3.5
out of 5.00 -
Film:
4
Extras:
3
Video:
3
Audio:
4
-
10/24/2010
Girls Kissing Girls, eh? Can't I see that at any party attended by sorority girls? A good cast and action here, but maybe we need to liven up the title just a little bit... kind of an Abby Winters thing going on with it.
This is, of course, the fifth edition of this series, so they must be doing something right. Unlike some of the other series out there, Girlfriends has been - rather successfully - pushing the industry towards more realistic all-girl action. That and a generally very attractive cast makes for good times. Occasionally there's a weird older woman seducing a younger woman dynamic that they play up way too much, and that's a bit the case with the first scene, but other than that it is well done. Fix the social concern with the plot and it would be perfect.
Kasey Chase and Veronica Avluv (that last name is kind of hard to pronounce quickly - go ahead and try it) get the first scene, a bedroom scene, with a bit of that dynamic going on that I was talking about. A bit too much of a close-up camera for this scene, trying to capture all of the kissing. The camera cannot account for how they move, though, and thankfully the medium shot that follows it a lot easier to watch. And that's really how it goes for this scene. The medium shots are great, but the close-ups are way too close to watch. I almost, almost, miss the multi-camera angle option exploited by lazy directors everywhere when DVDs first came out. I don't miss that, but if it would keep these super close-ups from happening, I'd be pretty darn happy.
I went off to do dishes for a bit and forgot I left the film on. It says something for the longevity here that they're still going after twenty minutes. But also the super close-ups are still there. What's the deal Nica? You don't usually do this! This scene fades out a minute or two later, coming back to Nikki Brooks and Madison Young. Madison's glasses are scaring the hell out of me. They make her look way older than she is, and not in a good way. Checking in on some football scores while typing this. Got through all of the stats and updates, came back to this scene, and there aren't any clothes missing yet. Quite the slow pace, this. Those glasses are still creeping me out though. And this one has Nikki sort of forcing herself on Madison. That really is concerning to me, as if Nikki were a man in this scene, we'd call it a simulated rape. A bedroom scene ensues, though Nica goes back to her extreme close-up style from time to time. Not as bad as the first scene. Honestly, though, it's enough to kill a scene on me. We don't have to be tight on their faces to appreciate that they're kissing. Final report: great scene aside from the camera work.
Dia Zerva (that's a hard font to read they have on the back of this one) and Samantha Ryan are next, and there's just that bit of conflict in the opening. I'd really be a bit more comfortable if some of these vignettes were based on happier interaction. Everything here just seems to start with conflict or some other form of at least one party being upset. Ah, but plenty of extreme close-ups. Some of them don't even make any sense.
And that's really the challenge here. Nica Noelle and Sweetheart Video have done quite a bit to establish the all-girl realistic film market. But with questionable plot lines and especially some technical errors in directing, I'm concerned they're going to watch their market disappear to better funded imprints/distribution deals from New Sensations (Sappho Series) and Elegant Angel (Club 59). Sweetheart Video has never competed based on technical quality, but rather by giving a raw, honest product. If they cannot improve, they are in danger of becoming irrelevant.
So perhaps it is time for Girls Kissing Girls to be retired as a series. The notion that we need to focus in on their faces so much because of the idea of kissing is killing this one. Just let it go.
By:
Oranje