Fiesta, The

What could be more inviting than the lovely sight of Briana Banks standing seductively in front of a door on the box cover of THE FIESTA? Well, how about seeing so much more of this buxom blonde beauty in this video production produced and directed by Nicholas Steele? Filmed in exotic South American locations worthy of a Private production, THE FIESTA shows us lush, background settings which are almost as gorgeous as the starlets who are placed centerstage in this movie. Briana Banks plays the prototypical sexy rich bitch who has brought people together on her island for a little R & R. Naturally, there is a bit of mystery wrapped around the storyline, but it doesn't get in the way of the all-important hardcore. However, the lack of any exposition or extended dialogue scenes made watching THE FIESTA more of a music video experience than watching a moviegoing one. Not that there is anything wrong with that; Andrew Blake films have that look and feel. However, director Steele's work does not carry the same artistic aesthetics as anything by Blake, so you really get a mediocre hybrid of just "pretty good" visuals with just "okay" sex, which does not rise above average overall.

Revealingly, one of the trailers on this DVD is for THE DINNER PARTY 3, which takes all its footage from THE FIESTA! Either this is a mistake on Adam & Eve's part, or THE FIESTA was the intended second sequel to one of the best adult films ever made. If the latter, then it was a damn good idea to change the title, because THE FIESTA can't hold a broken candle to Cameron Grant's epic.

Because this was an obviously expensive production, the camera lingers on the surroundings almost endlessly before the first sex scene begins. Lovely Rita Faltoyana maintains a girl-next-door look, thanks in part to her braided hair and pleasant onscreen demeanor. Dale DaBone gets to have her his way in an outdoor encounter. Rita's cheeks get filled with Dale's cock, and she gets hammered in all sorts of positions. The cum facial is accentuated by some nice and slow post orgasmic cock sucking.

The sexual pace picks up a bit when John Decker and Suzy Sweet have sex on top of a bar. We get nice close-ups of mutual oral offerings, as well as a reverse-cowgirl and doggy anal expertly received by Ms. Sweet. Unfortunately, Suzy gets shot by John's splooge all over her low back instead of where it really counts, but you can't have everything. Evan Stone's outdoor affair with Isabella is also filled with lots of flesh covered sword swallowing, as he "assists" her in taking his cock deeper into her throat. This pairing is probably the most heated moment of the movie at this point, but it is pretty much paced and edited like the previous two sex scenes; the sameness does get a little boring.

Unfortunately, viewers won't get that much more out of the next scene involving Alexa and Decker, which yet again looks and feels like the last three boy-girl trysts! Oh, sure, Alexa is probably the most beautiful girl of the bunch, and the waterfall in the background looks great and all...but Jeez Louise! We need a bit more variety here! Even worse, there are times when Alexa just lies there with no more emotion than the rocks she's on. I know that having sex in that kind of environment must be difficult, but hell, that's why you get paid for doing it!

At this point, I was about to give up on THE FIESTA, until of course, Briana had just shown up for her turn at the festivities. Fortunately, and despite the distracting camera work and clumsy editing, Briana saves the party by showing off her skills at deep throating on the lucky Mr. DaBone who gets to be on the receiving end of her luscious lips and talented tongue. He also gets to pork her in several standing positions, before releasing himself all over her mouth. I won't deny that this is once again, a very standard porn coupling, but Briana makes it work wonders.

Yet another highlight is saved for the end of the flick when all the party people get down and dirty for an all-out orgy joined by lovely Ava Vincent. However, those expecting action (not to mention camera skills) on the level of John Stagliano's FACEDANCE epics will find nothing of the sort here. The whole segment is overdubbed with music and takes place in slow-motion. There are some terrific shots of tag team blowjobs and lesbian loving, but it's all edited rather amateurishly. The three-way cock sucking performed by Ava, Isabella and Briana is poorly intercut with other footage, to the point where I almost couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. I appreciate Adam & Eve's efforts at giving us an orgy scene, especially when they are so expensive to produce and are therefore so very rare in most adult features. But gosh-darn it, it's almost more frustrating to see a potentially great scene go to near waste because of technical incompetence. Why must we be to listen to the pseudo Latin music, instead of the grunts, screams and moans of the female talent? Why isn't a shot sustained for more than 10 seconds at a time? Why don't we get better camera angles of the action? Others may enjoy this chaotic scene more than me, and if so, great. But I found it more frustrating than fun and a waste of time and talent.

The sound is generally good, but some of the dialogue is difficult to hear due to what sounds like poor microphone placement. You can hear the narrator and the people in the foreground just fine, but when people speak up from the back, you have to pump up the volume. But feel free to turn the sound all the way down when you get to the orgy scene so you don't have to be subjected to the endlessly droning music.

The extras on the disc are well-done, beginning with the lengthy Behind The Scenes featurette (which inexplicably is widely overdubbed during the last half of the segment by that same irritating salsa music), and a Photo Gallery filled with thumbnails and captions that identify the actors. This Adam & Eve disc also employs a "Hot Shot Button" which allows you to skip over to the preferred action when the icon is on (this was first started in Tera Patrick's SEX ISLAND, where a certain reviewer lambasted the annoying feature). Thankfully, you have the option to turn it off before you play the movie, which I did.

Finally, we get a Bonus Scene featuring Briana and Evan Stone on the set of DINNER PARTY 3 (also filmed in South America). Their affair here is ironically the hottest scene on the disc, and it will probably be the first scene I turn to whenever I want to re-watch this DVD. Evan then gets it on with Isabella while ostensibly on the set of TEARS OF EDEN, in another winner of a scene. Clearly, if you are disappointed with the main feature, there is still some good stuff to watch. However, it also appears that this is the same Bonus Scene which is also available on another Adam & Eve release, EMERALD RAIN. Although I haven't see the flick, Spooky's Empire Review leaves me with the impression that we may be getting the same scene on a different disc.

THE FIESTA is an okay party to visit, but don't be surprised if you leave early.