Date of Production:March 2004

Director:Mel Roberts Jr.

Cast:Lukas Ridgeston, Sebastian Bonnet, Johan Paulik, Julian Armanis, and many more actors

Body Types:young Europeans with foreskin

Condoms:yes

Things to see:Behind the scenes footage, oral and anal sex

Plot:no plot

The Movie:

Documentaries
about the making of porn are (sorry, I couldn't resist) hard to come
by.  Most adult companies would rather shoot the porno quickly and then
move on to make more porn.  This decision undoubtedly has to do with
money, but also an assumed lack of interest for how porn is made.  As a
result, the typical "special feature" on most adult DVD's is the
inclusion of trailers for other films.  Only a few of the big budget
titles feature a documentary of sorts, yet of these titles, more than
half aren't very good, let alone informative.  This is a sad
realization because some fans (myself included) have lots of questions
about porno shoots, including: how the actors are chosen to be paired
with another actor, how the actors get their butts ready for action,
who fluffs the actors beforehand, etc.  These questions will remain
unanswered until someone in the industry "exposes" the type of things
that occur on the porno set.

Imagine my
surprise when I discovered that Bel Ami studios had created a
documentary, or "pornumentary," about the studio and its models.  This
lengthy documentary covers the time span of Bel Ami's beginning to its
growth past the year 2000.  Some of the more notable footage includes:

• On the
  set of 'Frisky Summer 2'  This behind the scenes footage shows the
  actors playing around in between shoots, flying and driving towards the
  shoot, and some different takes of the hardcore footage that was shown
  in the movie.

• NY footage of 'In Black,' with Johan and Lukas posing during the shoot.

• The Gay VN awards ceremony with Johan and Lukas being inducted into the porno star hall of fame.

• Footage from 'Summer Camp' including unused hardcore footage and scenes with the cast goofing around.

• Extensive interviews with the
  cast of 'An American in Prague.' along with lots of behind the scenes
  footage as the models are getting ready for shooting.

• Several models making molds of their dicks to be used for dildo molds. 

• Behind the scenes footage from the 'English Student.'

• Outdoor coverage for the films 'Lucky Lucas' and 'Cherries.'

Interspersed
amidst all of the footage, there are several interviews with the
popular Bel Ami models Lucas Ridgeston, Johan Paulik, Sebastian Bonnet,
and Julian Armanis.  Lucas and Johan come across as the most likeable
(and talkative) as they share their thoughts about how they got into
the porn industry and what they want to do in the future.  Sebastian
chats less in the candid interviews, although he chats throughout some
of the on the set footage.  There are also some on the set footage
interviews with several actors.  The interview with the "American in
Prague" actor (Chance) is superficial and rather goofy.  Actually, the
actor Chance comes across as cocky and not genuine, which is made worse
by his silly mid 90's haircut.  

Overall, the
documentary is fun to watch and entertaining, yet I can't see most
people wanting to come back to it for either a mainstream viewing or
for the porn.  At times, the documentary feels closer to an
informercial than it does a true documentary.  No real negative footage
is shown, so everything looks perfect down to the actors shaved butts
and the perfect lighting.  Similarly, the models are constantly smiling
and everyone seems so darn happy.  This reminded me of the 1990's
Noxema commercials where a group of perfect skinned girls goes on a day
of fun with some boys.  Here, the boys are just as smiley and perky as
those Noxema girls, yet they get naked and have sex with each other. 
Perhaps all of the smiling and self congratulatory revelations grated
on my nerves towards the end.  There is no doubt in my mind that Bel
Ami makes great films.  I just wish that they had included a little
more of the base that makes their "pot of soup" so good tasting.

The DVD:

Video:

The footage comes from a variety of different shoots and film sources. 
As a result, some of the film waivers from grainy and dark to well lit
and clear.  However, the additional hardcore footage is all well lit
and clear.

Sound:

The
sound was good.  The actors can be easily heard.  The actors speak in
their original language so subtitles are provided However, some of the
on the set scenes didn't feature subtitles, leaving me to guess what
was said. 

Extras:

Extras
include scene selection and two promotional video trailers.  The scene
selection was horrible and should be avoided.  I could never return to
the initial DVD menu, once I selected the chapter selection.  Worse,
once you select the scene, the DVD then stops and returns to the
archaic scene selection.  I felt like I was stuck in some sort of porn
conundrum. 

Final thoughts:

This
documentary is more commercial than informative documentary. However,
there is lots of interesting tidbits of information, some extra sex
scenes, and some interesting candid interviews with some of the biggest
Bel Ami stars.  Unfortunately, this title suffers from not having a
significant amount of porn footage to really be called a porno film.  
At times, it felt like I was watching an HBO Real Sex show.  Therefore,
I would recommend that you rent this title first to determine if you want to add it to your collection.