mins.  A fun close-up exploration of shaving tips and their results courtesy of Michelle Lay and the yummy Dani Woodward. Mm. Mm. Mm.
Michelle Lay's Escort Confession : 6 Mins. Michelle and the behind the scenes guru, Mark Stone, start talking about Felicia, and her somewhat unique place in the adult industry, and that leads Michelle into a confession about her first girl/girl experience.  It's a great sequence!  :)
Bloopers : 1 Min.
Trailers : Space Nuts, Beautiful, Eye of the Beholder, Killer Sex & Suicide Blondes, Fluff & Fold.
Star Galleries
Photo Gallery
Star Stats

OVERALL:
As Wicked features go, this is a little on the superficial side.  It's really less plot oriented, and more a string of vignettes tied together with a common theme.  On the other hand, there's really nothing wrong with that either.  The context that is there is refreshingly sex driven, which is something I always look for in feature porn.  More than that, though, the sex is very good--and certainly more adventurous and interesting than a lot of what I've seen from Wicked in recent months.  That was very refreshing as well--the scenes not only don't skimp on time, they don't skimp on harder-edged themes either.  There's a fair amount of anal to go around, a little DP courtesy of Roxanne, and almost every scene ends in a facial.  For that, I can make no complaints.  My favorite scenes were the Lezley Zen encounter with Brad Armstrong, and Dani Woodward and Michelle Lay's "massage" appointment with Steven St. Croix and Trevor Zen.  The girls looked great, and the sex was dynamic and, dare I say it, downright passionate in places.  Roxanne's scene was also a stand out, and I found it a little odd that Stormy's scenes were of less interest to me than the others.  No matter, Stormy is still a hottie, and I'm sure other people with other fetishes and preferences will have different favorites.  In any case, I think this is definitely a disc worth checking out--particularly for fans of Wicked who occasionally find themselves frustrated with the common lack of "umph" in Wicked's sex scenes.  It's a good disc with a great cast, and as always, Wicked makes them look their best.

I'd give it four stars, but---errrrg!  I just wish it had more of a story than it did.  Whereas Neighbors was a great story, but failed in the sex department, such is Secrets of the Velvet Ring good with the sex, and disappointing in the plot/acting department.  If it hadn't faltered in that regard, I'd give it that extra half a star, but I thought I'd present my "rating rationale" for those with different priorities.

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


Other Adult Movie Reviews by Mike Lyons