From the Blue Room Feature 'A Look at Andrew Blake'

Promisingly, The Villa—which Blake shot 3 months after Girlfriends—starts with a hot lesbian coupling that involves some enticing fingering. We move on to a black-and-white scene between two women, outdoors, playing around a fountain, and it's exquisitely shot. We're in for another sumptuous erotic fantasy from Andrew Blake, and I'm happy to say that this one gets naughtier, with quite a few roving fingers exploring splayed vaginas. The film does stay true to Blake's recent predilection for all-jazz soundtracks and ever-present slow motion, but it's nice to see some more contact occurring.

The Villa, shot in Italy, stars Kyla Cole, Nika, Justine, Elsa Versus, and Tara Radovic—all delicious. Although I must interject with an anecdote: My wife came into the room as I was watching this particular title, and she sat down with me for a while to view a few of the fantasies. I asked her for her thoughts. She said without hesitation that the women didn't appeal to her (and this from someone who doesn't mind the occasional lesbian coupling in adult film). She thought the women looked "euro-trashy" and wore too much makeup. I politely disagreed with her. But I did agree with her when she said she wanted to hear the girls making some kind of pleasurable sounds—something that Blake has provided quite effectively in the past. She also wanted to see more touching of private spots, more roaming fingers and tongues. (Yes, I adore my wife.)

The Villa ups the number of mild penetrations and even boasts—at about the 35-minute mark—the sight of a tongue gliding through the moistened folds of a vagina. I can't tell you how happy I was to see that sight. What a hot moment! But the scene ends shortly afterward, and I was left on the edge of my couch, feeling as if the scene faded out just as it was getting interesting. And at the 45-minute mark, behold!—a lesbian scene in which one participant rhythmically inserts a glass dildo into the other's waiting kisp! And some amazing kissing followed…but the scene abruptly faded out. The old frustration reared its head. The Villa does offer more "penetration" than some of the immediately previous titles, but does it offer "enough"? How much such sexual contact did I want to see? And why do its scenes end so prematurely?

Is it enough for Blake to show us these fragments of eroticism? Is it enough to set the scene and show what amounts to slow-motion striptease and foreplay? I would be very interested to know what most viewers of adult entertainment think. For me, it's a mood thing. There are moments when I can play a title like The Villa and let it wash over me in a slow wash of sensuality, but there are more moments when I have no patience for such subtle turn-ons. But, damn, does this film look pretty. And what fantastic kissing Blake captures! Grade: B

The Villa looks positively stunning in this vivid, filmlike 1.85:1 anamorphic-widescreen transfer. Detail is even better than other recent efforts, and colors are warm and erotic. The digital 5.1 audio track is just as aggressive as others reviewed here. The Raoul Valve music remains terrific.

For supplements, Girlfriends offers three Featurettes. The first, Burgundy Satin, is a great 10-minute boy-girl hardcore scene featuring Angela Crystal. The second is a trailer for The Villa, and the third is a selection of Andrew Blake Trailers.