Friends 4 Life

Made near the end of award-winning porn director Michael Raven's career, this romantic comedy written by Jennifer Allison is quite off-beat, a sleeper of a film that grows on you. Its 79-minute running time, in a period when 2 or 3 hours or more has become the norm, reminds one of how Adult Cinema used to routinely deliver tight little stories without pretension.

Lead role is well-cast with Barrett Blade, a performer whose one-note approach generally turns me off but who obviously fits a repugnant, self-centered character. He narrates much of the movie, expressing his narcissistic attitude, really full of himself. After an opening sex scene with the movie's femme lead Alektra Blue, he is so callous and nasty to her that you just have to hate the guy.

But there's method in Allison's screenplay. In a manner reminiscent of the classic comedy "What About Bob?", Blade is accidentally sharing beers with his cable tv installer Eric Masterson, latter jumping to the title conclusion that they've instantly become BFFs. It's really astute casting, in that Eric and Barrett in real-life have become constant companions as crew members on hundreds of videos over the past decade or so working behind the camera as their on-screen careers wound down.

Masterson is obnoxious in a different vein. While Blade fancies himself a free spirit, not willing to stick with a girl for more than a two-night-stand (he quickly drops Alektra in favor of taking up with another Wicked contract star Mikayla Mendez), Eric is practically a stalker, imposing himself on Blade on a nearly 24/7 basis. This makes for plenty of dark humor, leading to Blade getting his just desserts by the movie's fadeout.

Odd but effective casting has zoftig Janet Mason as Blade's mom, even though the sexy actress is only six years older than him in real life. Producer Mark Nicholson has a brief cameo as a guy suffering from hiccups, who is cured by Mikayla in one of the movie's many unexpected moments.