Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this film--as an 80s time-capsule of poor video quality and bad fashions, it immediately sucks you in. I expected it to be a kind of comical, after-school-special type film, but it is so unflinchingly honest about private human impulses and desires and longing to connect with others that I found myself quite moved. The director commentary is really great--he goes through the interesting boom-and-bust history of sex surrogacy, what happened to Maureen after the film, and what it was like to film such intimate scenes. At first I thought his conversational partner was annoying and borderline rude, but then I realized that he does represent a common reaction to the film--that of, "Well isn't she just a prostitute?"--and Kirby Dick respectfully treats it as a valid reaction but goes on to articulate what makes Maureen's work so special, and why she's so good at it. See this film!!

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In this cult doc from 1985, director Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) weaves a fascinating study of the curious role of a sex surrogate in the then-new discipline of sexual therapy. Maureen Sullivan and two of her clients agreed to have the entire progression of their therapy taped, and what emerges is a disarming and compassionate look at the struggles people face in connecting with one another. Twenty-five-year-old Kipper is a virginal grad student who gets nervous just talking to a girl, let alone touching her, and John, at 45, is newly divorced and suffering from fears of sexual inadequacy. As Maureen attempts to build up their confidence, she also exposes her own doubts in this touching film that dismisses a clinical approach to sex.SPECIAL FEATURES- New audio commentary by director Kirby Dick- English subtitles for the deaf and impaired

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Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract (Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Tony Comstock is the creater and master of a new genre of films: explicit couples' sexuality documentaries. Comstock states that "intent to arouse" is often cited as the dividing line between art and porn. Of all the emotions a director might hope to induce in an audience, arousal remains the last taboo, and Tony Comstock takes it head-on.
In Comstock's award-winning Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract, he stays true to his mission of showing flesh in the context of intimacy and love. The conversation between husband and wife is in many ways more revealing than the pure sex, as the two discuss their initial attraction, personal turn-ons, secret desires, and intimate moments. In this case, Xana, the pale blonde with a gorgeous full-color back piece, is the older and more experienced of the two. Brazilian Dax is shyer about his sexuality and reveals some of his early fears about his body hair and lovemaking style.
The DVD is straightforward and to-the-point. The first half consists of a conversation with Xana and Dax, with brief segments from their lovemaking style interspersed within the narrative. The second half is an uninterrupted bedroom session (outtakes from which are what add spice to the first half of the move). The viewer is a part of their bedroom, and at no time does it appear that the director has interrupted to give them any cinematic tips. This is raw and intimate, beautifully shot, with no exaggeration or acting.
This is recommended along with the other Comstock Films advertised on the DVD. Just watch the outtakes and you'll be rushing out to purchase Marie & Jack (Comstock's first film, with married pornographic actors), Damon & Hunter (a male gay couple), Ashley & Kisha (a female lesbian couple), and Matt & Khym (a 30-something married couple).

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The erotic documentary XANA & DAX: WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT was shot in early 2004 as a follow-up to our first film, MARIE AND JACK: A HARDCORE LOVE STORY. As in the rest of our Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series, XANA & DAX tells the true life love story of a real couple. The first half of the film is an interview with Xana and Dax; how they met, how they fell in love, and what they love about being in love. The second half of the film is a candid love scene, every bit as warm and intimate as the interview. The camera never turns away from the erotic details, but neither does it linger on them fetishistically -- when it's all over, you'll remember the sensuous eye contact as much as the naked bodies.

Xana and Dax look like funky, city-wise hipsters, but during the pre-interviews (I typically talk with a couple for 4-6 months before we actually get down to making a movie) they won me over with their heartfelt sincerity. They were both so head over heels in love with each other, and their story had a wonderful twist from the typical masculine/feminine dynamic. When they met, Xana was bold, Dax was shy. Xana knew how to go after what she wanted, Dax was still figuring it out. Even physically they seemed like counterpoints; Xana has blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin and a curvy figure; Dax has dark hair, dark eyes, darker skin, and a lean figure. In fact, the subtitle "When Opposites Attract" came right from Xana's testimony about how their differences seemed to pull them together. That was a story I could relate to!

XANA AND DAX: WHEN OPPOSITES ATTRACT has become one of our bestselling titles. Their interview is disarming and wonderfully sweet; a terrific set-up for their boisterous, inspirational love scene, where you can see how much joy they take in sensuous play and showing off for one another's pleasure. I hope that when you see this film yourself you'll say, "Yes! That's what real love looks like. And it good!"

Since its release in 2005, XANA AND DAX has gone on to play in film festivals in the US, Canada, The Netherlands, Italy and Australia. It's also used by sex educators and counselors at places like The Kinsey Institute at the University of Indiana, Planned Parenthood, the San Francisco Sex Information Hotline, The University of Michigan Center for Sexual Health and Boston University's Faculty and Staff Assistance Center. The film has also been featured in articles in Tango Magazine, Jane, Women's Health, Penthouse, and Men's Fitness.--Tony and Peggy Comstock

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Matt and Khym: Better Than Ever (Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the first of the Comstock movies I've seen, but it absolutely won't be the last. This really is something different - "documentary" erotica, about a real couple not so different from anyone else.
The first half of the movie features the two talking to a silent, unseen interviewer. They describe their relationship, from the time they met, to their wedding (surprisingly like my own), through years of a complex and full home life. Throughout, they describe the career of their physical relationship at each period. It comes across as happy and a bit ordinary - I like that, it creates a kind of comfort with the couple that I don't have good words for, and teases me into caring about them.
The interview is broken into segments of a few minutes each, interleaved with moments from their bedroom love-making. That seems natural, too, the kinds of activities and positions I've enjoyed rather than bizarre contortions to create some camera angle. The interview ends about halfway through the movie. At that point, the bedroom scene restarts, then plays beyond what we saw in the first half. Because the interview made the two seem more real, my own arousal comes from theirs as if they're sharing it with me - not vicarious or voyeuristic, but friendly.
If you've been put off by adult films in the past, you probably had good reason: negative tone, forced activities and pacing, and people that look like plastic and sound worse. There's none of that here. It's warm, private, and above all happy - and isn't that what a love life should be?
-- wiredweird

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NOTE: Because there seems to be some confusion in the comments, Comstock Films wants to be clear that this film is a non-fiction documentary, not a scripted drama! Matt and Khym are a real life married couple speaking candidly about, and revealing, their romantic and sexual lives together. If you are looking for, or expecting a fictional "couples porn" video, this is may not be the film for you. Thanks! --Peggy Comstock, Producer, Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series

Barely out of their teens when they got together, Matt and Khym spent many years generously taking care of others instead of concentrating on themselves. Now in their thirties, Matt and Khym are taking the time to rediscover the joys of married life and married sex in Matt and Khym: Better Than Ever, the fourth installment in Comstock Films' Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series of documentary portraits of real-life couples.

As soon as we met Matt and Khym, we knew they were going to be perfect for the Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series. There are some special things about relationships that have stood the test of time, and the opportunity to explore that with Matt and Khym felt special, and rare.
Like the other entries in the Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series, the first half of the film is an interview with Matt and Khym; how they met, how they fell in love, and what they love about being in love. The second half of the film is a candid love scene, every bit as warm and intimate as the interview. The camera never turns away from the erotic details, but neither does it linger on them fetishistically -- when it's all over, you'll remember the sensuous eye contact as much as the naked bodies. --Tony and Peggy Comstock

"Director Tony Comstock shows what it looks like when two people who are in love have sex. It's beautiful--the antithesis of shapeless, boring porn in which everyone is just going through the motions." -- Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine

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Marie and Jack: A Hardcore Love Story Review

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(More customer reviews)Comstock does it again, presenting a brief and enjoyable documentary about one couple's love life. The entire presentation takes about forty minutes. Marie and Jack introduce themselves in the first half, talking about how they met, the challeneges of balancing work against their home life, and about their real devotion to each other and to their marriage. Their discussion includes a few physical details of their sex play, illustrated by cuts between the interview and a scene in their bedroom. (I just wish Jack wouldn't interrupt her so much - that really grates on me.) The second half of this study presents a longer look at their lovemaking, including the moments from shown in the interview. The lovers are clearly there for each other first, and for the camera second if at all.
This is what erotica is supposed to be, and so very rarely is. It shows a loving moment between a loving couple, generally doing things that I'd enjoy with my own beloved. After the interview at the start I feel that I know them, at least a little. I want to see them happy together, and that includes delighting each other sexually.
The unusual thing about this handsome couple is that they work as actors in the adult film industry, and generally work with other people. This leads to odd moments on the set, such as when some adult actor is introduced to Jack just before getting physical on camera with Jack's wife, marie. It also leads to some odd moments at home, thinking about how to act natural with each other after acting out exaggerations of other people's fantasies all day on the set. Maybe "acting natural" itself is an act for them - and maybe putting that concious effort into what the other wants isn't a bad thing.
Explicitly sexual videos are easy enough to find. Videos with genuine affection, gentle tone, and people you can care about are painfully rare, though. Jack and Marie give just that, the kind of erotica that sensitive viewers can whole-heartedly enjoy.
-- wiredweird

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After 5 years of experimentation, MARIE & JACK was the first commercial film in our "Real People, Real LIfe, Real Sex" series.Shot in the Summer of 2001, Marie Silva and Jack Bravo were a married couple working in the adult industry, looking for a change from the all too predictable and formulaic approach to on-screen sexuality they experienced in their "day job". I was an idealistic young documentary filmmaker exploring what love and sex might look like outside the confines of the downbeat Art House approach.I wanted to show what love and sex looked like on screen when the people making love to each other were actually in love with each other, and I wanted to do it in a way that both honored the language of cinema and respected my audience as compassionate human beings. I hoped the result would be a film that would excite the mind, open the heart and arouse the body; and Marie and Jack were generous enough to lay their relationship open both physically and emotionally to my cameras, and through that, to the world.The result was MARIE AND JACK: A HARDCORE LOVE STORY, a documentary film that is both gentle and unflinching in its depiction of sexuality and eroticism inside of marriage. In their interview Marie and Jack are utterly candid, discussing their love for each other, both emotional and physical. When the interview gives way to lovemaking, it is no less honest; no coy angles or fade-to-black. This is what real love looks like, in all its glistening glory, and it's beautiful!The DVD includes the award-winning film, plus 32 minutes of lovemaking footage that I couldn't find a place for in the film; presented as a viewer-controlled multi-angle bonus feature. I made this film because I wanted prove that the human experience of sexuality was every bit as worthy of being witnessed as the violence and misery that is so readily accepted in entertainment, and that being 'serious' about sexuality didn't have to mean draining all the passion and eroticism out of sex. I think that what we captured in MARIE & JACK is every bit as joyful, lusty, and loving as what happens in our own bedrooms, and I hope that when you see this film you'll agree. I hope you'll say to yourself, "Yes! That's what real love looks like. And it's good!"

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