Candida Royalle's Eyes of Desire

Ex-porn star turned director/production company owner Candida Royalle creates erotic films with the "woman" in mind - first and foremost. Just knowing that someone has such intentions brings a breath of fresh air to erotica whereby the male is usually considered the "only" patron. That being said, Eyes of Desire was a bit unsatisfying. Now, I do recommend this film to those potential consumers who... shall I say... are really just getting their feet wet when it comes to porn films. That, of course, is not a "knock" against "first-timers". We all have to start somewhere and that somewhere is usually a mild and easy-spirited place. My problem with this particular feature is not the plot, not the cast, not the theme and certainly not that it is "relaxed" and "romantic". My dissatisfaction begins and ends with the sexual action - or lack thereof.

Let's begin, first, with the plot. This is the story of a photographer, played by Missy, who is asked to housesit for friend Miss Sharon Mitchell. A lonely and melancholy Missy finds salvation through the lens of a telescope aimed directly at an abandoned home (or so we think) across the way. While Sharon is away at play with boyfriend Herschel Savage, our distraught protagonist spies on whatever the scope seems to have in-store for her longing eyes. Turns out... someone is watching her-right back. What appears to be turning into a cover of "Body Double" ends up becoming a brewing lust for the mysterious occupant of the unoccupied home.

The cast included some heavy-hitters of porn cinema including: Tom Byron, Chloe, and Missy's real-life hubby Mickey G. This is a considerably notable cast - no doubt. But... back to my earlier summation... something about the sex wasn't right. I felt like the cast, most of which are not strangers to intense and powerful sex scenes, were tame and not truly exploiting their talents. My senses told me it was the directing and the script. I appreciate what Candida was trying to accomplish with Eyes of Desire, yet I was left with emptiness in my libido. This movie is very couples oriented and woman friendly, but to put it quite candidly, it was only one step above an "after dark" movie on cable - sexually speaking.

The sex scenes, five in total, contain very little intensity. There is some believable chemistry between Herschel and Sharon. The Missy/Mickey G. pairing at the films end was fair but could have been better considering they are married in the real world. Otherwise, this is what you can expect: A few internal-pops, one actual cum-scene, a brief masturbation sequence and a lot of slow-moving non-sex scenes. Okay, wait... a moment of comedy must be mentioned: Tom Byron in drag arguing with lover Chloe.

To summarize all of this - Eyes of Desire is best directed to those who are in need of a mild "ice-breaker" and those who just aren't quite ready for "hardcore" pornography. Though designed for women, not all females will enjoy it. In fact, my lovely better half found this DVD un-appealing - due mostly to the lack of fiery sex, so keep that in mind.

The features include director's commentary, which is quite interesting. Also contained in this DVD are outtakes, previews and a photo gallery.