Acting Out

Vivid's Acting Out is a good idea for an adult film - one in which the actor's basically play themselves and talk to the camera about the method they follow for making porn - but it's also one that isn't shot very well, as we get tremendously dark visuals in some scenes, while others look perfectly fine.

The directing credit on this one goes to "Charlie Lords," whom I have never heard of before, but I certainly hope this isn't Paul Thomas using yet another pseudonym on one of his movies (Thomas already uses the nom de plume "Bo Edwards" for some of his lower-budgeted Vivid productions). Using two names is already confusing enough.

Anyway, Vivid Girl Mercedez is the highlight here, as she gets both the opening scene with Tony Tedeschi; as well as joining Evan Stone for the closing scene on the DVD - which also includes a pairing between Roxy Jezel and Steven St. Croix.

The first scene between Mercedez and Tony takes place outdoors and is one of the poorly-lit scenes on the disc - often so dark that it's difficult to make out the penetration. Scene Two moves the action indoors for a lesbian pairing between Ashley Haze and Haley Paige - and the visuals are mixed here, with some angles being perfectly clear, while others are very dark. It's a shame, since this turns out to be a pretty good girl/girl pairing - with both performers having that "barely legal" look to them, and where Haley dons a strap-on and gives it to Ashley doggy style.

Cute newcomer Alex Divine and T.J. Cox go at it on a bed in what is probably the best-shot pairing in Acting Out. After warming him up with a blowjob, Alex lies back for some missionary and then takes it doggy and allows T.J. to cum on her ass.

The final scene begins with Evan Stone and Mercedez making out, and then moves to action between Roxy Jezel and Steven St. Croix indoors. We think the scene with Mercedez might be over, but she and Evan soon move to a room adjacent from Roxy and Steven, so we can jump back and fourth between the two pairings. Once again, the action is poorly lit, with some angles looking okay, and some nearly pitch black.

The darkness problem seems to be a problem with the source material, as opposed to the DVD transfer, which looks to be okay and up to par with what we've come to expect from Vivid. Therefore, I've taken off points in the "Film" rating, rather than the "Video" one, since the problem here lies with the filmmakers, and not those who worked on the DVD transfer.

Bonus features on the disc include three extra scenes featuring Mercedez, as well as two others from the Vivid archives. There's also a 10-minute behind the scenes segment; a pair of slide shows; some trailers; and multiple angles for selected sexual action in the movie.

This is the third or fourth Vivid release in as many months where I've noticed some lighting problems with the final product - which leads me to believe there are problems with some of the equipment they are using (or problems with the way they are using it). Keep in mind though, that this problem hasn't existed on all recent Vivid titles (David Stanley's movies, for example, look perfectly shot and pristine) - so don't let this review of Acting Out dissuade you from picking up some of Vivid's other fine flicks. And if you don't mind the visual problems, this movie isn't all that bad, either.