Notable as Stormy Daniels' first boy/girl outing early in her illustrious Adult career, "Heat" showcases the craftsmanship of filmmaker/co-star Brad Armstrong, whose attention to detail and making a story work are evident in every scene, and importantly, in the whole. I much prefer him working the relaxed, modest type of project like this one rather than his frequent "blockbusters" for Wicked Pictures.
Genre is a form of rural, Americana, which has had many fine examples in porn, ranging from Armstrong's own "Crossroads" to Michael Raven's "Adrenaline" and Red Ezra's "Roadblock". The theme is east to identify with, an urge to escape the confines of one's small town upbringing "in the middle of nowhere" and to escape to the unknown.
The would-be escapee in question is Charlotte, beautifully personified by Stormy. The camera obviously loves her with her curly golden hair and huge breasts, plus folksy way of delivering her lines, that add up to a star and more recently filmmaker who I'm confident will outlive (in legacy) her more famous forbears in Adult Cinema of the Jenna Jameson school.
Randy Spears is clearly well-cast as a con-man, not the cuddly likable kind, but someone who the viewer can root for to get his comeuppance. And that he does at the hands of clever Stormy, who easily outwits the egotistical drifter.
He's got a knapsack containing $86,000 that he's scammed from gullible widow farmers who fell for his oil scam patter. Olivia O'Grady is a matronly non-actress in non-sex role who opens the film getting hoodwinked by William Banks, the moniker Spears' character is using.
With sharp dialog penned by Brad, well-delivered with Southern accents to reflect the hot-in-summer Louisiana Bayou setting, "Heat" ambles along pleasantly with attention to story values and characterizations rather than gonzo sex. Armstrong packs in six hot, concise sex scenes to be sure but they don't overwhelm or cause the narrative to grind to a complete halt.
Armstrong is effective as another schemer who likewise gets his just desserts, and the femme supporting cast is top-notch: both Lezley Zen and Shyla Stylez as local girls who put out (natch), and blessedly have big bazooms but not the later extra-unnecessary-enhancement evident later in their careers. Premiere lesbian icon Felecia is cast as Stormy's "Creole girl" friend in a nice little non-extraneous role.
Recommended, as both an entry point to Brad's oeuvre and food for thought regarding the possibilities of a neglected Adult genre.
