Suspicious Minds

Before she became one of Adult's top directors and added Daniels as surname to her billing, Stormy was writing scripts like "Suspicious Minds", revealed in the BTS short subject on the DVD to have originally been titled "Suspicious Behavior". Directed by her co-star and mentor Brad Armstrong it emerges as a typically light & frothy Stormy entertainment, starring Jessica Drake with Stormy doing a fine job as BFF and comic relief.

Another contributor, shown actually directing the cast at times in the BTS, is Jonathan Morgan credited as assistant director. At any rate, the pleasant and light mood sustained here is a relief from so many pretentious and heavy "big-deal" porn projects that major filmmakers and labels like Brad and Wicked are wont to produce.

Brad plays Jessica's boyfriend, creating all sorts of suspicion in her mind and in the minds of her buddies Stormy and lesbian pal Sydnee Steele, as infidelity seems virtually certain on his part. Stormy's script is especially successful in giving the audience (speaking for myself, of course) the definite impression through various details that we know Brad is straying, beyond the facts that Jessica is aware of.

Ultimately the 3 gals team up as a comically cute commando unit, right out of "Charlie's Angels", to put Brad under surveillance, leading to some rather funny moments.

Drake is dramatically effective as the forlorn heroine, while Stormy certainly steals her scenes with a flamboyant, admittedly over-the-top turn. Rounding out the trio, Steele demonstrates why she is one of Adult's top all-time thespians, providing the Rosalind Russell to Drake's Jean Arthur and Stormy's Lombard/Monroe status.

Odd element here, corroborated by the BTS wherein Brad explains the 3- day shoot and mentions need for a pick-up day to re-do Stormy's oh-so- cute and sexy "Princess" bondage scene, is an unusual featuring of both original and replacement versions of the opening sex scene. (Watching this I thought of other films where such a gimmick would have been terrific, for example giving the fans a few minutes of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly at the end of the Michael J. Fox classic "Back to the Future".)

When the feature ends, during the end credits we see a non-sex minute or so of Barrett Blade in handcuffs watching Stormy's "Princess" dance, and the BTS shows him in XXX hardcore footage humping her in this discarded scene. Film proper begins with his replacement, Mark Davis, reenacting the same scene with Stormy, deemed suitable for the final cut. Very unusual, and a terrific departure from usual cutting-room floor practice.