Lesbian Daydreams

LESBIAN DAYDREAMS is literally that: four vignettes which turn out to be imaginary rather than the utopian fantasies we're used to in movieland (or videoland) wherein folks hump at a moment's notice. This adds poignancy to the entire package, and writer-director-actress Nica Noelle is well aware of how adding little touches can make all the difference.

It's a very early title -credited upfront with Sweetheart Pictures instead of the familiar Sweetheart Video and its charming little musical cue. That also means it includes an alternate French-dubbed soundtrack version on the DVD, for Canadians specifically.

Opening vignette is extremely well-acted and stars to iconic figures. Samantha Ryan is being interviewed by top casting agent Kylie Ireland (per porn tradition, she uses her stage name as fictional character name). Dressed in a business suit, the mature Kylie has a red hairdo, not as ultra-fake as in her more recent appearances.

This is the girl-on-girl variation of the typical Hollywood casting couch scene, and Kylie plays it for all the villainy (yet the viewer is rooting for her to have sex with the delectable Sam) she can muster. It's quite amazing and kind of like role- playing since we in the audience know these top actresses so well. When after torrid sex the screen ripples and dissolves back to early in the set-up, it turns out to just be Kylie lecherously daydreaming -instead of acting out proposed roles in movies (likely never to be made), Ryan gets on her high horse and leaves in a huff after Kylie's first untoward attempt to feel her up.

This sets the pattern for each of the remaining segments: Ashley Jensen is a free spirit who likes to blast her '50s rock music loudly in her apartment, annoying neighbor Michelle Lay who because of her odd work hours is trying to get some shut-eye in the afternoon. Their initial altercation when Lay knocks on the new neighbor's door to complain turns to lust next time they meet, and lesbian vet Lay shows the youngster a thing or two. Once more, all the sex is merely a dream.

Director Noelle casts herself as an artist, sketching Sinn Sage in a segment that outwardly would appear self-indulgent, but is nicely performed by the comfortable duo. There's a self-referential undercurrent to the scene that is only natural with the filmmaker stepping out in front of the camera: as when she has model Sinn pose pretending to masturbate "for art'. One pithy Nica statement stuck with me, when she sums up "Being a professional means hiding your feelings, not ceasing to have them".

Finale is a remarkable latter-day assignment for Keisha, one of Nica's (and my) all-time favorite Adult stars. She's playing a therapist administering to colleges student Jessica Shaw. Keisha in her role-playing has fun with the notion of a "bad girl" which in porn parlance takes on the Michael Jackson view of the word "bad". Shaw is an extremely obscure actress (she appears in a Girlfriends Films opus I plan to watch soon) and does a good job, with maximum physical contrast between the two women, in what must have been an honor to make love to the divine and unique Keisha.

Series did not catch on, likely due to the regimented "dissolve & it never happened" format, but I greatly enjoyed this kickoff edition.