Perfect Life

Wicked Pictures

Genre: Feature

Director: Michael Raven

Cast: Kaylani Lei, Chris Evans, Jessica Drake, Alexis Malone, Randy Spears, Lezley Zen, Steven St. Croix, Barrett Blade
Non-sex roles: Grant Michaels, others uncredited

Length: 99.5 minutes

Date of Production: 2/9/2005

Extra's: Most of you will like the 9 minute long sex scene from One Man's Obsession between Jessica Drake and Randy Spears the most as an extra. The two looked great together and while it was too short, it was certainly sweet. Personally, I enjoyed the 15 minute long Behind the Scenes feature by Brian Pic more (it had some good sex and interesting comments by the performers) as it was made for this movie. This was followed by a minute long short "Special Effects 101 with Jessica Drake where she discussed blue screen technology (providing examples along the way). The next up was a Blooper Reel lasting a bit over 4.5 minutes, centering on the most dialogue intensive scene of the movie between Jessica Drake and Lezley Zen. This was followed by a 2 minute long box cover shoot that accentuated Jessica's already gorgeous look. There were also trailers, various photogalleries, star stats, promotional materials, a DVD catalog, DVD Rom materials, and a cardboard DVD cover. I didn't find any Easter Eggs though.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: Perfect Life was presented in non-anamorphic widescreen color with an approximate aspect ratio of 1.85:1 as originally shot by director Michael Raven for Wicked Pictures. Michael used various lighting effects to achieve his artistic vision. The colors were accurate, the grain was slightly less than usual, and the composition of the shots tended to be quite favorable to the cast. There were no compression artifacts or video noise that I saw and the visuals seemed just fine overall. The audio was presented with a choice of either a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English or a 2.0 German track. I listened to the English track and while I didn't hear any appreciable separation on the audio, it was nicely put together otherwise. I got the impression that it was actually recorded in 2.0 but later remastered with a 5.1 signal given the lack of separation but I could be mistaken. My biggest complaint about the audio was the virtual lack of a vocal track which limited my perception of the heat between the players. Sure, Jessica managed to have a single dialogue scene with Lezley Zen and there were a few moments where the cast spoke during the sex scenes but by and large, this was the exception rather than the rule.

Body of Review: One of the nice things about modern porn is the diversity of talent both in front, and behind, the camera. In terms of directors, almost all of the established directors have a style that evolves over time, including the well known Michael Raven; currently one of the most stylish and artistic directors employed by Wicked Pictures. His latest effort is Perfect Life, a couples film starring the beautiful covergal, Jessica Drake. The movie makes use of many thematic devices and special effects, some of them better employed than others. From the slightly glitchy looking title on the front cover (look at the word "Perfect" and you'll see what I mean) to the manner by which Jessica is propelled through her life showing what she'd change to make her current situation better (typically finding out the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence). I'm not going to ruin the surprises for you but suffice it to say, I liked the movie (and not just because I watched it with a Michael Raven fan last night). Here's a brief look at the scenes to give you an idea if this is the one for you, noting that condoms were used in the scenes:

Scene One: Kaylani Lei, the cute Asian contract performer with raven hair and sleek curves, was up first with Chris Evans in a bathroom stall scene. The quarters were a bit too cramped for the kind of free flowing action I'm used to in porn but they did manage to convey a sense of chemistry that many recent scenes by other directors seem to be missing. Her oral was very well done with some nice corkscrew action and eye contact to ready him for the vaginal boning she took. I would've preferred the vocals contain more than "ohh, yeah, uhh" type sounds but it was realistic that way. Another interesting note was how Jessica Drake was in the stall beside them, jilling herself silly as she listened in on them.

Scene Two: Alexis Malone, an attractive blonde with nice curves and a sultrier look than Kaylani, was up next in a bedroom scene where she slobbed the knob of none other than Randy Spears. To sum up her oral talents, she was a skin flute virtuoso here, making me wish she had been given more time to please him. In the vaginal screwing, she seemed to accept his meat well, riding him as though she were into doing him as much as there to collect a paycheck. When a performer actively participates in her scene, it elevates the heat levels and while it wasn't the most active ride of her sweet life, it was a lot of fun to watch. There was no pop shot though, a surprise in a modern porno.

Scene Three: Jessica Drake, showing her take of the above scene with her as the female partner, showed Randy Spears that while Alexis is a talented gal, there's definitely a reason why one of them is a contract star and the other isn't. From the moment she reacted to his oral on her to the spitting she used to lube up his shaft, I knew she'd be engaged in a virtual contest of wills to provide a better scene in the bedroom. In many ways, it was an identical scene yet I can't deny that her little touches added to the pleasure and I'd suggest fans take a long, close look at the two scenes in order to see the slight differences that made Jessica look better. Maybe it was the way she moaned, maybe it was her finger in her own sweet ass, or maybe it was simply her appeal to me that worked better but it was a better scene (the PTM wasn't bad either). That Randy popped off on her ass at the end of the scene sure didn't hurt either.

Scene Four: Lezley Zen, a talented fellatrix in porn for years now, was up next in a scene on a couch with Steven St. Croix. She always manages to bring a sense of energy to her scenes, adding a spark (if you will) that adds to the manner in which she seems to appreciate the line of work she's in. The two here had some solid chemistry, like most of the couplings here, and the use of lighting made her look ten years younger as she sucked, slobbered, and otherwise attacked his meat energetically. His oral to her was short and teased more than it satisfied but the short vaginal ride had him blowing his load in no time (understandably I might add).

Scene Five: Jessica Drake, the most beautiful woman of the movie to me, was up last in a scene with Barrett Blade on a bed with a blue screen set of clouds flying by them as though they were on cloud 9. The scene contained more foreplay and teasing by each of them than the others with each seeming to take their time to ready the other as though they got off trying to outdo the other. It was more of an erotic scene than an explicit hardcore bone-fest but the person watching it with me last night thought it was the hottest thing she'd watched in weeks. If you want to see circus act sex, you probably aren't reading a review of a Michael Raven movie for Wicked Pictures, but it had a lot to appreciate on several levels.

Summary: Perfect Life had a gorgeous looking front DVD cover, making me wonder if a poster is available for fans, although it wasn't exactly the king of porno I generally prefer. The sex always showed chemistry and energy and the artistic touches worked well for my companion so I feel safe rating it as Recommended for the vast majority of you who aren't specifically looking for a gonzo movie. There was a lot of replay value to the movie, not just because of the sex but also for the minimal concepts it brought up in terms of accepting what we have instead of what we "think" is a perfect life. Granted, a life in bed with Jessica Drake would certainly qualify as perfect (I've rubbed up on her a little bit; well, technically, she rubbed up on me a bit this year when we visited in a local club and she is the definition of class folks) but for most of us, this movie might help get you through some tough times until our own "perfect life" comes along.