Shot on film back in Adult Cinema's Golden Age, "Shades of Ecstasy" plays as a rather dumb movie, especially in the shortened DVD version where two reels were removed to emphasize the sex scenes.
The acting is not very good, except for star Janey Robbins, who manages to make the movie seem coherent and to the point. She's a new hire at meanie boss Ron Jeremy's drapery factory, where free loving is as plentiful on the job as the actual fabrication of drapes. The utterly matter-of-fact approach to sex depicted here is the movie's main draw, a realistically staged fantasy of a different sort of workplace than the reality of Garment District sweatshops.
Director Hal Freeman does deliver a few full-length sex scenes, not lengthy by current standards, but still complete. But in the first few reels he manages to pack in a large number of one-minute or less XXX trysts, a bit overwhelming.
Plot eventually takes over as Janey pulls a sort of Jane Fonda switcheroo, organizing all the employees against Ron to take over his business and foil his blackmailing of the girls with incriminating photos. Turning the tables on the creep is achieved in facile, not credible fashion, but is satisfying because who doesn't want to see Ron Jeremy get his just desserts.
A more serious (and talented) filmmaker could have made more out of the basics of rampant sex on the job, but this mindless version is entertaining and features a talented young femme cast.
