Hothouse Rose

VCA Classics once again gives silver age pornophiles reason to expand on their DVD collection with HOT HOUSE ROSE, a two-part movie directed by the legendary Henri Pachard. Shot on film, PART ONE boasts a supporting cast of legendary along with underrated, talents such as Nina Hartley and Trixi Tyler (both of whom really don't do much, sexually speaking, until Part Two), as well as Tiara West and K.C. Williams (a Ginger Lynn look-alike who never got the attention she deserved). The sleek, professional look of HOT HOUSE ROSE will probably startle raincoaters who are used to cheesy video productions, and confirm that there is more to fuck films than just gonzo. This is a porno film which actually looks like a mainstream movie (or at least a mainstream "B" movie) and is structured according to story and character. If you're hot and heavy for two and half hours of wall-to-wall ass fucking and cock swallowing, well you're not going to get it here. HOT HOUSE ROSE (PART ONE) is one of those videos which will either arouse your interest and award your patience with orgasmic satisfaction, or keep you bored and limp to the point where you're desperately reaching for any video featuring Ron Jeremy and Bisexual Britni.

Legendary deep-throater Jeanna Fine plays Liz, a die-hard and psychiatrically troubled fan of porn superstar Hothouse Rose as portrayed by the very blonde and incredibly voluptuous Victoria Paris. This movie is apparently a take-off of a popular mainstream movie, but for the life of me, I can't figure out which one In any event, we get to see Victoria strut her stuff professionally in a funny though a bit over-the-top re-creation of a troubled porn shoot, while Miss Fine imitates her onscreen conduct in real life ("real life" meaning within the context of the story). The story focuses on the hardships of Victoria's celebrity life, juxtaposed with the obsessions of her overzealous fan. Of course, along the way we get to see different people openly exploring their sexuality. This narrative allows for many varied and intense sex scenes which emphasize more on situational settings and thematic build-up than mere corporeal acrobatics.

Jeanna gets it on with Tom Chapman on a couch in the opening scene, as a porno (John Leslie's DANGEROUS CURVES produced coincidentally enough by VCA) spotlighting Miss Paris plays in the background. Jeanna becomes emotionally upset while Tom whacks off to the video after fucking Jeanna doggy-style, and the story follows Jeanna's quest to meet the busty blonde. After a brief masturbation scene with Jeanna, we watch Randy West get it on with K.C. Williams on a desk, with a finishing cumshot on her butt. It's not one of K.C.'s best scenes, but it does the job. Later, TT Boy has a grand old time sharing his space with Tiara West and Jeanna in a slow paced scene "directed" by Miss Fine. Once again, if you're looking for threesome action on the level of OUTNUMBERED #4 or SHARE THE LOAD #3, forget it.

After watching Victoria ham it up with director F.J. Lincoln on a shoot, she and Sikki Nixx make love on a couch. The wiry, tattooed Mr. Nixx looks practically buried under Miss Paris's luscious curves, but the action is well-done and ends with a facial. Later, Miss Fine seduces Marc Wallice and Sikki in a bar, and they tag-team her in the bathroom. Mr. Nixx exhibits some clear wood-problems, but the infamous Mr. Wallice maintains his composure throughout and eventually releases himself all over Jeanna's face. The movie ends with Hothouse meeting up with her fan, who is discovered hiding in a closet in a highly emotionally disturbed state. A few minutes of footage from the concluding part is displayed right before the end credits. It's an effective climax to this rather fascinating movie, but if Part One doesn't capture your interest, I can't imagine anyone sticking around for Part Two.

I am pleased to note that VCA has made significant improvement in their DVD productions. Audio and video quality has always been excellent with the overwhelming majority of the company's titles, but recent VCA Classics releases like NEW WAVE HOOKERS 4 and STILL HARD TO STOP (with Nikki Dial) have given us bland, shoddy menus which look even worse than the DVDs I create on my computer. HOTHOUSE ROSE, however, gives us bright, animated menus and bonus materials (a photo gallery made up of video stills, a few trailers, and some other studio promos) which are at least average. (It's too bad that a "making of..." documentary couldn't have been included on this release, but it's doubtful that one ever existed in the first place.)

Disappointingly, VCA chooses to take the easy way out and give us both chapters of this two-part video on separate DVD releases. Back when low-tech shmucks like myself were rewinding videotapes, it's understandable that the original release of HOTHOUSE ROSE came on two different cassettes. However, we're talking digital video disc here, where four hours of high quality video can easily be dumped on any ol' dual-layer DVD. It's unfortunate that VCA could not have sweetened this deal and attracted the next generation of porn viewers to this old-fashioned movie by simply presenting two movies on one disc (as they have done before with SEX and SEX II: FATE, as well as parts three and four of the DEVIL IN MISS JONES series).

The other girl in scene 4 is Tiara