Obviously not capturing the attention of his groundbreaking first "Fashionistas" movie, this followup has John Stagliano in his familiar indulgent mode, displaying considerable skill as showman to exploit his highly successful live stage show that turns Cirque de Soleil into Adult Entertainment, but failing to deliver a cogent story or characters -never a strong suit for the gonzo porn pioneer.
So the opening reels let us marvel at the talent of a group of performers who are not in the sex worker trade of porn but rather aerialists, dancers, etc., comfortable in a Las Vegas venue. In the audience are many of the principals of the film, like Rocco Siffredi as fashion designer and many a hand-picked superstar of Adult Cinema like Jenna Haze, who tease us with moments of XXX content amidst the softcore quality show. Casting turns out to be the Buttman's greatest achievement here.
Minimal story and dramatic material follows, spread needlessly over 2 disks (4 DVDs in all are included in the package to raise the price point a la Digital :Playground's "Pirates" hits of the day) including one that is really a soundtrack CD.
But the movie veers into all-sex mode with a couple of orgies (poorly staged in that they look like one, even though supposed to be separate) and lots of sex filler. The Safado of the title refers to a pirate-style website (that rips off Rocco) run by bad guys Katsumi and Nacho Vidal, that Rocco eventually becomes glued to in order to let us watch individual BDSM scenes from its menu. Though delivering a feature film (albeit on video, not 35mm), Stagliano here embraces the trend toward on-line porn.
Acting is negligible, as the terrific cast is deeply into "I can do this!" spirit of gonzo porn, especially Gianna Michaels, perfect in fetish latex as the big-boobed central attraction, and such talented players as lovely Melissa Lauren as an underhanded web journalist who gets down with the best of them, and of course Belladonna as Rocco's partner in the fashion business. Other big-names including fetish star Jewel Marceau and the great Roxanne Hall and Sandra Romain impress, while it's nice to see Nici Sterling again, albeit in a brief NonSex role as reporter. Special mention goes to Sintia Stone, statuesque in a fabulous latex costume that gives her the look of oversize boobs.
Movie ends with Rocco headed for Berlin, i.e., a sequel "Fashionistas Safado: Berlin".
