Busty Invaders from Mars

Jonathan Morgan holds a special place in porn history, as one of the few directors who can create genuinely funny features. He's not creative or subversive in the National Lampoon mode, but his work is neither embarrassing, groan-inducing nor lazy like that of most of his peers.

This spoof is more pastiche than parody, and of course parody is a dirty word in XXX that translates into ripoff. Instead of being a copycat, Morgan is inspired and creative, having digested a wide range of movies that he can draw upon at will.

Alektra Blue, contract player for Wicked, is a good choice in the lead scientist role, not overplaying but rather just sexy and funny as an unlikely researcher in a cheap lab setting.

The female invaders led by Lisa Ann are an amusing bunch, in that they are bent on conquering our world but are not competent or even self-aware of their limitations. Whenever the moment comes for boasting their superiority over humankind they come up short, and that makes for a cute running gag. Without exaggerating, Morgan scores very high marks compared to similarly silly shenanigans in this vein by the likes of an overrated Tim Burton, for example.

He has the cute flying saucers, very minor special effects, and various clichés of the beloved Saturday Afternoon movies of my youth. And he wisely does not pile on tons of plot or dialog, but lets the sexy cast do their thing, making this perfectly suitable for a Wicked fan just out for XXX diversion. The supporting cast includes a couple of ringers, notably fetish big-booty performer Julie Cash given a mainstream assignment for a change.

Not to overstate the case, this represents modest, rewarding porn escapism and a welcome antidote to those dreaded parodies.