Date From Hell (Wicked Pictures, 1998)
Rating is on a scale of 1-5. 1 being poor, 3 being average, and 5 being exceptional. For an explanation of the review criteria, click here
- OVERALL: * * * 1/2 (largely owing to the script)
- SEX: * * *
- ACTING: * * * 1/2
- SCRIPT: * * * *
- J.O.P.: * * *
- FAST-FORWARDING: * * *
- EDITING: * * 1/2
Starring: Serenity, Johnni Black, Leanna Heart, Mandi Frost, Ian Daniels, Steve Hatcher, WIlde Oscar, Tony Tedeschi, Steve Drake. Special appearances by Jonathan Morgan, Michael Louis Albo and Ron Jeremy.
Directed by: Jonathan Morgan
Porn comedy is a fairly safe genre. Considering you are usually working with actors and actresses of negligible "legitimate" acting talent, making their performace laughable is a relatively easy task, especially when it is intentional (although it is usually even more funny when it is not, Traci, I Love You comes to mind...). Date From Hell succeeds in being intentionally funny, and the simple script actually ties in nicely with the sex scenes. The film falls prey to some cut-rate editing, however.
Date From Hell is about a date support group headed by none other than the great Ron Jeremy. Each member of the group tells their "Date From Hell" story and it is visualized on the screen. In two cases, it is shown first as the person had hoped it would be and then as it actually turned out. The other three show the date that apparently went well, only to go awfully awry. The final scene is one in which Serenity and fellow group member Johnni Black are "cured" by going at it with each other.
Serenity, being the star, tells two. Her first scene is superior to the second. She imagines screwing Tony Tedeschi on a restaurant tabletop after everything about the date leading up 
to the culinary copulation is absolutely perfect. In reality, however, Tony is a klutz with bowel problems and is a total paranoid freak. One of the funniest moments in the film is when the maitre'd at the restaurant seats him next to the bathroom and a fella comes out of the head and says "Hey! It's Mr. Stinky" and Tony explains to Serenity that he has bad bowels and needs to sit near the bathroom. Priceless! The sex is solid... Serenity looks great and they do a fine job screwing the hell out of each other. Actor-turned director Jonathan Morgan's eye for editing is faulty at times, as he tends to hold shots too long (30 seconds of the same angle of insertion gets really boring) and this downfall plagues the rest of the film.
Steve Hatcher and Leanna Heart have a mediocre scene where Leanna manages to give some good head, but it is followed with the assembly-line hump. Leanna looks beautiful, with a magnificent face, but she may have one of the worst breast jobs I've seen as they are like rocks and jut out of her body like they are glued on. It is a shame, because the rest of her body is completely tight and she is adept at copulation. Steve Hatcher fails to impress me once again. Leanna makes the scene what it is, but on a whole it still falls a bit short. The plot here is also the least funny, until Ron makes a special appearance, that is... I won't spoil it though. You have to see for yourself!
The funniest scene without a doubt features Johnni Black and Wilde Oscar. The two meet on the internet and Oscar is a rich prince of a small country and he supposedly falls in love with Johnni and the two plan to meet and marry. Wilde picks Johnni up in a limo and the two go at it fairly voraciously, but the scene is hampered once again by the editing, which is not helped at all by the limiting confines of shooting in a limo. They reach their 
destination seemingly happy and well-fucked until Wilde is confronted by a member of the press that asks if it is true that, among other things, he is a Neo-Nazi homosexual and he is only marrying to throw off his accusers. When Wilde responds with a feminine little shrug and smile, Johnni runs off screaming in terror.
Mandi Frost is a favorite new star of mine. She is a very cute redhead with a seemingly natural chest and great body. Not completely tight, but very well-shaped and healthy. Sexually, her scene with Steve Drake is my favorite in the film, with Serenity's first running a close second. I sincerely hope to see a lot more of Mandi Frost as I think she has great things ahead of her. She, much like Katie Gold, manages to look completely innocent as she is getting the bone, giving head, you name it, and it is a major turn on.
Date From Hell features some good sex, some fair sex, but no bad sex. The script and acting makes it a film that is easy to watch, save some questionable editing, and lends it some staying power. Pick it up for a lot of laughs and some good nuts. - Al Kikuras
For ordering info, visit the Wicked Pictures web site