Love, Hollywood Style

Less concerned with romance than the time-honored tradition of the casting couch, LOVE, HOLLYWOOD STYLE sees early porn stalwarts Rick Cassidy, Ric Lutze and Neil Pearlman donning the guise of producers to bed aspiring starlets for a nonexistent porn flick. The result is a by-the-numbers one-day wonder, enlivened only by the solid improv skills and bonhomie of its central trio.

Plot offers little beyond the set-up, opening on our group sitting around their Hollywood pad waiting for the calls to roll in after placing a casting ad in the paper. Somehow, they all agree Lutz will get first girl, followed by Cassidy and then scrawny Pearlman bringing up the rear (he apparently knows his place in the male pecking order!). First to show up is Becky Sharpe, playing an experienced actress who clocks the trio's game immediately. It takes little to get her in bed with Lutz, the lady clearly already aware of protocol for landing her role.

Next to show up is a curly-haired brunette who's more reticent. Cassidy inveigles her to strip before showing off her set of pipes (with a song, that is). Finally, they retreat to the bedroom, where Jim has them briefly roleplay Adam & Eve before getting down to business.

Final woman is a shy, bob-haired brunette who pairs up with Neil while making conversation about her job as a telephone operator. They have fairly desultory sex: the woman, whether going full method or actually just not feeling it, seems uninvested, while the usually dependable Pearlman is likewise off his game, delivering half-hearted oral and humping by numbers. Weirdly, while the Ric(k)s eventually switch partners, Neil stays in his nonstarter pair for the duration, until everyone returns to the living room for the mandatory closing orgy.

Structure-wise, there's little to distinguish LOVE, HOLLYWOOD STYLE from innumerable other lazy one-day wonders: a limited cast assembles in a single place (usually a house), pairs off and splits up to screw, then reunites in the final minutes for a group grope. If there's anything of note here, it's the number of key players present from the early hardcore scene - specifically Cassidy, Lutz, and Sharpe - along with someone like Pearlman, who's less well known but was a fairly common face in these early LA grinders. As a result, for those familiar with the era, the film has a charming hangout quality, particularly in the opening minutes, where it really seems like the guys have a mutual familiarity and are just goofing around together. The result thoroughly unambitious, but at least one of the more charming and professional variations on its extremely well-trod material. It may not be high art, but it's proficient porn, with a bit of historical interest as a kicker.