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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 10th, 2015.
Director: Bob Chinn
Cast: John Holmes, Jesie St. James, Paul Thomas, Kandi Barbour
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
Vinegar Syndrome offers up a double dose of vintage Bob Chinn (read our interview with the man himself here!) movies in this latest entry in their Peekarama line of classic smut!
Hot Legs:
The first feature follows a woman named Sandy (Delania Raffino), the owner and operator of Hot Legs - a company that makes legging products for women. She knows she can take the fashion world by storm if she can get rich guy John (Jon Martin) to invest, but he's not necessarily sold on her concepts. Complicating matters further is the fact that her number one model, Annie (Jesie St. James), is so curtailed to her jerk boyfriend Cliff (Blair Harris) that it's making it tough for ace photographer Dave (Paul Thomas) to deliver the goods.
With Annie off doing God only knows what, Sandy leans on helper monkey Mort (Richard Pacheco) to pitch in but the other models are all bitching and moaning about overtime and about the direction in which Dave is taking the various shoots he's been responsible for. Eventually Annie shows up and after making out with wardrobe girl Julie (Lisa Sue Corey), gets in front of the camera to set things right. Mort talks everyone into getting in on a disco themed advertising campaign involving roller skating and then further coerces everyone to 'bet it all' on a one shot Superbowl TV ad - but when Sandy finds God and starts donating everything she owns to the less fortunate, will there even be a company left for Mort to run if his ideas do work?
Well cast and genuinely funny, Hot Legs is top quality comfort food for a hungry porno audience. It's light, it's breezy, the sex is hot but harmless and all involved do seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Chinn's style and technique ensure that the production values are decent and a lively score and good editing both help to keep the action moving even in the scenes when everyone has their clothes on.
Jesie St. James steals the show here, playing the bitch queen model perfectly and just oozing sexuality throughout the film, but supporting bits from Sharon Kane, Penelope Jones and mousy but sexy Lisa Sue Corey are all worth noting as well. Paul Thomas and Richard Pacheco are also in fine form here, handling the comedy and the screwing equally well. This isn't deep, nor is it strikingly original, but it's fun movie definitely worth tracking down.
California Gigolo:
Up next, John Holmes plays… a guy named John who just so happens to make his living working in California as a gigolo. Business is good - he's always got a lady willing and able to pay for him to show her a good time, starting when a woman (Liza Dwyer) gets all hot and bothered by a dirty phone call that leaves her in need of the real thing. From there, he moves on to his next client, a business woman named Ms. Orangewood (Veri Knotty) who wants him to rough her up a bit.
With a schedule as packed as his, John has to send his assistant Gomez (Don Fernando) to deal with the innocuous Ms. X (Kitty Shayne in a Girl Scout uniform!) while he heads off to take a bet from the wealthy Carolyn (Vanessa Tibbs) who wagers sixty grand that he can't show her a trick she doesn't already know. Will he win that bet? Well, we don't want to spoil the ending but c'mon… this is John Holmes we're talking about here.
Fairly plotless, California Gigolo is an interesting enough entry in the 'cult of Holmes' films that the super stud cranked out in his heyday where he basically plays himself. There aren't a lot of plot twists and there isn't much character development but we get some okay comedy in a few spots and the ladies are all in fine form. There is once again some nice camerawork, Chinn's stuff almost always looks great and this movie is no exception, and some obvious detail paid to the production values of the film.
If you're not a Holmes fan this one won't change your mind but the movie is well put together and like the first feature it too is breezy, free-spirited and fun.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features look great in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen transferred in 2k from their respective 35mm negatives. The elements used were in excellent condition and while there is a scratch or two here and there, for the most part the transfers are as clean and as colorful as you could hope for. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to and it's never particularly distracting. These are solid transfers through and through, no serious print damage to complain about, sharp detail, very film like but still crisp and clean. Expect some grain, but you'd be silly not to. At this point in time anyone who has been following these releases knows to expect excellent quality - this release continues that trend.
Both movies get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English with no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Both films sound fine. Dialogue remains clear and crisp and the scores sound good. Levels are properly balanced for both features though some might note some minor hiss in a few spots.
The only extras on the disc are static menus, chapter selection and trailers for each feature.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's DVD release of Peekarama: Hot Legs / California Gigolo offers up two completely enjoyable entries in Bob Chinn's filmography in excellent shape. Extras are slim but the movies themselves offer up plenty of sexy, dirty fun.
