I was interested in this after hearing that Rashida Jones (whom I've always liked) produced it.
The actual direction, honestly, is ho-hum-large parts of it felt like someone just strung a bunch of random footage together and called it a "documentary". This (imo) is the weak point of the movie.
Now, here's the part I found interesting: the central point of discussion was the exploding "amateur" porn market. Now, unless you're a complete simpleton, you understand that the people doing "amateur porn" are actually paid, and the doc details how these girls are found (the only thing I really found shocking was that people still use Craigslist).
The main producer (think his name is Riley) basically is these girls' pimp-he finds them, puts them up in his house, books their gigs and transports them. Whether he gets or expects sex from them is up for speculation. The focus is on fresh faces, and most of Riley's house-guests can expect a career of three months to a year before they either burn out or have to reinvent themselves.
I do think these kids are being exploited, and here's why: one of the girls reveals that the average payment per shoot is $800. I'm not a porn industry scholar, but I believe that a paid "professional" makes more in the range of $2k-$3k per shoot. Also, due to heavy regulation in California, most amateur porn is shot in Miami, which requires AIDS testing but no condoms. At the end of the movie, one of the girls reveals that they still have to pay for living expenses, all their clothes, make-up, lingerie, etc...she says that, over a 3-month period, she made $25k, and when she left the business, she had $2k left in the bank. The documentary doesn't reveal whether the girls pay Riley rent or not.
The main difference between Riley and a pimp is that he doesn't have to force girls to stay because there's a steady stream of new girls coming in the door.
Not the best documentary on the porn industry, but there are a few surprises.
