My current survey of 100 or so Playgirl porn videos is definitely too late to raise the ghost of the late label. But the quality romantic vignettes style, aimed at Couples, is an enduring branch of Adult Entertainment, and in this instance a needed corrective to 2016's lamentable "gonzo IR" craze.
These beautiful actresses of Asian heritage, mated on screen with white boys, deserve a showcase and this is a respectful one. Ay, there's the rub, as not only adolescent boys addicted to porn but dirty old men too all seem to be doting on gonzo, each fan trying to out-max Max Hardcore in wanting to see their ideal fantasy women on the Silver Screen tarnished, brought down to the gutter with anal, BDSM or other intended to be (though not intrinsically) demeaning sex acts. I'm sure if the censors and self-censors out there called a truce and declared "anything goes" we'd be awash in kiddie porn and ultra-violent sex content, as cruelty rather than sensuality is being promoted by seekers of the almighty dollar.
None of that here. Skye Blue, one of the best Adult directors bar none, whose work ranges from these sensual and dreamy Playgirl and Wicked Passions assignments to strong fetish stuff in her Bizarre Video releases, keeps the focus on loving couples throughout. I, for one, appreciate the uplifting nature of "positive" erotica, and even if it is a lost cause (according to cash register fetishists) I will continue to express these sentiments.
One Oriental man is included in the mix, in the form of British star Keni Styles, but he's cast as a solo act, beating off for the camera and his legion (I exaggerate for effect) of fans. The packaging and marketing of Playgirl DVDs is a bit odd, in that beyond the Couples stress there is a definite homoerotic strain in each video including solo beating-off segments or entire videos devoted to only male players. None of them feature Gay action, as that sort of directness is limited to an entirely different marketplace. The overlapping Bi-Bi videos once popular in the '80s and '90s still exist but no longer have any significant market share.
Of the featured players, the wonderful turn of this century starlet Mia Smiles is effective but let down by costuming in opening vignette "Geisha", where foolishly traditional garb is not used. The exotic Bamboo digs Lee Stone's bike and his dick in an atmospheric segment, harmed by the Muzak fake-imitation of "Born to Be Wild" on the soundtrack, infringement not worth litigating over. Tyler Knight is impressive as always in the bonus segment (presumably he was segregated from the main event featuring only white boys by mere chance) humping the glorious Nautica Thorn - a member of my hall of fame if not the industry's fake, based on cronyism, such body.
