Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry

Earning the distinction of perhaps being the only film ever to sport its official MPAA rating in its own title, this entertaining, if glossy and shallow, look at the personalities who inhabit the porn industry may draw some interest just due to the subject matter. But doc probably works better as a DVD companion to the coffee table book its director is planning to write. Box office revenue will be dicey but fans of big boobs will be in hog heaven.

Using the backdrop of a couple of recent AVN (Adult Video News Awards) conventions and award shows in Las Vegas, celebrity photographer and the film’s director, Michael Grecco, goes about compiling material for his planned coffee table book on the people who make up the ever-so-profitable adult video industry. Often called the “Oscars of Porn,” the AVN show and the circus-like atmosphere of the convention surrounding it is ideal for Grecco’s stated desire to get photos that show off what really makes this group tick. As he says, “It’s like any other awards show except people are fucking.” A look at the antics on the red carpet suggest that isn’t quite the case, but tongues are definitely out in force. One sequence in which a woman named Stormy Daniels wins Best Supporting Actress for her epic, Camp Puddy Pines Powertool Massacre pretty much sums up the level of discourse we’re getting here.

To pull off this “R-Rated” expose without actually shooting any porn is a neat feat but the lack of explicit footage may turn off real fans drawn to the subject matter—though no one can accuse Grecco of false advertising, what with the detailed explanation he gives of his film right there in the title. Whether Grecco, with his awestruck, sycophantic narrative style is really just doing this all tongue-in-cheek or it’s a legitimate attempt to get inside the industry is debatable—but, for as far as it goes, it works.

Some of his encounters with people on the periphery of the porn world are amusing, such as shoe manufactures, Japanese sex toy companies and a group of very well endowed blondes who tout their religious beliefs via the moniker, JCS or Jesus Christ Girls (they also wear tight t-shirts identifying themselves as “Holy Hotties”). There are a couple of starlets up for the newcomer award that Grecco focuses on throughout, which pays off in a suspenseful buildup as their category comes up towards the end of the film. We also see his obsession with getting photo sessions with the “Holy Grail” of the porn world, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and superstar Jenna Jameson.

Overall, this is a minor but fun documentary that doesn’t have much on its mind beyond getting a literal snapshot of a fascinating world.

Distributor: Lantern Lane Entertainment
Cast: Joanna Angel, Jesse Jane, Sunny Lane, Jenna Jameson and Gran Maitre de Valmont
Director: Michael Grecco
Screenwriter/Producer: Charles Holland
Genre: Documentary
Rating: R for pervasive strong sexual content, nudity and language
Running Time: 80 min
Release date: May 1 LA