by Carnal Consultant Lev
I watched this dvd in a motel in Amherst, Ohio while on a two-week backpacking extravaganza. This is one of those places where everywhere my partner and I stop to eat we are asked if we want separate checks. And we keep getting those secret “family” looks from other queers on the road. I made sure the volume was up all the way before I started watching.
The movie starts and you’re lead down into a club. In night vision. Following some bad-ass, popped collar, smoker dyke. There are looks exchanged, a cigarette lit, and a wordless encounter in the bathroom. So begins our journey of one night stands. There’s no sex or even kissing for nearly six minutes into the video! Which, in normal timelines isn’t that long, but when your hand is down your pants, time moves much more slowly.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this video. The “sex players” (isn’t that a great title?!) are young, hip, and very attractive. They are hot and clearly hot for each other. The chemistry is intense: these people actually enjoy having sex with each other. There are no awkward moments, no forced dialogue, no roles played out.
The sex players are a diverse cast, feminine presenting, masculine presenting, transmen, bois… not too many thicker women, but hey it’s France, and they all look healthy. Besides the rampant smoking, which, although being sexy, was difficult to watch having just quit. I liked that they had pit hair and pubes (no shaved rashy pussies!) and got totally sweaty during the scenes.
In the first scene they use (gasp!) both gloves AND lube. I hate in porn when everything just looks so dry and friction-y and you can tell they’ve been going at it for hours and no one has bothered to re-lube. Really turns me off. In this video, however, everyone stays pleasantly moist. And there’s even a lovely statement at the end of the video that all of the sex players freely chose their safe sex practices and their partners. How revolutionary. They also use toys throughout the video. And they use them in a way that feels natural, not like the director just handed them something at the last minute. There are nipple clamps, dildos, strap-ons, and a some light flogging.
Immediately, the film is reminiscent of Shine Louise Houston’s Pink and White productions (Crash Pad, Superfreak, In Search of the Wild Kingdom). But perhaps it is just because both are queer and lesbian porn made by lesbians and queers. The style is quite different. Jouvet uses predominantly a hand-held camera, so the image isn’t very steady, but she gets in there for some steamy shots. The lighting is mostly the light on the camera, some colored lights, or whatever light the room has. I couldn’t tell if the out of focus shots were because she went to art school or because she couldn’t figure out the manual focus on the camera. The result is that the film looks quite gritty, low budget and very DIY. It feels much more honest, as if these people are just her friends having a great time fucking, and they very well could be.
The extras are gems. The interviews reveal such words of wisdom as, “…real life takes place between the legs of those you love,” as well as letting you get to know the cast truly believes their work is radical and significant. There is a behind the scenes view, as well as two short extra scenes. Be sure to watch the extras, you don’t want to miss the director play a fairy godlesbian who turns two dolls into people who start doing it. Trust me.
**One Night Stand is now available for purchase at Early to Bed!!**
