Wishbone (Vivid) Review

Running Time: 75 min.

Production Date: 1 / 31 / 1996

Director: Michael Zen

Cast: Jenteal, Melissa Hill, Rebecca Lord, April, Roxanne Hall, Gina Share, Jon Dough, Steven St. Croix, Bobby Vitale, and Tom Byron

Initial Expectations: Due to the length of the feature and Vivid's record of chopping scenes from movies, I didn't expect to be able to really follow a plot. I hoped that the sex was at least average and didn't feel chopped.

Initial Reaction: Very typical Vivid stuff, although it isn't quite what the cover says it is. Nothing really outstanding, but I don't feel like I wasted my time either. Thankfully, the movie appeared like it was to be this short. It didn't feel hacked as some of Vivid's other releases do.

Audio /Video Quality: Much better than I expected, although it is from a fairly current release. The audio and video synch very well. There's one instance in the scene between Rebecca and Jon where I think it might have been dubbed, but I'm not 100% positive.

Music: The music varies between the typical techno porn soundtrack and a choral type background. None of it detracts from the scenes they accompany.

False Advertising: Of course there's the time thing. Everybody knows that the Vivid DVDs aren't really 4 or 8 hours long. My main complaint about 'Wishbone' is that the description on the cover mentions a wish list that reads like the Kama Sutra. After watching 'Wishbone', I'm not sure if Vivid even knows what the Kama Sutra is. The statement implies a lot of unique and different positions. I would think that this would mean different from the standard five or six common positions found in virtually every porno which are the only positions we see here.

The Movie: Melissa and Jenteal are in a bind, and not the kind that a case of Astroglide can get them out of. They're trying to work their way through college, but money's tight and they've just gotten evicted from their apartment. They've been looking for a new apartment, but everything they find is too expensive. In the mean time, they move into one of Melissa's parents' houses. Melissa's parents are loaded (with money), but think that she should make her own way rather than live off them. Hmmm. Maybe that Astroglide could help with a solution. The girls, however, don't think of it and instead have a chicken dinner and take a shower together. I'm not really big on shower scenes in movies. They never seem to feel right. To me they always seem to feel either cramped or unnatural. Jenteal and Melissa's scene seems very natural and a good balance of close-quarters and far away camera shots with the door open so that you can see everything. It feels very intimate rather than dirty, and that might be what makes the difference.

Jenteal and Melissa figure that the best way out of their dilemma is to find a rich guy to marry. Of course, they need a nice dress to get into the upper class parties, but they can't afford it. Jenteal works at a dress shop, and decides that she should steal it. Her conscience gets the better of her, and she puts it back shortly before Rebecca comes into the store with Jon and Steven. Steven's just tagging along, and spends most of his time flirting with Jenteal. Rebecca takes a few dresses and goes back to the changing room to try them on. Jon goes with to give his opinion and Rebecca convinces him that they'd look best in a pile on the floor. Michael Zen makes great use of the mirror covering the wall in front of Rebecca and Jon. It's been quite a while since I've seen a director use a mirror as well as he did in this scene. Rebecca spends a lot of time leaning against it for support while the mirror shows what we normally wouldn't be able to see. It makes the scene a lot hotter than it normally would be.

When Jenteal gets home, she and Melissa figure out that between them they could afford one dress and they could share it. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that the other one is naked. Only one of them goes to the party rather than both of them. Jenteal gets the first run with the dress and crashes a party. She bumps into Steven at the party and learns that he's crashing it too. Steven understands what she's going through and introduces her to Tom Byron, a well known artist who still has both his ears. Jenteal fakes her way through talking with him about art until he spills his drink on her. Jenteal is devastated and thinks the dress is stained for life, but Steven gets the stain out just in time for her to give him a quick kiss before she runs off so Melissa can have her turn.

Bobby and April decide to spice up the party a little. I don't think this is what people meant by party favors, but it seems to work for them. Melissa arrives at the party in the dress, and Steven initially mistakes her for Jenteal. She's a little uneasy when she sees Bobby and April (I think it's April. Otherwise it's Roxanne, who joins in later) and checks with Steven to see what kind of party it's supposed to be. It's not supposed to be a swinging party, but nobody seems to mind. Roxanne decides to join in shortly after they start. This is another hot scene, and might be the best in the movie. Both girls have some good energy that they put forth in the scene, and everybody works together, rather than one person being overpowered by the others. It makes for a very well balanced three-some.

Steven also introduces Melissa to Tom. They immediately hit it off when Tom finds out that Melissa really knows his work and that 'Passion in Primary Colors' is her favorite painting, as well as his. They go back to his place so he can paint her. Literally. She had colors all over the dress and later, her body. I almost had colors all over too, as I thought this scene sucked so much that it blew chunks. The scene is a patchwork of Tom's painting and he and Melissa having sex. I felt like I was watching porn on one of the scrambled cable or satellite channels. Actually, that might have been a step up. Keep the fast forward button handy during this scene. It's screwed up enough that not many people are going to be doing anything with their hands anyway, so you might as well work the remote.

Steven stops into the shop the next day and asks Jenteal out on a date. When Steven shows up to pick up Jenteal that night, she can't find anything to wear. If this was a porno, I'd think that this was a lead-in to another sex scene. Wait a minute, this is, so we get to see the lovely Jenteal take on Steven St. Croix. This scene isn't as good as her initial scene with Melissa, but it's still pretty good. I thought the chemistry seemed a little off here, which is surprising, as Jenteal has been in a lot of scenes with Steven. Afterwards, we see Jenteal sitting on the bed watching Steven sleep. Aww. It's just so sweet. Melissa interrupts Jenteal watching Steven sleep and planning how she's going to stalk Steven after he meets her family and dumps her. She apologizes for Tom painting the dress, but shows Jenteal where she had Tom sign the dress. They think they can frame the dress and sell it for millions. If only J. Edgar Hoover were still alive and an art fan.

Finally, I must thank Vivid for putting real credits at the end of the movie. It's really nice to see a list of the characters matched with the stars. Most everybody knows the major stars, but the up and coming stars we might not know yet. It's great to see who they are so that we can find more of their stuff. Thank you Vivid.

Extras: VR Technology, bios, previews, interactive sex, AVN Awards footage, and the amazing Vivid Bonus DVD. I say it's amazing because I can't believe that anybody cares about it after the first time. If Vivid is going to keep the same bonus DVD with all the features, why not release it as a Vivid sampler for a low price? It seems to have worked for Private. The extras are the same ones you've seen on the other Vivid Wave releases.

Themes: Straight, lesbian, group, anal, rimming (male > female)

Raincoat Factor: Average.

Overall: Currently, 'Wishbone' can be found for between $8 and $20 with most e-tailers having it for around $10. If you like Jenteal or Melissa Hill, it's worth $10, but for everybody else, I'd try and rent it instead. The audio and video are slightly better than average, and the extras are the same as virtually every other Vivid release.