4.25
out of 5.00 -
Film:
4
Extras:
4
Video:
5
Audio:
4
-
2/22/2002
For those who aren't yet familiar with James DiGiorgio's
Sopornos series, it's not exactly what it may sound like. Since this was the first installment I've seen, I was expecting (and dreading) a cheesy self-aware parody of
The Sopranos. While there's conscious similarities between the two,
The Sopornos is a dramatic entity unto itself. Unlike most mainstream-to-porno knock-offs,
The Sopornos borrows ideas and themes from the source material and heads off into its own direction without looking back; think of it more as a light-weight homage than a parody. For example, this episode is structured around a visit to a shrink where Bobby Soporno (Rob Spallone) recounts recent events. As he tells the shrink about his problems this triggers various flashbacks which in turn establishes the flow of this installment. Sound familiar?
In this episode things start out on a large yacht in the open sea as Bobby meets with his crew to discuss business. In classic machismo form he dismisses several topless girls hanging around his men before they begin their impromptu meeting; afterall, we all know they can't have girls listening in on the family business! Making the best of things, three of the girls (Monique DeMoan, Brooke Lane, and Cherie) head to the bow of the boat to have a little fun of their own. Even the blustery weather and overcast skies don't keep them from casting off their clothes and exposing their bodies to the goose bump inducing elements. If you like watching three girls go at it in near storm conditions this scene is pretty hot...personally, I'm holding out for a good thunderstorm or hurricane scene.
Following their meeting, Bobby and his gang visit Tamara (Julie Meadows), a niece of one of the bosses. Apparently her clothing business is in danger of being hustled by a Russian gang and Bobby wants details. Tamara isn't forthcoming with what's really going on since she's really in cahoots with the Russians in an attempt to distance herself from her uncle's debts and his goons. During the meeting Tony (Tony Tedeschi) catches the eye of one of Tamara's models (Nikita Denise). He excuses himself to go bang her in the warehouse. Nikita is a hot Czech girl with an amazing tongue which she uses to great affect on Tony's shaft. Like most Eastern bloc chicks, she's not totally satisfied until Toni fucks her ass and leaves her with a messy facial.
Feeling the need to resolve this issue, Bobby arranges a meeting at Tamara's uncle's ranch hoping that he can talk some sense into her. During this meeting, the ranch's stable attendant (TJ Hart) rides up on a horse to say hello. Once again, Tony excuses himself to go bang her. TJ is a pretty blonde with an incredible body making it hard to blame Tony's lack of restraint. Following some small talk inside the stable he allows her to saddle up on him for a decent scene.
Back at the meeting, Tamara's uncle and associate are uninterested in her point of view regarding her business. She storms off, retreating to the backseat of the limo. Fortunately the limo driver (Marty Romano) is there to console her. In the commentary, James DiGiorgio mentions how hot it was in the limo during this scene. This is quite evident at the end of the scene; both Julie and Marty are drenched in sweat which may have been a bit uncomfortable at the time, but certainly looks good here.
In defiance of Bobby and her uncle, Tamara meets with the head of the Russian gang (John Strong) in an attempt to cement a deal. He seems less interested in her talk of business, and more interested in bending her over his desk. Apparently Tamara is fine with this too. The Russian boss even lets his henchmen join the action for a little bit but eventually kicks him out when he fails to get a hard on (there's a funny and somewhat embarrassing anecdote regarding this in the commentary).
Capping off Julie's triple header, Tamara hooks up with Bobby's cousin Victor (Herschel Savage) in an attempt to play him against Bobby. She starts off by going down on him and even lets him slide into her tight ass...Julie's only anal in the whole movie. After lightly pounding away on her ass for a few minutes, Herschel pulls out and spills his juice on her feet...whatever.
With things spinning out of control all around him, Bobby focuses on taking care of another thorn in his side. Mr. Marcus plays a rival gang boss who's encroaching on Bobby's territory. Before Bobby arrives to take care of this problem, Mr. Marcus gets it on with a cute black girl named Bronze. Although she manages to dodge his cum shot at the end of the scene, Mr. Marcus isn't so lucky when Bobby arrives and shoves a revolver in his face. Thus ends another episode of
The Sopornos.
While it may sound like a cheap soap opera,
The Sopornos 3 is actually a cleverly written and lavishly produced feature...at least for a porno. Even though I hadn't seen any of the preceding installments, I was able to jump right into the action and get a good sense of the recurring characters. There's nothing groundbreaking in the archetypal characterizations offered here, but to my surprise, nobody dropped the ball on the acting side - though these roles are so stereotypical that almost anybody could make them look believable. While other productions try to milk an entire feature out of one location, it was nice to see a variety of distinct settings. The opening scene on the yacht was quite impressive even though the weather wasn't very cooperative.
VCA produces some of the best DVDs around and the work on this disc is of the same high quality fans expect. The video transfer looks flawless without any noticeable pixelation or compression artifacts. Even though some of the post production sounds are a bit off in terms of timing, the audio quality of the disc is more than adequate. Presented in Dolby 2.0 Stereo, the audio is uniformly crisp and is also well mixed throughout the entire movie. The behind the scenes featurette is a nice little addition, but my favorite extra is the audio commentary. It features director James DiGiorgio and producer/actor Rob Spallone. It is without a doubt the funniest and most entertaining commentary I've heard yet. At first they sound like two guys who've seen way too many Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci movies, but as things get rolling they offer some great insight and some pretty rough criticism; how often do you hear a director comment on a contract star's razor burns?
The Sopornos 3 is a solid feature with enough narrative momentum to warrant many more sequels. Will Victor betray Bobby? How long before Tamara gets whacked? Can Tony get laid more than twice per episode? Hopefully these questions and others will be resolved in
The Sopornos 4.
By:
Dr. Mabuse