Fortunately the condoms have been eliminated from New Sensations' Romance series of features, but LAWS OF LOVE still misses being a really good porn film due to lack of guts. Its timidity is misplaced in a world where "artistic porn" has become an oxymoron.
Credits threw me: the one-shot pseudonym for writer is identified by production manager Jacky St. James as a male in her Behind the Scenes featurette voice-over, and she doesn't get a directing credit either, leaving that to collaborator (and usual d.p. when he isn't directing strictly gonzo shoots) Eddie Powell. It is a mystery (that certainly nobody on Earth except me cares about) whether Jacky did indeed write and direct this baby.
She does show up in a non-sex supporting role as a waitress in one key scene, typically uncredited. Punches were pulled both in the script and level of XXX content so as to create a film suitable not only for porn addicts but effective late night Pay Cable filler, in bowdlerized version.
Key reason to watch LAWS OF LOVE is a rare opportunity to see beautiful porn star Romi Rain in an acting assignment. She is terrific as Alexandra, ruthless young lawyer who's poised to become a partner in a law firm headed up by Mick Blue (surprisingly effective spitting out lines in English cast in a non-ethnic role as owner Christian Thompson). Rain reminded me here of what Sandra Bullock might present if she were gifted with huge breasts. Hopefully she will earn more acting roles in future, though it was interesting to note in the BTS that the filmmakers had to keep working on her suppressing her natural sexiness -hardly a fault but interfering with the character's arc.
Dramatic conflict and entire rom-com structure stems from her being brought in by Mick from the outside, leapfrogging over our hard-working lawyer hero Ryan McLane. Instant (and understandable) animosity between Ryan and Romi fuels the story and oh-so predictably leads to their eventual hook-up and happy ending.
The writing, whether disowned or not, is quite serviceable to the genre, though too many clichés keep the dialog from ever soaring. Supporting cast does an excellent job, with a series of three blondes serving as both figures of fun and hot chicks in bed. As the inevitable sidekick to the hero, Logan Pierce is fun though overplaying at times.
I appreciated Powell and company's standing up for content so that the piece plays like a real film, rather than adhering to today's generally accepted "only the sex matters" standard. Its main problem is a subtle one (acknowledged by both Jacky and the stars): gonzo sex is so prevalent on screen that ironically naturalism in bed scenes seems forced and artificial by comparison, even though it is the broadly played gonzo activities (and attendant porn-speak) that are really artificial. To put it another way, porn players are so used to the bad occupational habits of posing for the camera and exaggerating their moves and passion, that being natural is paradoxically an awkward limitation for them.
Credits threw me: the one-shot pseudonym for writer is identified by production manager Jacky St. James as a male in her Behind the Scenes featurette voice-over, and she doesn't get a directing credit either, leaving that to collaborator (and usual d.p. when he isn't directing strictly gonzo shoots) Eddie Powell. It is a mystery (that certainly nobody on Earth except me cares about) whether Jacky did indeed write and direct this baby.
She does show up in a non-sex supporting role as a waitress in one key scene, typically uncredited. Punches were pulled both in the script and level of XXX content so as to create a film suitable not only for porn addicts but effective late night Pay Cable filler, in bowdlerized version.
Key reason to watch LAWS OF LOVE is a rare opportunity to see beautiful porn star Romi Rain in an acting assignment. She is terrific as Alexandra, ruthless young lawyer who's poised to become a partner in a law firm headed up by Mick Blue (surprisingly effective spitting out lines in English cast in a non-ethnic role as owner Christian Thompson). Rain reminded me here of what Sandra Bullock might present if she were gifted with huge breasts. Hopefully she will earn more acting roles in future, though it was interesting to note in the BTS that the filmmakers had to keep working on her suppressing her natural sexiness -hardly a fault but interfering with the character's arc.
Dramatic conflict and entire rom-com structure stems from her being brought in by Mick from the outside, leapfrogging over our hard-working lawyer hero Ryan McLane. Instant (and understandable) animosity between Ryan and Romi fuels the story and oh-so predictably leads to their eventual hook-up and happy ending.
The writing, whether disowned or not, is quite serviceable to the genre, though too many clichés keep the dialog from ever soaring. Supporting cast does an excellent job, with a series of three blondes serving as both figures of fun and hot chicks in bed. As the inevitable sidekick to the hero, Logan Pierce is fun though overplaying at times.
I appreciated Powell and company's standing up for content so that the piece plays like a real film, rather than adhering to today's generally accepted "only the sex matters" standard. Its main problem is a subtle one (acknowledged by both Jacky and the stars): gonzo sex is so prevalent on screen that ironically naturalism in bed scenes seems forced and artificial by comparison, even though it is the broadly played gonzo activities (and attendant porn-speak) that are really artificial. To put it another way, porn players are so used to the bad occupational habits of posing for the camera and exaggerating their moves and passion, that being natural is paradoxically an awkward limitation for them.