Click for trailer; scene trailers linked below to screen captures

Performers of the Year 2014

Elegant Angel

Genre: Gonzo

Director: Mimefreak, Toni Ribas, Asa Akira, Carlos Dee

Cast: Riley Reid, Veruca James, Jon Jon, Toni Ribas, Bonnie Rotten, Ramon Nomar, Remy LaCroix, James Deen, Maddy O’Reilly, Karlos Karrera, Skin Diamond, Mr. Pete

Length: 209:41 minutes

Date of Production: 11/17/2013

Extras: For most, the best extra will be 12:42 minute long Behind the Scenes feature even if it was too short and skipped giving Remy LaCroix any interview material (though the extensive squirting by Bonnie Rotten was hawt!) in favor of spending almost ten minutes with Riley, other extras including the trailers, the photogallery, the pop shot recap, or web information.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Performers of the Year 2014 was presented in anamorphic widescreen color as shot by directors Mimefreak, Asa Akira, Carlos Dee, and Toni Ribas for Elegant Angel. This being one of the company flagship titles for years, I was curious how it would be handled, the idea to allow each company director to contribute potentially inspired as long as they each held up their end of the additional scrutiny such a release would get. For the most part, the differences between the individual directors were minimal too, much like the relative differences between Mason and Nutsack’s works for the company in years past, though the closer you look, the more you will find. The lighting was good and while this was no double disc extravaganza, it definitely worked as a visual treat, the amount of eye candy provided courtesy of an all star cast elevating the quality of the production for me. The editing by Michael Cates, Royson Hall, and Carlos Dee was decent too, the lack of company watermark on the screen at all times appreciated. The teases could have been lengthier and the male casting impacted the resulting heat but it was a solid title all around in terms of visuals. The aural components were similar too, the limited musical portions by Productiontrax during opening and tease montages replaced by the usual grunts and groans of the sexual trysts once the action began.

Body of Review: Mimefreak is the latest “new” director at Elegant Angel, the company undergoing massive changes last year when it swapped hands and most of the staff bailed for greener pastures. The latest release I’ve seen helmed by the man and his fellow directors at the company is called Performers of the Year 2014. As one of the company’s long standing flagship titles, I’m surprised it wasn’t sent out for release to the usual review circuit in a timely fashion, but the idea that it would become a collection of scenes from the directing staff instead of just one person intrigued me. The scenes were all new and followed a similar pattern, the technical aspects not getting in the way of a good time. My friend Sean picked up a copy recently and seemed to think it had some merit in his review, my initial take being that with a female cast as good as this (Bonnie Rotten, Remy LaCroix, Skin Diamond, Riley Reid, and Maddy O’Neil), the movie had a tremendous amount of potential even if the legacy issues and lack of a second disc remained in the back of my mind. One glance at the front cover and you’re likely to know how much you’re going to like this one no matter what any reviewer says, the use of second and third tier males notwithstanding. Here’s a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Scene One: Riley Reid, the 22 year old Miami native seen on the far right of the front cover, was up first with Veruca James and Jon Jon. The established formula had Riley in a skimpy pink dress talking about herself, this portion moving into a tease montage of her in sexy lingerie with a lot of fading out and camera angles inside and outside of the house. Once the montage was over, Riley started getting some lesbian action with Veruca James, the gash gobbling and rimming on the short side, but Veruca disappeared when Jon came in! I admit that this disappointed me, even knowing the decision makers decided Veruca was not worthy of being listed as a “performer of the year”, the wasted opportunity not lost on me though I like IR action plenty. Riley aggressively slobbed his knob and he gave her some minimal head, Jon tearing into her pussy after he rimmed her. Her perky little ass cheeks rippled delightfully well and she enjoyed impaling herself on his turgid pecker, limited taste testing included until the very end when she knelt to received her reward of genetic juice, swallowing the baby batter before molesting scene director Toni Ribas for a second round of semen in a POV hummer (raising an interesting question of why Veruca was credited yet Toni was not). The company website described the scene like this: “Riley Reid and Veruca James are here to fulfill your naughtiest fantasies in this 48 minute scene from Performers of the Year 2014. These two brunettes know they've got the magic, but even as he watches the ladies make out in lingerie, Jon Jon doesn't know what he's in for. It's not one, but two sultry and slender brunettes who love nothing more than sex, and they're having way too much fun to share in this interracial encounter...”

Scene Two: Bonnie Rotten, the heavily tattooed tour de force seen on the middle of the pack on the front cover, was up next in a scene shot by Mimefreak where she did Ramon Nomar. While the director thought it was their first encounter on opposite sides of the camera, she pointed out that he had shot her for Anal Fanatic 5, no wonder I thought the visuals there were an upgrade over Mick’s earlier works. In any case, Bonnie blew away her peers last year in many ways with her amazing performances, winning all sorts of awards from XCritic, AVN, and still impressing the rest of the world as she pushes herself further into depravity. She wore a peach colored bikini with white silk stockings, her panties combining both colors as she fingered her ass, skipping the tease montage altogether to take Ramon into her ass. For the record, I really like tease montages and the lengthier the better so while I was again a bit miffed at the change in program, the look on Bonnie’s face as she pushed back to meet his thrusts (with her panties pulled down just enough to allow it), reminded me that it really is all about the lady’s pleasure for me. He went from tapping her sweet ass to banging her moist pussy just for a second, an extensive bit of waterworks included as an extra in the BTS as she fingered herself, though strangely not included here too. I had no doubt that multi-orgasmic Bonnie got off repeatedly as the flexible gal contorted and positioned herself, it was just an interesting change of pace for me to see one of her trademarked stunts left out of the main scene. That said, she easily throated the mope and showed what cock worship is supposed to look like, rubbing him all over her face and then shoving him back in her ass for more active riding. The oral and anal themes ended with her showing continued waves of pleasure until he deposited his nut of population pudding all over her freckled face, Bonnie using some hand to gland friction to milk out every last drop of ball batter with Bonnie licking the white couch clean of his jizz. The company website described the scene like this: “Bonnie Rotten is a shoe-in for some award wins in the coming year, and we're placing our bets now, in Performers of the Year 2014! Savor the eye candy, as this sexy brunette does what sluts do best - get a guy on his back, and into her pussy! Even the foreplay starts with anal sex this time! Ramon gives Bonnie so much anal pounding that even this bad-ass nympho starts to whimper...”

Scene Three: Remy LaCroix, the hotty babe with pretty eyes seen on the far left side of the front cover, was up next with James Deen after her interview. Remy was one of the whirlwind performers of the last few years, her recent features showing she also provides superior acting skills as well. Thankfully, she was provided with a tease montage, the change here being that it started with her in the makeup chair, posing in the house in her skimpy lingerie until she stripped. Sadly, it was also too short for my tastes, Remy another babe who directors need to allow some quality time alone with to understand why her tease works so well. The montage over, she was kissing James on the couch, the gal still naked though he had his clothing on. She really connected with him and he spent ample time using his fingers to diddle her into a wet state of being, some playful slaps to her fleshy ass some rewarded as she climbed onto his cock to actively ride vaginally. She then mounted his face for some head before she reciprocated with a combination handjob and blowjob, focusing most of her attention on his head and balls as he licked her clean from clitoris to asshole. They then picked back up in a vaginal doggy where he fingers probed her own ass, the gal maneuvering his cock into her ass to get off before the oral and penetrative steps continued. The editing was smoother this time, with fewer obvious cuts, but the action relied more heavily on the chemistry between the couple to succeed. The fucking finished when he felt the urge to blast his spunk all over her face, Remy power sucking him as she swallowed his sperm, savoring him slowly as the camera faded out. The company website described the scene like this: “Remy LaCroix rides dick and face with the breathless, sexy giggles and delighted smiles that helped make her famous in this 42 minute scene from Performers of the Year 2014. Anyone who loves brunettes for their passionate playful natures, will have Remy on their list of favorite actresses, once they see this scene. Anyone who just likes seeing petite women take anal sex like it's a nonstop ticket to orgasm central, simply needs to see Remy in action!”

Scene Four: Maddy O’Reilly, the curvy cutie seen second from the left on the front cover, was up next in her first on camera B/B/G using Karlos Karrera and Ramon Nomar as her partners. While far from the best known lady of the bunch, Maddy had wowed a number of us over the past three years, the gal wearing a bright orange tank top and tight gray stretch pants as she was interviewed. Maddy made it clear that she planned to move her career to the next level, taking a darker route to do more of the circus act sex she has avoided to date in her trysts. Lacking another montage (curse you Elegant!), she was then placed on the edge of a bed in a largely white room while wearing sexy black lingerie. Karlos and Ramon took to feeling her up from the side after she was blindfolded, the gal alternating between them orally before the guys took turns banging her pussy. She was passive at first and worked to get her bearings as she blew one while the other plowed her, a finger in her ass and some slaps to her fleshy rump helping her to at least provide better dirty talk. Maddy finally began to bounce on cock vaginally as she was choked, the guys stupidly repositioning her on her side which led her to becoming passive again, her oral exploits now taking center stage. Thankfully, she was allowed to go cowgirl and impale herself vaginally from there, picking up the pace again before kneeling to take their wads of splooge all over her face, much of the sperm falling short of her when she took matters into her own hands. I admit that I expected her to do a DP here given the attention to her wonderfully sexy ass but as uneven as the scene was overall, it had at least some of the replay value the other scenes provided too. The company website described the scene like this: “Maddy O'reilly gets blindfolded and molested by two of her favorite studs, in this 36 minute scene from Performers of the Year 2014. First they want her mouth, but it doesn't take long before Ramon and Carlos tire of crowding into her mouth. That means it's time to fuck something even wetter and softer than a slutty tongue - a slutty pussy! She gets to see who she's sucking when the guys serve Maddy their cumshots...”

Scene Five: Skin Diamond, the exotic light skinned black gal seen on the front cover (second from the right), was up last but not least with Mr. Pete and James Deen. Her interview provided her with another chance to extrapolate on her humble beginnings, the familiar territory as she sat in her modest attire. Skin was allowed a brief tease montage while wearing some sexy lingerie, her sensual moves captured well by the director with some fancy editing to make it look more artistic. Fans of ladies built for speed over comfort almost certainly know all about how hot Skin is in her varied works to date, this scene again truncating the tease in favor of the sexual tryst but at least allowing the lady a chance to stand out. She ended up on the white couch masturbating when the guys approached her with erections in need of tending, Skin alternating between the men orally as she continued to diddle herself. She cranked up the dirty talk in a coy manner, her superior eye contact elevating he proceeding as they led her around the room. They banged her vaginally at first but her ass saw plenty of action too, Skin trying to push back to meet their thrusts as she zoned in pleasure, the resulting double penetration (DP) getting her off as the two peckers rubbed together inside their respective holes. The guys used all three holes as they saw fit from that point on, Skin getting off more as they worked her over and she threw herself into the ride. The guys then glazed her face one at a time, James making her lick up whatever man juice landed on the railing of the stairs until he diddled her to orgasm one last time. The company website described the scene like this: “Skin Diamond is a shoe-in for an award this year, so we had to include her in our January, 2014 release, Performers of the Year 2014. In this hardcore 43 minute threesome, Skin lets James Dean and Mr. Pete have everything their cocks desire from her tight ebony body. Skin's appetite for anal sex is legendary... when the guys start double penetrating her, it's almost like she's daring them both to fuck her even harder and deeper!”

Summary: Performers of the Year 2014 by director Mimefreak and others for Elegant Angel was often not what I expected, and I admittedly expected a lot from a series that I’ve reviewed and heavily promoted since it began. For that alone I would consider a lower rating, especially given some of the major issues pointed out above, but frankly, there was also a lot of top notch fuck for the buck here with the performers blowing away the newcomers in one of the other company flagship titles (Best New Starlets 2014; review forthcoming) to such a degree that it merited a rating of Highly Recommended for what it did provide. With three and a half hours of fucking and sucking by some of the very best ladies you will find in the industry this year, particularly Bonnie Rotten, Skin Diamond, and Remy LaCroix, though Riley Reid and Maddy O’Reilly are definitely “A listers” too, the minor aspects needing polishing up do not prevent this one from hitting the mark, even if they kept it short of an Xcritic Pick. In short, Performers of the Year 2014 was a super charge set of five scenes starring extremely sexy and talented ladies doing their thing as seen from four different points of view in this collaborative effort. I had my doubts going into it that this would work out as well as it did but it certainly showed that open minds might like a change or two from time to time, the company in good hands given the strength of this flagship title.