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Laramie Movie Scope: Pleasure

The porn business, up close and ugly

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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January 16, 2023 – A good-looking blonde, Bella, from Sweden (played by Sofia Kappel) enters the United States at the airport and is asked what is the nature of her visit, business or pleasure. She says, “Pleasure,” which is not at all true.

Bella has come to Las Angeles to be a porn star, and she has a pretty good idea what that means, as she shaves her pubic hair for her first job interview, but she is not prepared for the depths of moral corruption involved in the business. This movie is about porn videos, and a number of the actors in it are real porn stars.

Her manager, Bear (played by Chris Cock of “Interracial Gangbang Tryouts”) like many in the industry, seem to be friendly and accommodating at first, but quickly becomes demanding when Bella objects to a brutal gang rape video. This pattern is repeated. Porn managers, agents, producers and directors cajole, manipulate, and ultimately demand submission to what consumers demand.

When Bear tells Bella that he, too, is a porn performer, she asks what field he is in, and he replies that since he is a black man he performs in the lucrative field of interracial sex. “That sounds racist,” Bella says. Bear replies, “That's because it is racist.”

Bella is housed with three other women, one of whom, Joy (Revika Reustle) becomes Bella's friend, and helps her improve her social media profile. Social media is used to advance the career of porn actors. Joy and Bella, along with other women, attend a party in which they try make connections with important people in the porn industry.

At the party, Bella manages to make some good connections with a director. Joy tries to flirt with porn star Caesar Rex (Lance Hart, who was then male, but is now known as Lucy Hart after transitioning to female) who insults her, so she pushes him into a swimming pool.

Bella's career seems to be going up, while Joy and her other roommates are not rising up in the porn industry. At one point, however, Bella nearly quits after being abused in the painful rape video. She is determined to become a porn star, however, and she volunteers to do a painful anal sex scene for free.

As Bella works her way up the ladder in the porn industry, she finds herself manipulating others in the same way she herself is being manipulated in service to the porn industry. She also starts debasing herself in ways she never thought she would.

This is a very painful film to watch because it seems to be an insidious attack on Bella's sense of decency. In the film, the only people in the porn industry who are shown any respect, are the people who don't deserve it.

As you would expect, this film features a lot of nudity and depicts various sex acts. It is rated R, but if I was rating it, it would be NC-17, adults only. You would expect this kind of movie to rise up at least a little bit over its subject matter, but it doesn't. It rates a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2023 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at dalek three zero one nine at gmail dot com [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]