Sex Across America - First Stop: Las Vegas!

Sex Across America tries to capture the spontaneity of Odyssey's popular Shane's World series, but this first volume doesn't manage to live up to those other gonzo titles. One of the problems is that, despite efforts to the contrary, it's painfully obvious that each sex scene has been carefully set up, with the actors having already decided who is going to team up with whom. Of course, this is probably the case as well in the Shane's World movies...but they do such a better job of making things look like they are happening in the moment.

Another problem with Sex Across America is that the lighting of most scenes is relatively poor. Of course, given that everything is shot handheld, one has to be a little more lenient when it comes to picture quality. However, some scenes are so dark that it is hard to tellwho is the man and who is the woman. This was particularly the case for an opening scene with Alexandra Silk and Dale DeBone in front of their traveling Winnebago.

However, there is some good stuff in Sex Across America that will keep fans of this genre of adult film interested. First of all, there's that whole "on the road" feel to it, interesting especially to me since I'm stuck out here on the east coast and my chances of ever getting out to Vegas at this point in my life are slim at best.

There's also some good stuff with Gauge who, despite the fact that she seems only willing to do on-screen stuff with her real-life partner, Mojo, is sexy enough to turn me on almost every time I watch her, despite always doing it with the same guy. One thing that Gauge does need to learn, however, is that she would be much more sexy if she would act as sweet and innocent as she looks. I'm not referring to her sex scenes...but the attitude she has when talking to the camera. She comes off someone arrogant, and it tends to detract a bit from her overall appeal.

One of the really cute women that is in Sex Across America is Heaven Leigh, yet we only get to see her in sexual action in one scene...and it's part of an orgy sequence, so we don't even get to look at her all the time.

The other girl in this title is Anastasia Blue, who gives a so-so performance overall. She has the last scene in the movie with Blake Leigh, but I found her to be much more stimulating to watch in an earlier scene where she was giving Billy Glide a blowjob in the back of a limo. Blue may not be the sexiest young porn star out there, but she certainly seems to know the proper way to give a guy head!

There's some nice extras on this DVD...which are actually the most appealing part of the entire disc. In addition to some cast bios, a nice selection of trailers and a photo gallery, there's also a behind the scenes segment. As mentioned earlier in this review, because of the handheld nature of the photography, the video and audio on this DVD are only average.

This is the first of four Sex Across America titles planned, with the next chapter (also out on DVD) taking place in New Orleans and containing a different set of adult actors, with the exception of Alexandra, who apparently is going to be appearing in all four titles. Hopefully, the mistakes of this first volume will be corrected on the second disc, and viewers will get a more stimulating trek across the countryside.

It was a good concept, one I became interested in during the previews on the Appassionata disc. Take a bunch of nice looking girls, drive them around in an RV from place to place in a pseudo gonzo setting, and have some fun around our great continent.

Sadly, even with the gorgeous Heaven Leigh making her pretty face shown, episode one of Adam & Eve's sexual jaunt fails to interest.

We start in the RV, somewhere on the road, talking to Gauge and her (real) boyfriend Mojo. This is the third flick I've seen the two in, and for some reason, I hope they stay together... can't be easy to stick with your man and advance in the biz, Gauge. So they're checking out her breasts, natural C cups, and Alexandra Silk wants a squeeze. Amazingly, this doesn't lead to much of anything. Alexandra shows off her lack of panties, and the girls show off their bodies to the truck behind them, flashing some tit and mooning the other vehicle.

At some point, Alexandra goes up front and has sex on the passenger side dashboard, not bad, but not too hot. Gauge and Mojo go at it in the back, ensuring the bed is their spot.

They've already lost my interest at this point... the interview style and casual sex happenings more like watching an X-rated episode of "Road Rules" (which sucks enough on its own) than anything erotic.

Then there's some action in a limo, but I skipped right over this. The video quality reminded me of the old ESPN commercials for their website. Grainy, slow, pixelated, jumpy... you could put a hidden camera in your car and capture better (and probably hotter) footage.

We jump over to some room, I guess in Vegas (where we're supposed to be), and everyone's going all oral on each other. This is the first good look at Heaven (I'll try not to be too biased, but she makes it hard on me, despite the pierced nipples), and perhaps the only good one. This is the first spot where the director's ego rears its ugly head, with the scenes developing these annoying as hell borders around them, like MTV circa 1993.

Monica "appears" as the Las Vegas Stripper, off for a private show with Alexandra Silk. The action is at least okay, better than what we've gotten so far. Still, more annoying borders around the screen, vertical neon strips changing color, a major distraction. The girls resort to toys straight away as well, taking the quality of the scene down another notch.

Anastasia Blue and some guy get going in a hotel room for (mercifully) the final scene. She rubs his feet on her breasts for...oh hell, it's just weird. The scene itself doesn't have a border, but the action is bad enough to deserve it.

The extras aren't bad, but by no means the best I've seen. The bio feature is nice, especially because it's not completely useless information like some others have. For example, I now know that Heaven Leigh is from Baltimore, so taking her to an O's game isn't a bad idea. It's never a bad idea, though. We also learn that Monica really is from Vegas, and is in her first year in the business. Alexandra Silk tries to be a bit cheeky with her answers (for height: "this tall"; from: "over there"), but winds up being pompous, perhaps a bit more like some recent signings that have waltzed right into the big time than someone not so wrapped up in themself.

The menus are slow, too much in the way of graphics slowing everything down. The video is abhorrent, unacceptable quality even considering the conditions and worse camera angles. The audio is nothing special, with the music from the menus eventually wearing on you.

I really do expect better from Adam & Eve, but they didn't deliver here. According to the opening, there are going to be at least 3 more installments of this series to come, including New York and Atlanta. That might not be such a good idea. There is a beckoning shot of Sylvia Saint on the inside cover of the box, in the same outfit as she's in for X Girls. You'll wish you were there instead.