“Padded Submissives” Is Plump With Promise

I'm going to come right out and say it: this is a mixed review. It makes me kind of sad in my heart that I have to say that, because the DVD is made by wall-to-wall amazing performers and is right up my kinky and curvy alley, but I also didn't want to lie because lying is wrong. Glad we got that out of the way. My strategy of choice for this review is the compliment sandwich. Imagine a towering pile of delicious fillings slapped between some type of artisanal bread with just a teensy hint of hopefully helpful criticism snuck in there.

There is a tremendous amount of promise in "Padded Submissives," and the right kind of people are involved to make this passion project really sing. It just seems like some of the technical conception and execution was lacking, which can potentially be explained depending on what the ultimate goal was for this work, but I'll talk a bit more about that later.

The content itself is pretty hot. There are gorgeous padded bodies everywhere getting kinky and exploring their fantasies in safe, sexy environments, so right there it's already worth the price of admission as far as I'm concerned. There are three scenes: one with Mistress Helena and April Flores, another featuring Courtney Trouble and Kelly Shibari and a third between Kitty Striker and Cinnamon Maxine. Everyone's clearly having a great time, they're all really invested in their scenes and there's the right amount of fun and spontaneous energy to keep things light.

Mistress Helena is clearly a seasoned pro, going right for what she wants as the headmistress to April's naughty schoolgirl. April's been caught cheating in class and refuses to explain how, so the information is slowly tortured out of her through a blend of taunts, bondage and good old fashioned corporal punishment to draw it out of her. There was very little nudity (just an exposed breast or two) and virtually no overtly sexual touching, but the exchange managed to be very arousing by virtue of their interplay and ability to set the scene. This ability was especially important as the setting and the visual interest of the shots left a fair amount to be desired. It looked much more like a static recording of two people playing out a scene than anything that could have taken place in a school, or even in a kinky headmistress' secret dungeon. But still, April and Mistress Helena are absolute sexual powerhouses and it is a treat to get to see these gorgeous women playing out a scene together.

The scene between queer porn rockstar Courtney Trouble and BBW mainstay Kelly Shibari had a nice homemade sex-tape feeling, relying on a lot of strap-on play and rough sex of all stripes. Although the shots were a bit blurry and grainy, this was a particular setting where the camerawork didn't take away from the action. They're just hot, and Kelly's interpretation of submission paired with Courtney's interpretation of dominance were really sexy in their abilities to be malleable and shifting in their approaches. This is the result of real chemistry and people being able to express their view of kink on their own terms, which is the true value of a project like Padded Kink (the site that produced the scenes included in "Padded Submissives.").

The final scene between Kitty Striker and Cinnamon Maxine was probably the hardest to identify somehow. It started with a cowgirl/cow theme, but pretty quickly veered into plastic wrap bondage, wax, knife play and dildos, which didn't seem to really fit with the initial setup. They're both gorgeous and it was really nice to watch them have fun together if you're able to move beyond look for anything cohesive and just enjoy the ride. Again, the shooting itself left a little to be desired, although the choice to film outdoors did make for beautifully illuminated bodies. Although it was a mixed bag in some respect, Kitty and Cinnamon are absolutely beautiful together and that cannot be undersold.

When watching something like "Padded Submissives," or a lot of indie porn, you've got to take it on its own merits. They're not necessarily working with the best cameras, shooters are doing it because they're enthusiastic about the project, not necessarily because they have much background in film... The aesthetics aren't always going to be top-notch, but the passion will be there, and that is absolutely going to be there. The best thing we can do is support these amazing performers and vote with our dollars to keep novel projects like Padded Kink afloat so they can continue to grow as artists and afford to take the time to cultivate the aesthetic side as well as the emotional, sexual and political sides of what they do.

· Buy "Padded Submissives" (gamelink.com)
· Padded Kink (paddedkink.com)