Imperial's Rating:

My pleasant Vivid experiences continued with "Hawaii", a rather cheap video effort by Tony English starring Chasey Lain, Dyanna Lauren, Asia Carrera, J.R. Carrington, Marc Wallice, Colt Steel and Felecia among others. This a very uncharacteristic Vivid effort - indeed, with the exception of the spectacularly attractive, if plasticised, leading ladies that seem to be a given in their productions, this effort is exactly the opposite of what we've come to expect from them in recent years. For once the sex scenes are long and patiently shot, with the action getting at moments very hot. On the other hand there are no real pretensions of a plot and technical aspects are very poor.

The reason for the unsatisfactory technical quality of the video may have been the great proportion of scenes filmed outdoors. Normally of course that would be a huge plus, since I'm both very fond of such scenes and very frustrated at their scarcity. Unfortunately, the video quality here leaves a lot to be desired; the lighting in particular is very harsh and even blots out bits of the image at moments. However, all this can be forgiven: at least when they put the word "Hawaii" on the boxcover they bother to go to a beach though I could not say if this beach was Californian or Hawaiian) and film the bloody thing there, instead of the cheap motel indoor surroundings we suffer in normal porn. Score one for honesty and Vivid! :-)

I will be less patient though with the sheer idiocy of the plot. Chasey and Dyanna are lead strippers in Marc Wallice's show. The show goes on the road in Hawaii and is housed in Asia's joint there. Meanwhile Colt -Dyanna's bf-- cheats on her with Chasey. She finds out. We yawn. I understand all the limitations that output, budget and timetable put on the imaginations of porn screenwriters nowadays. What I can't understand though is why they bother after all and so make an ass out of themselves; personally I would prefer a light, fluffy beach romp a la Svetlana than the umpteenth Vivid rendition of the personal lives of a bunch of strippers. Don't get me wrong; I *like* strippers; God knows how much money they've made out of me the last couple of years :-). But I don't care about their personal life, not any more than I care about the personal life of my barber or any other professional I deal with in my life. Why Vivid believes that this is such a great fantasy with its customers (witness the "Blonde Justice" series for example) is completely beyond me.

But enough with the grumbling. As I said in the beginning, "Hawaii" prides itself of some very nice sex scenes the highlight of which are the three b-g featuring the main stars. Chasey's scene is the most visually stunning, Asia's the least imaginative in position selection and general rythm. My personal favourite was, of course, Dyanna's scene with Colt Steele. I like Dyanna a lot, despite the boobjob, despite her rather lifeless performances. I don't know why; I like a lot of women I probably shouldn't :-). In any case, this scene is a must see for Dyanna fans, crowned as it is by a most excellent anal sequence, long and well-captured (most of the camera work is from above and 3/4 behind which is by far the best angle for doggy anal -- in itself the second best anal position). Personally I enjoy watching Dyanna's rare anal scenes *immensely*; not so much for the rarity, but mainly because of the perfect image she projects of mild *discomfort*. I have elsewhere explained what I look for in an anal scene, and let me repeat once more: it's what I call the "mild domination" factor I look for even in real life sex. Not leather or whip stuff, and certainly NOT pain -- just a slight submission on the part of the lady. Since porn is a visual medium and it's therefore very difficult to capture these real life nuances effectively, things like apparent discomfort in anal scenes are the closest I can get to my pet perversion. Different strokes for different folks I guess -- most other people like facials; I don't :-).

The Imperial Verdict: I have no problem in recommending this flick as a good, solid rental. It is one of the best bets one can have, taking into account the overall quality of porn nowadays. It could even be worth a purchase if found in a sale, or promotion deal (like the "2 for $20" I used to take advantage of in Philadelphia). Staunch Dyanna fans might even go for the full price - but only just.

Copyright © Imperial Reviews

Posted By Imperial, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/5/06 1:58 PM

DIABLO's Rating:

Starring: I bought the DVD version of this film because i thought that Chasey, Dyanna, Asia, and JR frolicking around in bikinis and fucking would be something I would treasure for a long time. I was wrong.
Chasey Lain - What's happening to her? Either she is planning a switch to mainstream film or she thinks she's too damn hot to work at her scenes anymore. She looks terrific in a bikini (who didn't know that?!!), but she should keep her present job. She looks brainless and/or stoned as she attempts her dialogue. She has a highly promising beach scene with Colt that Toni English destroys by cutting it into 2 separate parts. Colt doesn't even spray her tits or face. Isn't that what we paid for? Her other scene is a g/g with Asia onstage at a strip club. Nice, but not even close to what she's capable of.
Dyanna Lauren- Only one scene with Colt that ends in an anal. Can't really complain. I've seen a lot of Dyanna, and she is very consistent.
JR Carrington- Clearly the best performance. She has a nice outdoor scene with Nick. Her other two(!) b/g's are short and intertwined with Chasey's. The silly thing is, she takes a facial, but it just looks like someone dripping milk from the sky. It's pretty dumb, actually.
Asia Carrera- She is hot. She takes on Marc Wallice and her fellatio technique is superb. Also, a decent sex scene. She and Chasey go mano-a-mano onstage at the end also. The only other scene is at the beginning where Marc Wallice does Brittany Andrews onstage while Felicia does her too. Fair stuff.

DVD is capable of many things. Great sound, picture, bonus materials, and even angle changes. None of these worked well at all. The sound was decent indoors, but the outdoor scenes not so clear. DVD actually showed flaws in the film. For example, a lot of skin looked blotchy and almost cartoon-like. The bonus materials were okay; the only thing worth watching is the MTV-style intro introducing the Vivid Girls. And the 'heralded' angle change is seldom available, and slow when it is. I've seen much better DVD's from Vivid (ex. Bad Wives). Toni should sit down with Mr. Thomas for some pointers. Speaking of Toni, he ruins JR's facial, splits a somewhat promising Chasey scene, and basically ticked me off enough to sell the movie to a friend. One more thing: The movie is advertised as 120 minutes. It's 80 AT BEST!

Fair at best. It takes HARD work to avoid high praise with a cast like this, but somehow Hawaii escaped me. That's my own opinion, of course. It is important to note that, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. There ARE 7 scenes, and some good moments. However, JR's last 2 scenes are too short and Chasey's is split in half. This diminshes the eroticism greatly for me.

Chasey Lain in her bikini. She looks sensational. So do the others. It's a beautiful cast of women, and they are scantilly clad throughout.

These women did not dig deep enough into their talent drawer. I don't know whose fault it is, but I have seen better performances before from everyone in this film. I am highly critical only because I assumed that this would be a legendary film. Also, a lot of the stupid plot could have been replaced. It's sex on the beach. Period. Plot is a waste of time. Especially when time is mislabeled on the box.

As disappointed as I am, there are several scenes, and several superstars. If you're looking for a decent rental with beautiful women, this is good. If you want to see Chasey and Dyanna's best work, you're on the wrong vacation. This will get a 7 from me.

Posted By DIABLO, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/12/06 1:58 PM

Theo West's Rating:

Starring: Chasey Lain, Asia Carrera, Dyanna Lauren, JR Carrington, Brittany Andrews, Alec Metro, Colt Steele, Marc Wallice, Bobby Vitale
The performances were ok, but for the most part lackluster. JR was the best of the bunch.

The production value was better than average, but worse than most normal Vivid features. Most of the scenes were shot on a beach, which was a beautiful background, which for the most part, was better than the sex.

DULL! Most of the women seemed uninterested in their scenes, and more interested in the scenery. I have to admit, after watching the first couple of minutes of each scene, while FF, I mostly watched the scenery.

the thing I liked best about this film was the Brittany Andrews facial. It was weak, and she wasn't interested, but, it is the only facial I know of from her. Other than that, Dyanna's anal wasn't bad, but boring for the most part. JR took (tried) to take a facial, but B. V. missed. She is really the only highlite of this movie.

Just about everything else. It had very actractive women, but that is about it. They all seemed more interested in going swimming in the ocean than filming the movie.

I give it a 5 The women were actractive, and that is all that is going to get it a 5 I would only recommend it if your a BIG fan of any of the women, or if you want to see a Brittany Andrews facial. Other than that, I would say check into something else.

Posted By Theo West, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/12/06 1:58 PM