Tangerine

Not one of Gary Graver's sterling achievements, TANGERINE is nonetheless an effective porn programmer, executing an okay storyline.

Premise is that attractive MILF Jennifer West in the title role has three pretend teen daughters who she essentially pimps out (in her home) to blackmail all and sundry who are seduced by them. They not only pretend to be her kin but also 15 years old (hardly credible), putting the rogues in jeopardy.

Film unfolds like an endless dinner party, with guests heading for the bedroom to get down with the kids Faith, Hope and Charity. Of course the scheme unravels, but the sex scam is fun to watch.

West looks great but her acting this time out is really poor, frequently giving unconvincing line readings, which Graver left in the finished film. Stealing the show in one of her earliest appearances is Holly McCall as the busiest daughter Faith. Her mature figure and manner never come close to the underage premise (even pretend). She also steals Veri Knotty's specialty routine involving a trick with her labia.

The other two girls are convincingly young looking, but have little to do compared to uninhibited Holly. Many big stars appear in supporting roles, notably Aunt Peg: Juliet Anderson, who vainly overacts to compensate (and succeeds to a great degree) for the non-acting of most of the other women. One of my all-time faves Kitty Shayne is wasted and photographed unflatteringly in a shower scene.

Credits are intentionally confusing and filled with unnecessary pseudonyms. The dumbest of these is identifying Jesse Adams, who's in the shower threesome with Kitty, as "Jessie St. James", a sex change pretending he's the equally famous actress, who is not in the film at all.

Richard Pacheco predictably turns in the best performance, as a guy who sees through all the scheming, but not before sampling all three of the girls. Tech credits, including shooting on film, are above-average for porn.