Julia Ann: Hardcore

Originally released in 2006, JULIA ANN HARDCORE features one of the sexiest and most popular blondes in the history of adult, engaging in conduct which might otherwise have been a bit too taboo for a pornstar of her status. Director Jonathan Morgan correctly points out at the beginning of the Behind The Scenes featurette, that Julia Ann is known for being "foo-foo" and that therefore, this flick shows off her wilder and more aggressive side.

But just how daring is JULIA ANN HARDCORE when all is said and done? Well, although I haven't followed every one of her titles since her memorable debut under the direction of Andrew Blake (namely, HIDDEN OBSESSIONS followed by LES FEMMES EROTIQUES), I am familiar with most of her titles as a contract girl for Vivid, then Digital Playground, and finally Wicked. And yes, indeed, this movie probably represents her nastiest work to date.

Basically, each of six scenes (not including the Bonus Scene) is based on a theme or sexual situation which supposedly deviates from her "traditional" work in features and as a contract girl. Her opening segment pairs her up with Sean Michaels. Their interracial affair takes place on a big poster bed against a white background. Supposedly, there is a "lost" scene between her Mr. Michaels which took place years ago, and that this match-up is actually regarded a reunion. Dressed in white, Julia Ann looks gorgeous, and the two make quite an attractive partnership. But the straight action which includes oral and fucking in missionary, doggy and cowgirl variations is just average.

Much more interesting, yet equally maddening, is her anal scene with Manuel Ferrara, captured on a spinning bed. What could have been a monumental moment for Julia Ann fans becomes frustrating due to the novel execution. The bed spins as she gets boinked, but the camera remains stationary. So, we get to see glimpses of her being backdoored for only a few seconds at a time until the next rotation. It's an otherwise hot moment marred by misguided creativity. Fortunately, the penetration shots are a lot clearer when she gets DP-ed by Randy Spears and Tommy Gunn in the fourth scene, and then by Roxy De Ville and Gia Paloma for the finale (though I find it far less interesting watching a girl get buggered by a dildo than by the real thing).

The third vignette involves what is described as a "blow-bang" session with Eric Masterson, Jack Venice, John West and Marcus London. Though competently performed, it would never be mistaken for an episode of THE GANGBANG GIRL ("Not even close...Bud!" to quote an old 80's Brat Pack member). Further, this scene misses out on the opportunity for Julia Ann to get plugged in all three holes at once, which would really be extreme conduct on her part. The penultimate scene is basically a POV presented affair with Julian, and looks more like filler than anything else. Clumsily directed and edited (perhaps deliberately, as an homage of sorts to the generally amateurish nature of most POV gonzo porn), the action is "just okay."

Since this flick was originally released in 2006, Julia Ann had continued to indulge in interracial, anal, and double-penetration work for Wicked Pictures, and is now participating in numerous gonzo titles following her leave as a contract girl. While there's probably no doubt that HARDCORE was a groundbreaking title in her long career, one has to wonder about the merits of her overall performance when compared to her peers. There are certainly other talented women in the jizz biz who may not be as stereotypically gorgeous as busty, blue-eyed and blonde Julia Ann (though neither have they had a breast augmentation or other cosmetic surgery), but who have participated in scenes which easily leave JULIA ANN HARDCORE in the dust. Inari Vachs, Taylor Rain, Lisa Ann, Taylor St. Clair, Venus and Jenna Haze - just to name several off the top of my head - are far, far nastier and more carnally consistent than the Blondage co-star, yet they haven't received this degree of fanfare. The generally portentous presentation of JULIA ANN HARDCORE is a bit of over-hype, in which the end product isn't nearly as exciting as the packaging. The exceptionally well-designed box cover is dark and mysterious, and the typewritten quotes taken from Julia Ann's introduction to each scene are a nice touch. However, it doesn't help when viewers find themselves rolling their eyes over simple typos as this gem found before the third scene: "The first time I saw it, I was very intimated [sic]..." I mean, c'mon! You don't create sexual tension with such obvious misspellings. (And just so you know, Julia Ann does say "intimidated" and not "intimated" during that interview.)

Moreover, the stylized direction and videography (such as the rotating bed, and the lesbian threesome which is almost purely fetish-based) are certainly inventive, but often unnecessary. I assume that the soft-focus visuals and Muzak-like soundtrack help maintain that "upper class" appearance which Julia Ann is known for, and keeps her looking young and glamorous (and make no mistake about it, she looks simply beautiful in this movie). However, the artsy-fartsy approach isn't always congruent with the gonzo-based action, which should be down and dirty but looks almost antiseptic here. Finally, the use of condoms and the distinct lack of swallowing even after numerous facials prove that as nasty as Julia Ann wants to be, her final efforts aren't enough to pass minimum gonzo standards.

Unlike the original DVD version released a couple of years ago, this Blu-ray includes a different bonus scene taken from REFLEXXXIONS, whereas the original borrowed its footage from BEAUTIFUL. The scene from REFLEXXXIONS involves Julia Ann encased in a transparent box, sucking off Evan Stone, Chris Cannon, Eric Masterson and Marcus London to completion. BEAUTIFUL, on the other hand, was a simple one-on-one with Masterson. I assume that the producers chose to include a more off-beat excerpt to keep in line with the more "extreme" nature of HARDCORE, and this attention to detail is much appreciated. The high definition widescreen picture looks great, and it's a relief to see a Wicked production which isn't so damn dark and shadowy. The minute Behind The Scenes documentary is just terrific, with brief interviews with Julia Ann and her co-stars as we get to see some production footage of each individual scene. Director Morgan has obviously put a lot of time and attention to this title, and it's a shame that I couldn't be more excited about it.

Julia Ann may be HARDCORE here, but she fails to astonish as she did in her very first scene using an icicle dildo with Blondage partner Janine in HIDDEN OBSESSIONS. Nevertheless, this is a good, solid video and strongly recommended for her undoubtedly large fan-following.

As porn viewers, we always get excited when one of our favorite girls does something on camera that she's never done before (or hasn't done for a long time). Now imagine if a performer decided to devote an entire movie to trying new things on camera. Well, that's exactly what fans will get with Julia Ann: Hardcore, one of the hottest movies Julia Ann has done in a long, long time.

The movie, which was originally titled "Julia Ann: Darkside," but most likely got changed because so many other porn movies have been using that term the past few years, begins with an interracial scene with Sean Michaels. Before the action begins, Julia introduces the scene by telling us she shot a segment with Sean a long time ago, but the footage was ruined and has never been seen by the public. Even though Julia explores some of her kinkier fantasies in this title, each scene is shot with the kind of glamorous "look" we'd expect from Wicked Pictures (the movie was directed by Jonathan Morgan). The pairing between Julia and Sean takes place on a bed, and the room has been soft-lit with white light. During the action, Julia takes Sean's (reportedly) 11" cock in the reverse cowgirl, cowgirl, doggy and missionary positions. A pop-shot onto her ample chest concludes the scene.

Julia claims that she wanted to do an anal scene with Manuel Ferrara ever since she saw and heard about him a couple years back when he won AVN's Male Performer of the Year. Wearing a black dress and fishnets and reclining on a red cushion that revolves as the scene takes place, Julia gets her backdoor pumped in the spoon and reverse cowgirl positions (after vaginal penetration) and gets Manuel's load jerked down into her mouth and onto her face.

One of the hottest scenes in Julia Ann: Hardcore is a blow-bang session with John West, Marcus London, Jack Venice and Eric Masterson. It's especially sexy since about halfway through the scene it morphs from a simple blowjob-only session to a mini-gangbang, as each guy takes a turn fucking her. The first pop-shot here is the best, as Julia gets a creamy facial, with the remaining guys jerking their loads onto her chest.

Never thought you'd see Julia take two cocks at the same time? Well think again! Playing a nurse in a psych ward (and looking hot in a latex outfit), Julia takes on Randy Spears and Tommy Gunn in a scene that concludes with Julia getting double penetrated - with Tommy in her pussy, and Randy up her ass. The only real downside here is that the scene is edited in such a way that the guys are already inside her holes when we see the DP footage (we don't get to enjoy watching them work their way in). The action concludes with what almost constitutes a double-facial, although Tommy's pop-shot is more to Julia's neck and chin (Randy does hit the target, thankfully!).

The next to last scene has Julia hooking up with ex-boyfriend Julian for a POV scene. If I had to pick my least favorite scene in the movie, I'd probably go with this one. The POV angles are great, but Jonathan Morgan also keeps cutting away from the POV stuff to a "regular" angle that's not nearly as appealing. On top of that, he totally mis-shoots the pop-shot, with a non-POV angle that is a little too far away from the performers to enjoy it. Just for the record, the climax has Julia sucking and wanking on Julian's cock until he bursts - mainly back onto himself and Julia's hand, although a little bit does land on her chin, and she does take time to suck him dry after he's blown his load.

I've never been a big fan of ending straight porn titles with all-girl scenes (if I had my way, I would have swapped this scene with the Julia/Randy/Tommy scene in order of appearance for this movie), but there's no denying we get a hot one here - as Gia Paloma plays dominatrix to "slaves" Julia Ann and Roxy DeVille. Julia begins the scene in a cage, and Gia brings a bound Roxy over to sit on top of the cage so Julia can lick her pussy out from below. After letting her out of the cage, the two girls move Julia over to a couch where they use a pink vibe on her pussy and spank her with a paddle. They also use a larger, purple vibe on her. Donning a strap-on, Roxy fucks Julia in the reverse cowgirl position, and then pounds her ass doggy style. Gia also puts on a strap-on, and the scene wraps up with Julia being DP'd by the two girls.

The movie is presented on DVD in anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The extras are pretty good, although they fall just short of a rating that would have given this title a perfect score (I'm sad to see that Julia Ann and Jonathan Morgan didn't do a commentary track). There's a 17-minute Behind The Scenes featurette; a bonus scene between Julia and Eric Masterson taken from the release of Beautiful; the trailer for this movie and six other Wicked releases; plus slide shows, bios and the usual promo materials you'll find on most Wicked DVDs.

Julia Ann: Hardcore is the kind of title that could reenergize her career. It should certainly reenergize her fan base, who haven't seen Julia perform like this on camera since...well, ever!