Three guys get lost and happen upon a dude ranch/brothel run by Sharon Mitchell. I have a test to apply to "adult entertainment." Can the film hold up as a film if all the sex is removed? Usually, no, and this film doesn't even work with the sex kept in.
Aside from Mitchell, who seems to have taken the time to learn the bad dialogue and attempt a performance, this is atrociously acted. Jamie Gillis is one of the slimiest performers in adult films and I've never understood his appeal. His off-screen life was nothing short of disgusting. Let's just call this porn since "adult" assumes a level of mental as well as physical maturity. As of this writing, Savage recently passed away, and Gillis and Pachard are also gone. "Showdown" is part of the legacy they leave behind. Some of the surviving cast members seem to lead damaged lives. Mitchell was abused, a married Hartley is sadly still performing, and even Pachard's children have some credits in the porn industry.
So what about you and I, the viewers? Are we complicit in the sin committed on film? Yes, and it took a film this bad to make me realize that, as well as reading How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious by Fritz Ridenour. Casual observers are the reason films like this exist, and we are all at fault. The credits list for some of the cast and crew numbers in the hundreds, yet technically the film is a mess. After all their film making experience, they couldn't get it right. The sparse script is a nightmare. There are disastrous attempts at humor that might have worked in a mainstream film. Even the sexual scenes are awkward and often boring. The titular "showdown" at the end of the film is moronic, a conceit on love tossed in to explain a bland and overused title. Despite all the casual sex, everyone ends up with somebody- I think, two cast members look exactly alike and I had a hard time keeping track of characters. The faux happy ending is a lie. None of these extended hook-ups are going to last, I can't remember anyone saying "I love you."
For the naive and immature watching this film, the life lessons picked up would destroy their actual lives. There is a reason porn and sex addiction are around today and the viewing of the film feeds that addiction. Notice I said the viewing, not just the film's existence. I chose to purchase and watch this as part of an aborted attempt at a comprehensive Western films blog (this film is misgenred as a Western, and would barely qualify as a Modern Western). I not only contributed money to the company that released this but also any rights holders to the material.
With the internet, porn has been mainstreamed into popular culture, which must make "porn chic" survivors of a generation ago envious. Porn isn't "better" by any stretch of the imagination, yet men and women from all walks of life continue to produce it. I'm a film fan first, and occasionally watch it for that diamond in the rough, and there are very few if any diamonds out there. This film was made only to tittilate, and all I can feel is pity for those involved. Do friends and family of those involved look back on this with fondness? Shame? Sorrow? (1/2 *) out of five stars.
*Get a physical copy of "Pornocracy" on Amazon here*
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