Title: Seduction of Mary
Company: VCA (LFP, Inc.)
Length: 83 minutes
VHS Release: September 1992
DVD Release: July 2005
Condoms: None

Director: Michael Craig
Written by: Leslie Black and Michael Craig

BOXCOVER SYNOPSIS:
Victoria Paris is a high-powered entertainment exec. with a new client an erotic novelist named Marshall Solomon (Mike Horner). At first her relationship with the author is all business. But soon, Marshalls written fantasies become reality as Victoria succumbs to the writers charismatic sexualityin more ways than one.

THE MOVIE:
There is a moment around 3 minutes into Seduction of Mary that is emblematic of the entire film. Mike Horner is seated in front of Cassidy, a short-haired, underappreciated porn star from the early 90s with an amazing ass and a face that now reminds me of a mix between Chelsea Blue and Gina Gershon. He has instructed her to remove her red blouse, and she has nervously complied. Looking her up and down, he looks as if he is about to grasp her but instead he violently snaps his head to the other side and looks directly into the camera. We shot reverse-shot to see that he is looking at Victoria Paris, who is the voyeur in this little scenario. You see, the set-up is that Victoria is reading Horners new erotic novel and what we are watching is actually her imaginations version of the section of the book she is reading. In her imagination, she is there watching the scene play out but not interacting. So, for Horner to acknowledge her presence scares and excites her. She responds by looking away, as if to mind her own business, and then immediately looking back and continuing to rub her pussy through her skirt as soon as Mike directs his attention back to Cassidy.

Why is it emblematic? Because it is bad yet effective. It is quintessential porn drama, played over-the-top because that is the only level most of these failed-actors and actresses could do. However, through the use of a clever script the tendencies of Mike Horner and Victoria Paris to go over the top is utilized and turned into one of the strengths of this film. They are given a basic plot that you should know very well by now: a married woman cant stop thinking about a seductive stranger and finds herself eventually sucked into his world. It has masturbation scenes that are incredibly over-the-top and clearly faked orgasms from the women. It moves along at a snails pace, delaying the ultimate pay-off (Victoria with Mike) until the very end. It has more reaction shots than penetration shots it seems. In short, it is very much so heightened reality. In fact, it plays out like your typical run-of-the-mill erotic novel. In fact, its supposed to, thus making the performances from Mike and Victoria ideal whereas they would otherwise just be regarded as typical, bad porn acting.

The movie also has Mike Horner in a speedo. Thats where my praise ends. As willing as I am to concede that Horners performance is effective on its own merits, come on, Mike Horner as the key player in a psych-sex drama? Its no mistake that VCA opted to have Nick East pose with Victoria for the boxcover even though he has a very small role in the film and little to no actual interaction with Ms. Paris. When you have a role designed for Antonio Banderas, you dont go out and cast Will Ferrell. Thats essentially what they did with this film back in 1992. Mike was an excellent comedic porn actor, so much so that he continued on acting in porn features as comic relief characters well after he stopped actually performing in sex scenes full-time. So, it is just really tough to buy him as a guy who is supposed to be seducing Victoria Paris, fucking her physically and mentally. This pretty much undermined the entire film for me.

Putting aside any thoughts on character or performance, what about the sex? After all, the main reason I got this was because Victoria was looking so amazing on the front cover, with her wide hips, amazing ass, and augmented chest. Well, the opening scene with Cassidy is more build-up than pay-off. All told, they really only have sex for two or three minutes and so much of that time is filled with cutaways to Victorias face that we dont see much. Yet I found all of that enhanced the scene. Victorias scene with Jon is okay. The two of them seemed to be paired together as husband and wife characters quite a bit, perhaps due to her tendency to be a bit of a dead sexual performer and his tendency to deliver absolutely wooden performances. He has long since kissed features goodbye, and both parties are better off. The performance art scene between Amber Woods and Nick East gives us a surprising dose of anal, but I didnt find the blonde Ms. Woods attractive in the least bit so her heightened moans did nothing for my loins. Victorias girl/girl with blonde Teri Driver is entertaining, as Victoria talks to Jon on the phone seductively taunting him as some random girl eats his wifes pussy out. The final scene between Victoria and Mike is decent, although with as much build up as weve been given and as hot to trot as they are it would have been much more effective if Mike had really given it to her hard. Im not saying something on par with Erik Everhard, but at least something that would get her breasts and ass shaking.

The SEX:
Scene 1: Cassidy w/Mike Horner (8 minutes)
Cassidy and Mike are seated across from each other in white chairs that look out through a window into the backyard of a mansion. Cassidy stands in front of Mike and nervously removes her red blouse and black skirt, as per his request. Mike then rips off her early 90s style bra and panties before bending her over for a standing doggy style. He momentarily stops, forcing her to say that she loves being fucked from behind before he will continue. After a couple more minutes, he pulls out and shoots off on her lower back.

Scene 2: Victoria Paris w/Jon Dough (10 minutes)
Sitting at the head of their dining table in a room that looks out into a big backyard, Victoria pays no attention to her husband, Jon, until he kisses her. Things escalate from there. He removes all of her clothes (blouse, skirt, bra, and panties) before taking off a single article of his own clothing. He eats her out; she blows him. Leaning against the dining chair, they fuck in standing doggy before he unloads on her chest. During the sex, Victoria sporadically imagines herself in Cassidys position from scene 1. The sex she imagines herself having with Mike is soft core.

Scene 2.5: Victoria Paris (6 minutes)
Talking to Mike on the phone while Jon lies asleep next to her, Victoria masturbates according to Mr. Horners instructions.

Scene 3: Amber Woods w/Nick East (10 minutes)
Amber and Nick, both completely nude, walk into the middle of a party and stop right in front of Victoria. They then proceed to have sex. She gives him a kneeling blowjob before getting fucked on top of a piano in missionary. They lean against that same piano for regular standing doggy and standing doggy anal. He shoots off on her ass.

Scene 4: Victoria Paris and Teri Driver (15 minutes)
Mike pushes Victoria against a large white granite table. He uses a pair of scissors to cute the dress off of her body, cutting upward toward her face. He squeezes an orange over breast and then licks it off. Ditto for some honey from a bottle. Teri Driver appears, strips, and goes right at Victorias pussy. After some lengthy lickity-lickity, Victoria fakes an orgasm.

Scene 4.5: Victoria Paris (8 minutes)
Sitting at her desk at work, Victoria masturbates just as Mike tells her to do over the phone.

Scene 5: Victoria Paris w/Mike Horner (9 minutes)
Victoria strips down to her bra and panties on Mikes porch before entering his house. They embrace and he pushes her down on the same white granite table from earlier. He tears off her bra to suck on her nipples and then puts a blindfold on her. She kneels and sucks him off before he bends her over for a standing doggy style. They do missionary on top of the table before Mike pulls out and shoots off on her upper torso, the first stream landing in-between her augmented chest.

SPECIAL FEATURES: 3 Trailers (Peppers, Ritual, and Still Insatiable), Photo Gallery (runs for 3 minutes)

AUDIO/VIDEO: Despite the occasional white dot here and there, Id say this is a quality transfer from a video age film.

CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH: I loved watching Diane Lane succumb to temptation in Unfaithful (2002). I loved watching Joan Severance succumb to temptation during a police investigation in Criminal Passion (1994). I loved watching Rebecca De Mornay do it in Never Talk to Strangers (1995). I loved watching Catalina Larranga do it last week in a Skinimax film with a title I never managed to catch. Most of these are fairly bad films-bad in a good way. Seduction of Mary is no different. But I really get a charge out of these storylines, and I was partially curious to see how an adult film dealt in the well-traveled terrain of the psych-sex B-movie. The results were not as enticing as I had hoped for. However, Victoria Paris looks great and shows some life in her sex scenes. Plus, I'm a huge fan of her's and she's in every scene either as observer or participant. I can't help but wonder how much better the film would have been with a different male lead though. Regardless, I find it endearing for what it is trying to do, and appreciate the solid feature camerawork from Michael Craig. I also marvel at how they appear to have utilized one mansion for the majority of the filming, yet through clever set-dressing it does not detract from the storyline and is not immediately noticeable. Ultimately, I was happy and would say it's about as good as the many other solid features VCA produced in the early 90s. Others would could very well just find it unintentionally funny and I'd understand. After all, Victoria Paris is no Diane Lane. Not by a long shot.

About the Author: One night, years ago, I happened to watch a film on late night Skinimax starring an actress named Taylor St. Claire. Captivated by her gorgeous face and astoundingly natural DD chest, I looked her up and was shocked to find that she was in fact a hardcore porn star. At that point in my life, my porn exposure was mostly limited to soft core and what hardcore I had seen looked unappealing. However, Taylor was my gateway drug, and soon I was running a fansite dedicated to her in my free time. Jump ahead a couple of years and Im an undergrad in college writing reviews of porn DVDs every now and then. Taylors still my favorite porn star of all time, but right behind her at number 2 and 3 respectively are Avy Scott and Christy Canyon. Among the active girls, I enjoy Haley Paige, Kinzie Kenner, Taryn Thomas, Sunny Lane, Karina Kay, and Sara Stone. I also appreciate some of the stars of yesterday, particularly Tracey Adams, Taija Rae, Joanna Storm, Victoria Paris, Nikki Dial, Heather Hart, Juli Ashton, Zora Banks, Melody Max, and Jennifer Luv. I avoid Max Hardcore, Ed Powers, Evasive Angles, and compilations like the plague. I keep track of new releases from Platinum X, Third Degree, and Evil Angel. I generally favor anal and DP scenes with big facials, but am too timid for gangbangs and any such other extremities. My favorite active directors are Chris Streams, Mike John, Van Styles, and Jules Jordan. My favorite porn films of all time include The Fashionistas (2003) and The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women 1 (2000).