Naked

The story seems to be a pastiche based on that cable TV show pairing nude male and female on a survival trek in the wilderness ("Naked and Afraid"), but Kay Brandt's "Naked" becomes an interesting look at polyamory as a lifestyle instead. I enjoyed the serious approach she takes to Adult Cinema, in this era of all-sex content being so dominant.

There's clearly a soft-core, cut-down version lurking inside this nearly 3-hour opus, suitable for late-night Pay-Cable, and that is where it will likely find its most welcoming audience. Brandt uses soap opera dramatics and story that are way too soft (we used to call it "mushy" once upon a time) for gonzo-exposed audiences.

With her winning smile and beauty, Britney Amber stars as a woman who loves hiking and roughing it outdoors, a sort of week-end survivalist. So, against the advice of her stolid boyfriend Donnie Rock (whose acting is about as animated as a rock), she sends an audition tape to be chosen for a role on a TV survivalist series.

TV producer Mia Li accepts Amber, and she's paired on the show with Mr. Baldie Tattoo himself, Derrick Pierce, one porn performer who's immediately identifiable even when they don't show the male's face (i.e., those numerous all-sex and cock-centric XXX videos).

The actual show footage is shown only in snippets, as Brandt utilizes a flashback structure to tell her story that is strictly character-driven. We do get to see Li in a strong threesome with her crew members, big-dicked Logan Long and "I've got more tattoos than Derrick" Mr. Small Hands, while thankfully another TV crew guy, porn hanger-on-er Joe Filippone, is on board merely in an inconsequential NonSex Role.

Since Britney already has boyfriend Rock, the movie seems to be headed for a final reel romantic culmination with Pierce, but Brandt has other fish to fry. Namely to investigate Pierce's relationship with two people at once - living for a couple years already with Chanel Preston and Ryan Driller in the menage a trois format known as polyamory.

Amber and the viewer both get an education on what polyamory is all about, and rather than a mere gimmick it turns out to be the crux and point of the feature as a whole. So at fadeout we have rerunited Derrick and Britney smooching, but it is an open ending whether the more uptight of the two (Amber) will give polyamory a go in some sequel, creating her own menage involving both Rock and Pierce. Or as my mind wandered, conceivably going a different overlapping route by dropping Donnie (good move) and taking on Chanel & Derrick.

This is a well-made feature, with an excellent performance by Amber, though the rest of the cast is hardly up to her level acting-wise. Explicit sex is delivered, but doesn't overwhelm the story telling and character development.