Tweet
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 27th, 2018.
Director: Alex De Renzy
Cast: Lois Ayres, Kristara Barrington, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis, Tom Byron, Careena Collins, Stacey Donovan, Candie Evans, Melissa Melendez, Taija Rae
Year: 1986
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Pretty blonde Candy Evans narrates this sequel in name only to Alex De Renzy's 1977 classic XXX feature Babyface (reviewed here). She starts by telling us about a crazy event, a bachelorette party that wound up going in some very unorthodox directions and how it ties into an older woman who was known for screwing younger man.
From here, we meet Lois (Lois Ayers at her finest) and her Camaro driving boy toy (Kevin James) as they find a dirty mattress in an old shed to screw on. With that out of the way, she joins a group of girls that are throwing a bachelorette party for Careena (Careena Collins) - Kristara Barrington, Lynn Francis, Taija Rae and Stacey Donovan. Careena's parents are leaving town for a day or so and so these ladies have got the house to themselves for a while. They try on rad eighties lingerie and play around with some sex toys that Kristara brought along, but it isn't until a giant cake arrives that things get weird. But before that happens, Kevin James fucks a very hot looking Melissa Melendez and Tom Byron gives Candie the old in/out in a weird garden/hot tub/pool setting. It doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, mind you, but why let a cool location like that go to waste?
See, inside this cake is the world's worst stripper, played by Jamie Gillis. He comes out of the cake looking completely disheveled in ratty boxers, black socks and a stained shirt. He struts about, smoking a cigar and muttering to himself, until the girls start encouraging him to take it off. At this point, he tells them they won't be able to handle it if he really gets into it. Of course, since he looks like a bum they don't believe him, but soon enough he calls upon the goddess Aphrodite to give him what he needs to make it work and the lights go down and the wind machines go up. All of the girls get insanely horny and start masturbating - and when various guys comes around, they basically get jumped on, while stripper Gillis gives the bride to be a night she'll never forget.
It's worth noting that there's really no connection between this film and the original Babyface aside from the fact that there's a poster for the original film hanging in the background for much of the last half of the movie. There's also the weird twist ending that kind of ties into the original, but pretty tenuously. Regardless, judged on its own merits this picture is really well done. It's entertaining, frequently very humorous and occasionally quite hot - all good qualities in an adult feature. Like most of De Renzy's 35mm features, this one is nicely shot and quite glossy. It's a colorful looking film with some great eighties fashions on display, a fun score and really nice cinematography. It doesn't hurt things at all that it's also very well cast. Lois Ayers has rarely been hotter than she is here, with her short blonde hair and super dramatic eye makeup just embodying everything that was good and bad about eighties porn in a single character. She gets a lot of screen time here and the camera loves her. Careena Collins, in an early role, is also very appealing in this picture. Gillis dominates her in that way that Gillis tended to do, and she's basically his slave for most of the movie. Melissa Melendez also heats up the screen quite nicely here, though she's sadly underused in the film - and few will complain when Kristara Barrington turns a candle into her new best friend. While all of the men involved in the film do fine work, it's really Gillis that proves the most memorable. He's clearly trying very hard not to laugh during his ridiculous strip tease sequence, but once it's time to get down and dirty he proves once again that few could get down and dirty with as much pervy enthusiasm and grubby manic energy as he could.
It's also worth noting that this version is completely uncut. Earlier releases censored the footage where Gillis applies some clamps to Careena Collins' more sensitive areas and the footage where Kristara Barrington uses a candle on herself. All of that footage is intact on this Vinegar Syndrome release.
All in all, this is entertaining, glossy and just all around enjoyable smut. If you've got an appreciation for dirty movies made in the eighties, it's pretty much a sure thing that you'll get a kick or two out of this feature.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vinegar Syndrome release Babyface 2 on Blu-ray on a 50GB disc that presents the movie in its original 1.85.1 widescreen theatrical aspect ratio in a transfer taken from a new 2k scan of 35mm vault elements that are essentially pristine. Colors are nice and natural, letting all that late seventies fashion really pop, while skin tones look nice and natural. There's no evident of any noise reduction nor are there any problems with compression artifacts. Even in the scenes that feature quirky colored lighting effects, compression remains strong, and detail remains impressively high, never blotchy or smeary like it could have been. Once again, this remastered Vinegar Syndrome release blows the old DVD releases away.
The only audio option for the feature is an English language DTS-HD Mono track, and it too is of good quality. Dialogue is easy to understand and follow while the score sounds quite good. there's even quite a bit of depth during the scene where Gillis calls on Aphrodite to help him do his thing, with the swirling and wind sound effects rising up in the mix nicely to help create some weird atmosphere. There are no issues with any hiss or distortion and the levels are properly balanced from start to finish and all the oohs and aahs of the sex scenes come through quite clearly. Optional English subtitles are provided.
Extras are slim, limited to a trailer for the feature and that's about it. Animated menus and chapter selection are also included and as this is a combo pack release, we also get a DVD version of the movie included in the clear Blu-ray keepcase. It's also worth noting that this release comes packaged with some slick reversible cover art.
The Final Word:
Babyface 2 is a seriously fun film filled with great performances, steamy sex and plenty of truly effective humor. Add to that a cool score and solid production values and this proves to be well worth the time of anyone with an interest in eighties smut. Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray is light on extra but it looks and sounds fantastic. Recommended!
Click on the image below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
My copy arrived today, will give it a spin sometime soon. Those screencaps look great.