69th Parallel

Adam & Eve/Ultimate Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Bud Lee

Cast: TJ Hart, Randy Spears, Kylie Ireland, Kyle Stone, Shayla LaVeaux,
Steve Hatcher, Coral Sands, Elle Devyne, Alec Metro

Length: 90.5 minutes

Date of Production: 8/25/1998

Extra's: The only extras were a photogallery, a trailer, and a few limited biographies.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: 69th Parallel was presented in the usual 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in by director Budd Lee for Adam & Eve Pictures. While not bad for its time, it wasn't all that great either and this was what I said when I first saw it: "The video usually looked fairly good for a lower budget
movie. The grain and video noise were minimal. The audio had some problems,
particularly in a couple of scenes where it seemed either dubbed or slightly
out of synch, but wasn't worse than average. The music was standard low
budget porn."

Body of Review: Most of us purchase a movie based on what the DVD cover looks like or the cast involved in a production but sometimes, however rarely, we pick something up on the basis of a review we've read as I did with 69th Parallel. One of my fellow reviewers at another website praised this one endlessly and I wasn't under the impression that he was a shill (Boy did I learn otherwise some time after that although he tore this one a new asshole) so I dropped some dough and here's what I thought about the flick. "I recall reading XXX's Review of this one last year and put off getting it until it was on sale
(cheap). I had seen the mainstream movie it was seemingly based on, Sliding
Doors, and thought that a porn version should be easy to make. The fact that
it had both Kylie Ireland and TJ Hart made this a must watch, even with the low rating it received. The movie tells the tale of a woman, Shayla, whose life changes over a
minor decision in her life. We get to see what would've happened if she
hadn't changed and what would happen if she had changed. The concept is
fairly simple and one we can all relate to. "What if I had only________?" is
a question that most thinking adults ask themselves from time to time. It is
the basis for a large body of literature in all cultures for good reason.
Even on pop culture TV shows like The Twilight Zone, the question was
asked-and answered-in a variety of entertaining ways. Done properly, a show
that explores this question is almost a guaranteed winner. Unfortunately, 69th Parallel was not the best example of the genre. I have no doubt that if Bud were given a decent script, some decent acting
talent, and a bit longer to film than most porn shoots, he'd be able to make
a series of movies that looked at this question which would be great. The
problem here was the entire movie looked to be shot in a day with only
passable talent and a humdrum script. The sex suffered too due, in part, to
the editing and lack of chemistry. Here's a breakdown of the scenes:"

Scene One: TJ Hart and Randy Spears have sex on a couch by a window that overlooks a
beautiful valley. TJ is a good looking woman with high cheekbones and a nice
ass. This wasn't her best scene sexually but at least she looked good. The
sex was only fair due to a lack of chemistry.

Scene Two: Kylie Ireland, a personal favorite who always looks great, had sex with
Kyle Stone in bed. The scene was interrupted by editing, something Bud needs to
work on, but was still warm.

Scene Three: Shayla LaVeaux, with very pretty eyes, screws Steve Hatcher in the kitchen than
takes it outside. The technical qualities suffered in this scene and the sex
seemed mechanical and short. The colors were off as was the audio.

Scene Four: Kylie Ireland and Elle Devyne have sex while Kyle Stone watches. He then joins in and
Elle gets some anal. I liked the scene for Kylie but the heat was minimal
here-it was as if Kylie was holding back for some unknown reason.

Scene Five: This was the big orgy scene with TJ Hart, Shayla LaVeaux, Coral Sands, Alec Metro and
Steve Hatcher at a swinger party. Orgies are difficult to get right in a porn movie
and Bud almost made this one work but I sense that the time constraints of a
porn movie again worked against him here. It had some heat but not enough to
make this a worthy purchase for anyone not a fan of a performer.

Summary: 69th Parallel was not the best movie off the assembly line (as a couple of their directors called it a few years back) of Adam & Eve. My original assessment was harsh, but accurate: "The movie is an example of a lost opportunity itself. I know that
in porn, a director isn't supposed to worry about the story so much as the
sex. I think Bud tried hard to maintain both a plot and the sex but fell
short on each. Had the story been a bit more developed, it could've been a
winner just as much as the sex might've been hotter had the cast appeared to
have more chemistry. For fans of a performer or two, you may have enough reason to pick this one
up as a bargain bin DVD. On the lower end of what you can find this one for, there may be enough value for a fan to pick this one up but only if you like some of the cast as much as I do. Most people will want to Skip It though since the lack of quality shined like a beacon in the night, almost heralding the impending doom given the problems here. Note to Adam & Eve: While this isn't your strongest effort, it is better
than some of your other old releases like The Other Woman. Since this is regularly on sale for under $10, it's not the worst deal and it serves as an example to show how newer Premium titles like Emerald Rain or even A Witch's Tail, have proven your commitment to improving your product. Thanks!"

This Don Houston "retro-review" was written long ago before the so-called Professor of Porn had much experience writing reviews. Since that time, he has found Adam & Eve to have a lot of good releases and seen more porn than almost anyone reviewing on the internet. Keep in mind that his comments accurately reflected his fresh viewpoint of the time he first saw the movie.