She Bangs!

After years of delivering one fine (and occasionally, not so fine) gonzo title after another, Red Light District - a studio which at first seemed to be just a carbon copy of Anabolic/Diabolic - has (again) stretched its line successfully into the world of feature video with SHE BANGS, a two disc release and a sure-fire contender for an Empire Award. Watching this movie reaffirms my often-waning faith and depraved dedication to the world of cinematic smut, as this title easily outclasses every other new release vying for a place in your monthly porn budget.

Red Light District's first effort, DARKSIDE, was a successful start into story-based X-rated features, and now the same director hits a second home run with this impressive release. James Avalon, who has written and directed some of the best blue movies I've ever seen including NOTHING TO HIDE 3 and 4 as well as LES VAMPYRES and RED VIBE DIARIES, successfully incorporates the lewd and explicit action of gonzo video with his own distinctive cinematic stylings, and the results should please raincoaters and blue movie sophisticates alike. (For more information on James Avalon, I encourage audiences to read the exclusive Empire Review available on this site.) The story involves police officer Sunny Lane going undercover to investigate mafia connections to a porno ring. The premise allows us to get a dramatic (but perhaps not too over-exaggerated) behind the scenes look into the making of a blue movie, and holds our interest while we witness the sexual blossoming of Sunny's character. Admittedly, the plot is rather malnourished, and the dialogue lacks real wit, but the story serves its purpose in stringing together one arresting situational sex scene after another.

Even more remarkable about Mr. Avalon's skills as a blue movie director is his firm control over his cast and his ability to extract impressive acting performances (in both the dramatic and hardcore conduct) to match their sexual skills. In NOTHING TO HIDE 3 and 4, he made Gwen Summers shine every moment she was onscreen, and in RED VIBE DIARIES, he cast Stacy Valentine in a role which stands as her finest work ever. Now, he takes proven gonzo talent Sunny Lane as his starring performer and catapults her into porn superstardom. The petite and very lovely Miss Lane handles her role with ease, making her transition from virginal undercover cop into pornstar wannabe utterly convincing. Though she has appeared in major features before such as Avalon's DARK SIDE, Sunny assumes the lead in SHE BANGS! like a bona fide pro, and her four sex scenes (the first involves a threesome with "director" Manuel Ferrara and John Strong; the second spotlights a straight encounter with "boyfriend" Brandon Iron; the third is also a one-on-one with Tommy Gunn; and finally, the movie-ends with an all-out orgy involving Lacie Heart, Karina Kay, Georgia Peach, Sascha and Messrs. Ferrara and Strong) are all winners. Her feeling of reserved emotion leading into pure horniness is well-displayed when she first gives a blowjob to Mr. Ferrara, and her romantic oral-only scene Mr. Iron is seductive and very hot, especially when we watch her lovingly lick the cum off her hand. Sunny doesn't necessarily deliver her lines as convincingly as Meryl Streep, but when the story requires her to emote, she does the job well.

The orgy is, unsurprisingly, the climax of the movie and concludes SHE BANGS! on a lewd high note. Anal sex is plentiful, with Georgia doing most of the backdoor shenanigans, and the two girls on one guy action is well-choreographed. Not since John Stagliano's classic FACE DANCE have I been so impressed with an orgy scene. Many directors have problems with showing us multiple partners at once because there's always a distracting feeling that whenever the camera focuses on one couple (or threesome, or whatever), something more interesting is happening off-camera. Luckily, SHE BANGS! seems to present the best action front and center, and while there is a lot going on at once, it's doubtful anyone would complain about the visuals. Also, seeing and hearing Sunny verbally "encourage" Georgia Peach as gets extensively DP-ed is almost worth the price of admission alone. The cum-swapping between Katrina and Lacie is immensely satisfying, especially since it looks less and contrived than what we get in every other gonzo video. However, we don't get to linger on their exchange for too long because the camera is compelled to turn its attention to Sunny, who after getting a mouthful of jizz, gently drops it into Georgia's tongue, and the two of them engage in slow French kissing before the scene fades to black. Logistically speaking, Mr. Avalon handles the pacing of this orgy with finesse and it serves as a blueprint on how to film group sex scenes correctly.

Other female talents include Gia Jordan, who is convincing in her role as a demanding pornstar. She gets gangbanged by Steve Holmes, Erik Everhard and Manuel and John Strong in a physically demanding segment which lasts over a half hour, but does not feel padded or needlessly prolonged. The double penetration scenes are almost non-stop, and her effortless swallowing of all four guys is boner-inducing (or relieving as the case may be), indeed. Gonzo fans who might feel their whacking material compromised by the idea of a feature presentation will have nothing to complain about when they get to this opening scene.

Likewise, Jenna Pressley and Tiffany Taylor (playing undercover cops) are also at their most enthusiastic when they consensually bookkeeper Mr. Steve Holmes in his office. All are dressed up in eye-popping, sex-kitten outfits, and Jenna and Tiffany are so good at pleasing Mr. Holmes, that Sunny's presence is barely missed. (Anyhow, she has more important things to do like advancing the plot by tapping into his computer files). Miss Lane introduces them to Mr. Holmes as "two of my friends who want to get in the biz." And like pros, they strip off their clothes and dive for his crotch. The poor guy's cock is constantly inserted into the wettest parts of their anatomy, as they assume every position known to mankind. Though anal insertion is limited to a finger occasionally poking on the surface of the backdoor, it's strictly a vaginal affair. But who cares? The bumping and grinding is well-done, with lots of boisterous dirty talk from both girls, as well a cumshot to Tiffany's chest and some licking by her partner. (A cum swap would have really added to the value of this scene, but you can't have everything.)

The feature runs slightly less than three hours, and the Behind The Scenes segment (available on Disc Two) is over thirty minutes in length. I was initially disappointed to see that the only other extras were a set of trailers (albeit, well-made trailers) and a trio of photo galleries separated by theme (glamour shots, hardcore shots and video stills). However, the BTS featurette is so entertaining (the on-set comments and interviews from director Avalon are particularly notable), that I didn't feel SHE BANGS! needed anything more. Unfortunately, the lack of additional DVD "bells and whistles" is the only reason why SHE BANGS! fails to earn a top-rating across the board.

Is SHE BANGS! the director's best film? Probably not. (In my very humble point of view, that honor still goes to his twin sequels to NOTHING TO HIDE.) But it is an excellent feature and one hell of a hot porno flick. So long James Avalon continues to make flicks of this caliber, I believe that he will do more to improve the state of gonzo action than any other director working today.

The James Avalon films I've seen previously have normally been quite slick features with glamourous babes, good plots and well filmed sex scenes which have been nicely erotic but not overly hard. Well, hang on to your hats with this one; this is one torrid and debauched ride from virtually the word go. The film stars the oh-so-sweet, girl-next-door Sunny Lane as a naive rookie cop sent undercover to investigate the crooked doings of nasty porn film maker and dealer Manuel Ferrara. Needless to say, Sunny has to grow up very quickly and convince Manuel and his sordid henchmen that she has what it takes to be a porno movie starlet.

The story definitely takes second place to the sex action which is some of the hardest and most intense I've ever seen in a feature. At times it's almost like gonzo, but what Avalon is doing is very clever: it is a film largely about people making low budget porn, and it captures that seedy, down market feel exactly, from the cheap sets to the cheesy 70's disco background music (in fact the whole film has a somewhat 70's flavour, largely due to the fact that the porn film makers are portrayed as little more than thieving pimps - unlike their highly professional and honest counterparts of today!!!) But what we are actually seeing is a very professional and deliberate rendition of the genre from the perspective of a quality modern adult feature.

The acting is of a sound standard, and the sex scenes, whilst appearing raw and very hardcore, are in fact very professionally filmed and heightened in intensity by the 'realistic' feature context of the movie. We get it all here: anal, DP, ATM - a virtually non stop barrage of blistering sexual intensity that will leave you breathless. Sunny is just sensational in the lead role! She's at the heart of all the sexual action, but her character refuses to do ATM or anal, which makes sense for her character's limited experience, but she still takes part in very hot sex scenes, including taking on two guys by herself at once in a truly thrilling scene. There is something so natural and loveable about her...

This is an unusual but excellent and exciting feature from James Avalon that lovers of quality adult erotica won't want to miss!