GENRE: Gonzo Scene Compilation
DIRECTORS: Jean-Yves LeCastel
STARS: Lucy Love, Robert Rosenberg, David Perry, Sara, Jean-Yves LeCastel, Christina Bella, Greg Centauro, Cindy Silver, Choki Ice, Alberto Rey, Roly Reeves, Nikki Sun
DATES OF PRODUCTION: 2003
LENGTH: 210 mins with bonus material

There is a classic scene from John Water's bad taste masterpiece Pink Flamingos that leaves many viewers freaked out and speechless. During a birthday celebration for Divine, a young man strips off his clothes and takes the stage. As the eyes of the audience are transfixed on him, he lies down, lifts his legs in the air and exposes his anus. The crowd roars with laughter. But this isn't the most amazing part. No, while the dude has his dumper in prime position, he begins to flex and reflex his sphincter muscle, causing his asshole to open and close with controlled regularity. The party guests are dumbstruck. As the butthole continues its determined dilation, a strange song plays on the soundtrack. And if you pay close attention, it looks like the rancid rosebud is actually singing along. As the mob falls apart in fits of cheerful hysterics, the talented titan of the tush takes his bows and vanishes into cinematic history. Yes, in one of the classic moments in crazy crass comedy, the gaping colon takes its place in the pantheon of gross out gags, right along side the hood who craps himself in Petey Wheatstraw and the volleys of vomit spewing from Mr. Creosote's mouth in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Let's face it the serenading shitter is funny. It's weird. It's transfixing. And it's...sexy? What? Well, according to the producers of Harder Faster 4, it is. Featuring perhaps some of the most hardcore XXX scenes in the mainstream of pornographic videos, this title champions the moment when a set of fingers or a dick can be withdrawn from a female's anus and the resulting yawning pooper can be shot in screen-filling close-up. Not once, not twice, but so many times that you wonder how these women ever crap normally again. Indeed, so much time is spent in search of the supposedly sensual "kook mal" (a phrase the foreign filmmaker screeches over and over again) that the actual frenetic fuck footage seems almost like an afterthought. Had Harder Faster 4 been less concerned about the fudge tunnel, it would be far more satisfying.

The DVD:
Harder Faster 4 has a strange construct to its scene compilation conventions. This is gonzo movie making, caught in the act fucking and sucking with hotel rooms and private residences making up the majority of locales. The unusual foundation for each scene is a lovely lady attempting to impress director (and occasional star) Jean-Yves LeCastel with their hardcore proclivities. With the help of between one to five men, Jean-Yves talks these gals through their scenes (and TALKS is the key word. This Parisian pornographer has no internal monologue. The Nice nuisance NEVER shuts up. He is a constant source of suggestions, color and play-by-play as the XXX action plays out) and sometimes joins in for more personal instruction. In some ways, it's hard to follow the flow of the sex, since there is a veritable grab bag approach to positions and partners. If you like a more ADD approach to hardcore, Harder Faster 4 will act as your ribald Ritalin. But the most bizarre is yet to come. About ¾ of the way through, once the pussy and the ass and the mouth and the hands have had more than enough dick in them of various and sundry shapes and sizes, the chocolate crater concentration begins. Jean-Yves calls for the male performers to loosen up the red eye and the men poke whatever they have handy in the back door orifice. After some manipulation and lots of pounding, the reamer is removed and – VIOLA! There it is! YESSSSSSSSSSS!!! A close-up shot of the inside of a woman's large intestines. Jean-Yves swoons (in his extended agreement – the YESSSSSSS!!! We hear over and over on the soundtrack) and the rest of the men try to make the south mouth open even wider.

This goes on forever. The French freak demands more rectum revealing and the audience learns that all the porking and snorking has lead up to endless offerings of a proctologist's wet dream. Once the infinite shots of the cavernous colon are complete, the money shots quickly arrive and it's on to the next setup. Looking at the lovin' individually offered in each scene (sans specifics since it is virtually impossible to follow the genital jiving) we have:

Scene 1: Lucy Love, Robert Rosenberg, David Perry
If you took a couple of erection enhancers, drank a fifth of Spanish Fly and ate your atomic weight in oysters and asparagus, you still wouldn't come up with the number of copulation formulations this threesome engages in during their 36 minute extravaganza. Just skimming the most superficial of surfaces we have ass eating, cunt licking, multiple dick sucking, simultaneous mouth and pussy/ass penetration, masturbation, spooning, doggie, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, anus fingering, ass to mouth, vagina to mouth, butt to bumpus and back again, double penetration and of course, bunghole blowing...lots and lots and lots of sphincter gaping. Make no mistake about it, Lucy is more than up for the compound carnality and both of her Euro-trash partners (looking incredibly unwashed in their massive five o'clock shadows and swarthy funk bodies) keep their poles vertical and trenchant. Now, if Jean-Yves would just SHUT THE FUCK UP! He never stops talking throughout the entire scene. Men are munching on Lucy's mons and JY is jonesing, adding his own epistle on the eating of snatch. Cocks are poking private places and LeCastel is LeDiarrhea of the Mouth, discussing particular parameters of "kookmal" (spelled phonetically) in his frilly French foppishness. At the end, when cum is flying and performers are panting, the orgasmic splendor is sapped as Jean-Yves is still engaging in the fine art of communication, offering his own post-spunk tangents.

Anyone who likes their hardcore leaning more towards the violent rather than the velvety side, this initial scene in Harder Faster 4 will surely get your groin's goat. Lucy is a very game young lady and the men breaching her britches are perfectly serviceable. If it wasn't for that bombastic windbag Jean-Yves, the scene would be vulgar, but very satisfying. As it is, just as you're getting a good head on your hog, the accented antics of JY slam the salami back down to Earth. But perhaps the most unappetizing moment comes with all that ass gaping. If you like it, you'll love this title. If it turns your innards into bile factories, be prepared to loose several lunches. Score: 6/10

Scene 2: Sara, Jean-Yves LeCastel
Sara is a rather attractive brunette who is sitting on Jean-Yves lap when the scene begins. JY is talking again, but this time he is working on his bedside manner, trying to get the lovely lady in the mood. It works. After a little tit play and mandatory salad tossing, there is a long session of llama lunching. Sara likes being serviced and returns the favor with mandatory meat masticating. She even deep throats the filmmaker's tool with relative ease. Fucking begins in the vaginal doggie style. Then there's more salad snacking and some anal doggie. Naturally, ass gaping is accentuated. There is anal reverse cowgirl, with more gaping, some regular cowgirl with even more shots of opened orifices, and a return to anal doggie with...you guessed it, extreme close-ups of blowing colons. JY retreats to straight sex street and then moves on to a regular bout of butt fucking. In order to finish off the deed, we get a straight leap from ass to mouth as Sara brings her director/partner to climax. A large amount of liquid streams across her face and mouth. When he's not running his mouth like a hyperactive chimp, the sex scenes in Harder Faster 4 can be very erotic – routine and rather manic, but erotic none the less. This means that while the action is still very coarse and nearly passionless, the hardcore really rocks your rod. Score: 7.5/10

Scene 3: Christina Bella, Greg Centauro
Hands down the best scene on the DVD, if only for the fact that once Jean-Yves stops grilling the gal in question (the fake, if somewhat fetching Christina) he keeps his trap shut and the action is allowed to play out without some manner of cracked commentary. Chris gives Greg a nice long blowjob that leads to some sexy 69. Greg tosses Ms. Bella's butt greens and eats her pussy while fingering the stinker. He then can't resist an opportunity to tongue fuck her ass. There is a robust round of fucking, beginning with straight vaginal, then moving into tit friggin'. During a female superior moment, both Christina and Greg touch the gal's glory hole. Primed for pushing, Ms. B's ass is filled with frankfurter and the anal antics begin. Cowgirl, spooning, reverse cowgirl and doggie are all on the menu, in between the standard close-ups of yawning poop chutes. Along with a little spanking, Greg finishes his fucking with some very deeply penetrating anal doggie. A trip from the dumper to the chops leaves our leading man ready to rock. He lets loose his load all over Christina's face and mouth. And while the lass is licking her lips, Greg comes over top and plants a nice long French one on her, sharing some of his semen. Although Christina is very arch here (looking a little disconnected, resorting to the same tongue across teeth move to suggest passion) the XXX is exxxtremely hot and makes for a very steamy scene. Score 8.5/10

Scene 4: Cindy Silver, Choki Ice, Alberto Rey, Roly Reeves, Jean-Yves LeCastel
If someone needed an idea of what an uncontrolled free-for-all of men, penises and a single woman looked like, this over-the-top example of female subservience would be a stellar, if somewhat unnerving, example. Cindy Silver is, perhaps, the most overworked woman in the history of hardcore. She takes so many multiple penetrations (at one point, she has a dick in her ass, one in her pussy, another in her mouth and a fourth guy jockeying for manual manipulation) from the men here, that this orgy turns oppressive for her. Several times, she shuns cock, making a face that indicates a level of distaste that is disturbing. Even at the end, when she appears happy and satisfied, it's probably more out of a sense of having the man-athon over and done with, a chance to give her raw and ravaged privates a well-deserved bath in penicillin, than anything else. This is one tough scene. There is so much going on here that one can barely keep track. A play-by-play would go on for ages. Let's put it this way, without going into all those details, this lady services four men, in any manner they want, while still providing many instances of gaping anus, in only 25 short minutes. OUCH! There are moments when, all potential exploitation aside, the action in this scene is red hot. There are also times when you feel like you're watching the sexual equivalent of a snuff film. If you're into the group grope scene, this sequence will stiffen your shaft. Just don't be surprised if a small amount of guilt sets in as well. Score: 6/10

Scene 5: Nikki Sun, Jean-Yves LeCastel
Our final scene of the series is rather weird. Jean-Yves is pretending to be asleep. Nikki wants to wake him up. Apparently, on the European continent, the proper procedure for rousing a man from his slumber is to lick on his nuts. And then we learn that the appropriate response to such a cocksucking salute is to tit fuck your friend. Showing his love of the rancid rosebud, even this early in the morning, Jean-Yves gives Nikki a good salad tossing and then fucks her, vaginally, in the doggie position. After giving her butt a further juicy loosening, JY jams his Johnson deep into Nikki's nether regions. We get anal doggie – with gaping – some regular anal and deep penetration – with gaping – and both anal reverse and regular cowgirl with – you guessed it – gaping. The filmmaker directs his drizzle all over Nikki's waiting face. Voila! Another glorious day in the heart of hardcore country. Nikki is very nice looking and Jean-Yves is a lot less talkative when he has to handle the humping. So this means a sizzling sequence of sexual excitement, right? Well, sort of. There are so many close-ups of half-dollar size sphincters threatening to swallow the camera that these bits of biology really undermine the fucking and sucking. Jean-Yves obviously thinks that fans of flesh like this particular pucker angle. This critic is not amused. Score: 7/10

Let's begin an overview of Harder Faster 4 with the following caveat. If seeing a worn-out anus, used and abused by multiple penile penetrations, extremely up close and in more detail than you ever imagined, sends your organ into fits of sensual sex spasms, then by all means, yank your crank right along with Jean-Yves and his merry band of butt spelunkers. Without a doubt, the action on this DVD is intense, erotic and very stimulating. The last three scenes in particular really ratchet up the raunchy, turning the turbulent, violation nature of the fucking and sucking into something borderline exploitative. For those who don't like women to function as mere cum dump trucks however, available blank personality orifices just waiting for meat to fill them, then Harder Faster 4 may not entice your tool. The gals here are just bodies; they could be dead for all the hard-ons care. This is especially true in the gangbang, where Cindy Silver, on several occasions, appears to be personally uncomfortable as erect ramrodders constantly shove cock in her face with a desire to have her suck on their schlongs. These moments of inferred misery, marked by the cinematic concentration on the asshole, makes Harder Faster 4 a testosterone friendly film. Guys will dig the degrading nature of the nookie and this title truly lives up to its name.

The other important issue to note is that director Jean-Yves is a real yakker. This guy really likes the sound of his own voice, and even when he's getting great head or helming a brilliant bit of bonking, he just won't shut up. He always has to thrust something into a sequence, even if it's just his opinion. This makes for a very talk heavy pornographic experience. And since no music is used to set the scenes, we are stuck with LeCastel's long-winded witticisms. There are times when he does finally shut up (Thank GOD!) but his broken English enhancements (with a focus on words like "romantic" "erotic" and "yes") seem to be Harder Faster 4's calling card. And how much you enjoy this title overall will be in direct proportion to his ridiculous rap.

The Video:
From a purely aesthetic perspective, Harder Faster 4 looks very good. The 1.33:1 full screen image is colorful, nicely contrasted, and full of details (especially of the derriere variety). But there may be individuals out there who dislike Jean-Yves directing style. He loves a first person POV manner of shooting, so there is a lot of auteur interaction with the camera – hands coming around the lens, entering into scenes, fondling the females, etc. The other problem this causes is a lack of medium or long shots. Most all the action is in relative to extreme close-up. If you are hoping to see body on body dynamics, you'll feel unsatisfied here. But if your proclivities lead more toward the body part on body part arena, HF4 is the scenic source for this compositional conceit.

The Audio:
Since our only soundtrack for the majority of the scenes is Jean-Yves running his trap, there is very little in the aural aspects to get excited about. The Dolby Digital Stereo is adequate and the non-miked voices (JY wears one, naturally) are still capable of being heard. It would have been nice to have some music to play over or under the action. But instead, we only get the running commentary (in occasional distorted moments) or the typical noises of pornography.

The Extras:
Aside from two rather wicked bonus scenes (stuff far more extreme than what is contained in HF4, in actuality) we are treated to some trailers (nothing too enticing) a rather routine photo gallery and a "web trailer"...huh? Anyway, at least the extra sequences make up for the shoddy shit to be found amongst the rest of the additional offerings (and where is the Behind the Scenes featurette?!?!). The additional installments are as follows:

Double Anal Bonus Scene 1: Ani Blonde, Mary, Chocky Ice, Greg Centauro, David Perry, Ian Scott, Leslie Taylor
From: Harder, Faster 3
32 mins
Since there is a review of this title on the DVD Talk site, it is not necessary to try and run down the various sexual positions that play out in this orgiastic exercise in group grunting. Let's just say that the most amazing moments occur when one of our young ladies takes two cocks in her ass and the men pound the pastrami out of her. And the final money moment is also worth noting. The five fuckers all line up and unleash their load in one your girl's gob. She holds the hot spunk until the last loser has let go and then she crawls over to her gal pal and in a long, liquid loogey, she shares the sperm. WHOA! Again, the quick cut parameters of the action – Quick! Got to show the guys giving Mary some anal lovin' Oops! Ani is taking two cocks in her mouth! – can be distracting and at some point, we stop trying to follow the debauched designs and merely witness a fornication frenzy. For some, this will be the ultimate. For others, the lack of focus will affect the overall erotic elements. Score: 7/10

Bonus Scene 2: Audrey Hollander Otto Bauer, Manuel Ferrara
From: Anal Trainer #7
25 mins
Ok – Audrey is a complete fucking whore. This is not a putdown, mind you. She refers to herself as such over and over again in this severe scene. Any gal who starts a sex sequence with a fist sized red butt plug completely lost up her ass (almost disappearing in her) is far too familiar with fucking to be called gentile. There is a great deal of positional possibilities covered in this menage a trois. The highlights include a double anal penetration that consists of one man's big fucking dick and that notorious hinder hindrance device. Also, there is a lot of ass to mouth, both with cock and vinyl devices. At a certain point, Audrey takes FOUR fingers up her butt without batting an eye. She also has all available inputs filled by penis and plastic. With rather weak money shots, though, the overall inference is that Ms. Hollander got a Hell of a lot more out of this than her partners. Again, the distinct feeling of uncontrolled violation occurs, even though we know Audrey is into it. So if you don't mind feeling a tad filthy after watching a wild scene like this, the final bonus will bolster your beef with ease. But there may be those whose temperament prefers less 'abusive' acts of love. Score: 8/10

Final Thoughts:
It's sad when you consider that the lasting images from Harder Faster 4 are not women in the middle of wanton sexual desire or well-endowed dudes dropping love bombs on their beauties. No, the vision that keeps violating your optical memory is of those gaping assholes, insides filled with overworked lube and swollen with overuse. It's like staring into the belly of the beast, literally. There will be those macho males who scoff at such suggestions and champion the beauty of the Hershey highway, but the constant close-ups of the crapper taints Harder Faster 4's otherwise intense fuck fun. Though right on the precipice of puke inducing for the old Dirge, the Peter Meter registers a healthy 7.5 out of 10, meaning that this compilation wanders over into the almost highly recommended category. There is nothing here for the ladies, however. Even with the plethora of international beefcake (and some rather attractive cocksmen) the action is too extreme. Therefore, a Cohabitation Certification is withheld. Though it may seem prudish to pontificate over, there is such a thing as hardcore action that pushes the limits of human endurance. And when the ladies are laden with log in Harder Faster 4, the forced fornication can seem excessive. But it's the bevy of butthole brandishes that makes this DVD a challenge. Ass men and individuals fixated on the wrinkled stinker will simply adore this. Others will find it to be too much funky onion for a single serving.