In the early 1990s when Adult Cinema was at a financial and in some ways creative high point, the practice of releasing VHS story projects in two parts took hold, for strictly commercial reasons (Michael Zen was particularly wont to take this route). Paul Thomas's otherwise laudable "Sinderella" starring the great Savannah (not Savanna Samson, her successor who also graced many a PT movie) fell into this trap and suffered for it.
That's because the oft-told story of the stepsister who wins the Prince's favor at the ball leaving a glass slipper behind has a structure so familiar it is not amenable to the "cut in half" cliffhanger approach applied for Vivid release. Even its DVDs editions is out of print, and I was at first thrilled but ultimately quite disappointed with the overall result. (See my review of Part Two, which has an alternate title of just "Stepsister".)
The opening reels of Part One (each half runs barely over an hour long, hardly justifying the split in two gimmick) are delightful, thanks to PT's witty dialog, amusing anachronisms and terrific acting by a well- chosen cast. Savannah is truly stunning to look at, her pristine beauty and innocent-seeming demeanor far removed from the hard-edged "lived-in" facade of today's numerous jail-bait, flat-chested petite stars(think Piper Perri or even Riley Reid).
Britt Morgan, an actress who never got the Adult Industry recognition she deserved before migrating into behind-the-camera functions, is terrific as the Evil Stepmother, who Sinderella calls step-mommy dearest. Unusual for a Cinderella feature is casting arguably equal in stature if not bigger names than Cinderella as the step-sisters: Raquel Darian and P.J. Sparxx, both hot-hot-hot in their respective sex scenes.
PT's jokey approach includes Randy West speaking in a very 20th Century colloquial manner as member of the court Rudy the Valet, with Joey Silvera much more appealing than usual in the role of his armorer Essex. Silvera has a pivotal male role, while PT rather wisely (for me) downplays the Prince to the level of almost a cameo status, and Randy Spears in that slot does not show up at all during Part One. The sets and costumes also done by PT himself are impressive.
Lovely Melanie Moore takes the NonSex Role of the Fairy Godmother, and PT makes significant changes to the familiar tale, giving some useful emphasis to Sinderella's father essayed by Mike Horner, who is seemingly poisoned by his new wife Morgan. T.T. Boy is along for the ride briefly to hump Sindy outdoors in a Eden like opening scene.
Part One ends with the folks arriving at the Prince's ball, and the good will and high hopes for a satisfying movie are dashed by the uneventful filler that constitutes Part Two.
