Synopsis:
Based upon Rembrandt's vision of
painting portraits of women clothed, then the same pose nude, famous
photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders took photographs of 30 stars of adult
movies for a book. He documented it all the way and producing his
directorial debut, Thinking XXX.
The
Freak's Rating: F : How many of you out there are shocked to see this
movie on my site? I can imagine that some are turned off and that I might
receive emails, but I ask you to consider why you would do such a thing.
Thinking XXX is a 45 minute documentary on a film shoot that resulted in what
has been deemed, "the dirtiest book to ever top the New York Times bestseller
list". If there was no nudity, I'm guessing you wouldn't be offended, so
I'd ask my "audience" to consider lightening up a little if they are offended
and continue with my review before they write me.
HBO often drifts into the world of pornography to
exploit a side of life that most never see. Cathouse was a
documentary/reality show on a brothel in Las Vegas, its patrons and most
interestingly its girls. Hearing one describe how they can sell their
bodies for money is fascinating. As a Christian, I can't imagine having
such a small amount of self respect necessary for such a transaction. The
immorality of the person who is willing to capitalize on vanity and sexuality
such that it labels them for life as a pornstar is something I can't understand.
Taxi Cab Confessions also shows a the sinful ways of those who frequent clubs
for sex in New York's nightlife scene. The subject of sex will always be
interesting to humans.
There is nudity of both men and women
in this documentary. Some may be uncomfortable simply on the premise of
such, but I am not. There is zero sexuality exuded in the film. Let
me say that again, there is zero sexuality exuded in the film. Some may
think it impossible to have so much nudity and no erotic moments, but there
seriously isn't. This is a documentary on the photography sessions and the
stars in them, not on actual pornography. Seeing the subjects and hearing
their stories actually makes you feel quite sad for the impression they have on
happiness in life. Hearing misguided aspirations is quite disheartening,
as you realize the commonality among these stars is a lack of maturity.
Intertwining interviews from various
moguls and researchers in the industry gives us a peek at the behind-the-scenes
goings on. "Candid" interviews with some of the stars also teases at the
really interesting point, which is "why in the world would you do this for a
living?". These interviews are incredibly staged and the questions are
alley-oops for the actors. The problem with this documentary is that its
curiosity is quite safe, never leaping into the hard questions you'd like
answered and handling much of its subjects with kid gloves. It is a fine
line you must walk as a documentary filmmaker to keep your subject honest all
the while not offending them. It feels like HBO gave Sanders free artistic
license with his directorial debut and with a subject yet to be documented
entertainingly, there is little substance here for a recommendation.
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