Sexcapades (1983) User Reviews (2)

Should Have Gone Mainstream

[NoDakTatum · 2/10 · 22 October 2023]

Harry Crocker (Eric Edwards) has left the porn industry to direct documentaries. Seven years later, he has a few awards but no money to show for his decision. Producer Lorraine (Lee Carroll) gives him the chance to make another porn, and some money. Harry's prudish wife, Miriam (a very funny Sharon Mitchell), will have none of it, especially when Harry announces the film will be shot in their home. Soon, the set is a wreck. Scenes are running late, one actress apparently cannot read- which makes line memorization difficult. The Crockers' maid, Mi Ting (Mai Lin), is watching the shoot, and the film's story also involves a man sleeping with his maid. The porn shoot starts crossing over into Harry's life.

I was very surprised at how many funny scenes there were here. The opening audition scene, as two performers make love on an office floor as phones ring and secretaries walk through. Harry's concern with realism in the film. Lorraine's casting couch with the actress who does not want to memorize lines. Sharon Mitchell reminded me of Ali MacGraw's character in "Just Tell Me What You Want," tossing her hair around and being disgusted at her husband's actions. This being a porno, however, the editing is sloppy. The sound synch is also bad, some actors deliver dialogue without opening their mouths. The music is rather cheesy, sounding like a mid-1970's R-rated sex comedy. Some of the porno actors really shouldn't try to memorize lines, as much of the dialogue is flubbed or obviously dropped. "Sexcapades" is one of the few porn films where the porn gets in the way of the film. Too bad this didn't end up a mainstream comedy, it might have been one to recommend.

Making Blue Movies (As Told From the Inside)

[Nodriesrespect · 10/10 · 4 March 2006]

The first of Ron Sullivan's adult industry exposés still remains one of his finest works, no small praise for a career lined with such all time classics as BABYLON PINK, A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES, PART II. In keeping with the themes explored here, he exchanges the glossiness of those aforementioned films for more modest if solid production values with lighting and camera work particular standouts. After more than two decades, the frequently venomous satire has lost none of its bite though it generally tends to steer clear of the mud-slinging approach of Joyce Snyder's RAW TALENT series.

Former adult filmmaker (and Sullivan's alter ego) Harry Crocker, exceptionally well portrayed by veteran performer Eric Edwards (who was in those pre-DEEP THROAT loops with Linda Lovelace), has built a respectable life away from the industry with his snooty spouse Miriam (Sharon "Mitch" Mitchell, very funny and surprisingly credible as a prude after nearly a decade's activity within the genre), his lofty documentaries gaining respect yet losing money, forcing him to go back for "one last time". Yeah, right !

Producer Lorraine Loveborn (nasty Lee Carroll has never been better) has her personal reasons for luring Harry back to the fold and her own style of auditioning new talent, as evidenced by her jaw-dropper of a scene with aspiring starlet Sharon Kane (who made her debut in Alex deRenzy's 1978 PRETTY PEACHES and is actually still around today), possibly the most high voltage Sapphic sizzler this reviewer has ever witnessed. As shooting gets under way, this allows Sullivan to add all sorts of cute little observational gags. Personal favorite may be Joanna Storm's bungled audition (with Allan "Spike" Adrian) that opens the film. Struggling to find an appropriate ending, Harry has to create a fresh spin on the typical porno situation of the master seducing his maid, the enactment of which (with Mai Lin looking scrumptious in domestic garb) leads to an unforeseen conclusion.

Sullivan clearly knows his turf and the material here is simultaneously bitter and upbeat (so shall we call it realistic instead ?) about the industry. Dialogue is clever and delivered to perfection by a highly talented cast. Funniest line (perhaps ever in porn) must be Sharon Kane's reply to Carroll's request as to whether she would consider back door intercourse : "If the script justifies it."

Sex varies from light and breezy such as the on-set stuff with master Michael Bruce and maid Ashley Welles to hot and heavy, a good example of the latter being the incredibly intense sequence with Edwards talking a totally turned-on Tiffany Clark (who made such a splash in Richard Milner's highly enjoyable CENTERFOLD FEVER) through a professional performance with stalwart George Payne. More affectionate and milder (yet still with an axe to grind), GREAT SEXPECTATIONS proved an equal as well as a sequel to this fine film, recounting the further adventures of Harry Crocker, this time as deeply immersed in porn as he has ever been. The glamorized beyond recognition (courtesy of producer David Friedman whose soft core classic STARLET ! was re-adapted for the occasion) Matinée IDOL unofficially completed Sullivan's industry insider triumvirate.