Genre: Feature

Director: Paul Thomas

Cast: Sasha Grey, Penny Flame, Aliana Love, Allie Foster, Beverly Hills, Brynn Tyler, Carmen McCarthy, Emilianna, Kelly Wells, Megan Monroe, Ricki Raxxx, Robin Truelove, Trent Tesoro, Tom Byron, Evan Stone, Voodoo, Lee Stone, Marco Banderas, Herschel Savage, Jack Logan, Jerry, Jordan Lane, Rocco Reed, Pike Nelson, Sebastian Silver, Joseph Knight, Darth Franklin

Length: 124 minutes

Date of Production: 6/17/2008

Extras: There is a sensational Behind the Scenes segment that lasts about twenty-two minutes. The highlights are two stand-out interviews with Aliana Love and Penny Flame. Ms. Rose talks about her nationality and her character in the film. Moments later in a different location, she discusses deep throating and, in particular, how she teaches Sasha's character that method. Aliana is very personable. Furthermore, Penny Flame's interview is also very entertaining. She talks about her character and the many issues that her detective alter-ego has to go through during the film. Ms. Flame also discusses her attraction to Tom Byron. During this BTS, in general, the women actresses are interviewed while getting their make-up applied to their faces. Kelly Wells is another actress who is interviewed during this process. There are clips of the movie that are shown while the women talk. Tom Byron and Herschel Savage are also included in this package. Sasha Grey makes an appearance as she is putting on make-up. Another super addition to the extras are five Bonus Scenes or so-called Vivid Girl Extras. The first one is from the movie 20 Questions. It has Meggan Mallone and Friends. Next, a scene from the highly successful The Nikki Jayne Experiment. This one stars Miss Nicki with Ben English and Mick Blue. Power has the gorgeous Savannah Sampson with Derrick Pierce. Sugar is definitely sweet as ever with the threesome of Kelly Wells, Lorena Sanchez, and the steady Rocco Reed. In TheSet-Up, Riley Evans, Sarah Vandella, and Alex Gonz do a fine job in rounding up the bonus scene collection. There is a Positions Room package in which the viewer can select from several sex positions such as missionary, doggy, oral sex, and cum shot. A nice looking photo gallery or so-called Movie Gallery got my attention. Four good Vivid previews are also included. They are All Dressed Up, Going Deep, Funny Bone, and Strip Tease. Advertisements on Vivid products, phone sex ads, and web information round out this fine extras package.

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: The audio quality is well done. It's never difficult to hear the dialogue. The background music is always appropriate to the scene. It really becomes important during the Zone Club orgy scenes. The mood during that part of the movie had to be one of bewilderment and dismay in order to experience how the two detectives are feeling while watching all of the debachery around them. The music that surrounds Sasha Grey when it does appear allows us to feel her lonliness and vulnerabity that she hides in her sexual persona. As to the video quality, the lighting is also done very well. Paul Thomas made sure that like the music, the visual atmospherics had to enhance the mood that he was trying to express to the audience. Going back to the Zone Club, I agree with the darkness of the setting since the orgy scenes had to be raw. Another scene in which the visual setting was important was A Private Client in which Sasha Grey's character is giving a blowjob to Herschel Savage's mysterious stranger character. It felt creepy and the setting had to have been dark. It's too bad that the only person who could had been her guardian angel ended up using her like everyone else. It's very tragic.

Overview: Throat: A Cautionary Tale is from Vivid Entertainment Group. In recent years, Vivid has been looking back to past classics and putting their own spin on them. The idea of remaking Deep Throat was conceived by Vivid's head honcho Steven Hirsch. There was a Showtime series titled Deeper Throat that chronologized the making of Vivid's newest reincarnation of a classic. Arrow Productions, the ones who own the Deep Throat franchise, and Vivid have been battling each other in legal litigation over this remake. For the most part, Vivid has been winning its argument despite Arrow's continual fight. When comparing the newer version to the classic one, the only similarity is that their lead character has a clit in the back of her throat. Other than that one feature, the storylines are totally different. Furthermore, the classic Deep Throat was a comedy whereas Throat: ACautionary Tale is a murder/mystery. Sasha Grey puts out a role of a lifetime. It would had been quite easy for the audience to not be emotionally tied to a freak of nature. Heck, it is a porn flick afterall. However, to the credit of Sasha Grey, she makes Julie Garrett very likeable and we feel sorry for her. We feel her vulnerabilities and hate it when those who are suppose to have her best intentions, just use her for their own selfish reasons. She is a tragic figure. Ms. Grey brings heart and soul to her character. Another fine performance comes from Penny Flame. Her Detective Byrd Smith role has so many issues from marital problems to alcoholism that it would be fitting for Vivid to make a spin-off feature based on her character. They should bring Ms. Flame and Tom Byron back to reprise their great roles. They have great chemstry together. Penny Flame has so much to offer that it was unfortunate that she was unable to broaden her character's role. But, it is quite understandable. Throat is all about Julie Garrett. There is a very fine cast of supporting characters. I had mentioned Tom Byron. He plays Detective Joe Gilette. He is Byrd Smith's partner. These two cops have a sexual "thing" going on. Aliana Love is Lane. She is a peep show girl who ends up being Julie Garrett's best friend. She may be the only person who really cares for her. Evan Stone is Danny Quinn who is the club promoter and who takes Julie under his wing. Trent Tesoro plays Julie's dispicable boyfriend. He does a great job in making his character the most hated man in adult film in a very long time. As to the overall sex scenes, many viewers might be disappointed that they were not as lengthy as they may be accustomed to in adult films. However, I applaud the change. The shortness of many of the scenes allowed more time elsewhere to the storyline. The script is well written and the pace of the movie is well crafted. The murder/mystery plot brought a sense of anticipatory hunger of who killed Julie Garrett. From suspect to suspect, we never could figure out who killed her until the end of the movie.

Sasha Grey

Aliana Love and Sasha Grey

Scene One: Peep Show Arcade: It is Julie Garrett's first performance. The female student played by Sasha Grey needs to earn money to support herself through school. Once the audience takes their seats, the newcomer enters the stage and sits on the chair. Sasha bares her breasts and runs a long dildo on them. Soon, the woman removes her black lingerie and panties. We see her nude with only sexy heels on her feet. While sitting, she plays with her lovebox and sucks the toy. As she is fucking herself with the dildo, Lane played by Aliana Love enters the stage. She teases the men with an erotic dance. Next, the lady uses a red, rubbery dildo on her gemstone in a chair. Meanwhile, Sasha continues with her sexual play. Aliana pleasures herself with her toy in several positions. Her performance is more energetic and confident than the reserved first-timer's. The close-ups of the fucking are good. The men are seated in the dark. The stage is lit, but not too bright. There are shadows. The atmospherics are appropriate to the scene. There is an effective background music. We do not hear any of the womens' moans during their performances. Going back to Sasha, it's important to note that she is intrigued by the other woman. She glances at her often. Aliana looks at Sasha too, but not too often. She focuses on her main goal which is to turn on the guys and give them a good show. At the end, only one man applauds.

Aliana Love and Sasha Grey

Sasha Grey and Aliana Love

Scene Two: Julie's Special Gift: Lane teaches Julie on how to give a better performance. While sitting on a chair, the more experienced woman gets comfortable and relaxes, slowly touches her own body, touches her own tits, looks out to the make believe crowd, flirts, opens up her own legs, touches her own face, leans back, licks her own fingers, pretends to play with herself, moans, pretends she is getting off, smiles, flirts, touches herself, and makes eye contact. Then, she wants Julie to show her what she had learned from her demonstration. So, her student goes through several of those moves and does a hot, sensual performance. Next, Aliana tells Sasha that she should "deep-throat" the dildo so that she will not have to show off her pussy too quickly to the paid crowd. When Sasha tries it, she chokes. Some honey is applied to the toy. Then, the woman "deep-throats" and it is very erotic and intense. The background music really enhances the mood to this situation.

Sasha Grey and Trent Tesoro

Scene Three: Amazing: Back at home, Julie and her boyfriend, Eddie Matthews kiss. Trent Tesoro feels her titties. Then, she gives him a nice-looking blowjob. The close-ups and camera actions are good. She takes his meaty rod all the way inside her mouth. She gags while performing her "deep-throat" technique on him. His cock is very wet and sticky. Watching her perform her special gift on an actual person is a whole lot different than seeing her down a dildo. Even though she gets off on it, I felt sorry for her. Sasha has definitely created a very likeable character by now. The lighting is very good. It's not dark at all.

Aliana Love, Kelly Wells, and Marco Banderas

Penny Flame, hands of Beverly Hills and Voodoo

Voodoo, Beverly Hills, and Penny Flame

Scene Four: The Zone Club: Detectives Joe Gilette and Bryd Smith played by Tom Byron and Penny Flame enter the Zone Club. The room is semi-dark with wall-to-wall couples performing sex. The looks on the cops' faces are shots of dismay and bewilderment. We see several of the women sucking cocks while others are getting fucked. The interior configuration of the club is similar to a maze. Between the two detectives, Detective Bryd is more curious than her partner. The glances of the female cop looking back at her partner gives an indication that she has feelings for him. As they are watching a three-some consisted of Marco Banderas, Kelly Wells, and Aliana Love, Tom Byron leaves, but Penny Flame stays. She is intrigued by all of the raw activity that surrounds her. The camera focuses on the sexual act of the two women and one man. He fucks Kelly's mouth and, then, she rides him reverse cowgirl style. Kelly rubs Aliana's rose while Marco doggies the blond. Moments later, the stud has Aliana riding his cock the cowgirl way. Afterwards, Kelly performs a reverse cowgirl on the man's well-worked on manhood as Aliana rubs her own private plaything beside them. Suddenly, the scene switches to the exterior of the club. Tom leaves and Penny tells him that she is going home, but ends up back at the club without him ever knowing. But first, the woman changes into a short dress in the restroom. When she reenters the gathering, the activity is still going on. Suddenly, she sees a man caressing a blond woman's ass at the top of the staircase. Penny moves closer to the action. The woman is giving him a sensual bj. The detective is totally fascinated by them. One can see it in her eyes. She even feels the woman. The music enhances the scene. Meanwhile, Penny plays with her own plaything. Soon, she gets groped by two pairs of hands. Her cute smile gives the audience her nod of appreciation. Dark-haired Beverly Hills plays with her tits while Voodoo concentrates on Detective Byrd's snatch. Later, she eats the woman's pearl while the man continues to pleasure Penny's sexual region. Afterwards, Voodoo uses a lot of energy to screw the brunette woman missionary style as Ms. Flame tastes the woman's lovebox and kisses her. She also caresses her breasts. Later on, the lucky man doggies the cop as she orally focuses on the woman's rose. The man screws Penny missionary style while the other woman tastes Penny's lovebox and feels her breasts. Penny sucks his wet cock and returns to drilling the brunette woman. The women kiss. I like the vocal come-ons of the other woman while she is getting fucked in the ass. Finally, Voodoo pulls out of her and shoots his load on her body. Penny licks the cum off the woman's body. During the entire Zone Club scene, the partiers are Kelly Wells, Beverly Hills, Megan Monroe, Ricki Raxx, Robin Truelove, Brynn Tyler, Emilianna, Marco Banderas, Voodoo, and Rocco Reed.

Sasha Grey and Trent Tesoro

Scene Five: Sex Addict: Julie's boyfriend Eddie is on the couch. Julie walks towards him. They kiss. He moves down her body and reaches her pleasure spot and focuses his talents on it. The close-ups of her crotch and camera shots are good. Her passion fruit is wet. A cowgirl ride occurs. A very brief blowjob follows. It's just enough time to taste her juices on it. Then, a doggie follows. We feel for Sasha's character. An anal spooning follows. The tight close-up is swell. Julie rides his cock afterwards. The energy level is cool. Then, Eddie cums at her receptive open mouth.

Sasha Grey

Sasha Grey with blow banger

Sasha Grey

Scene Six: Blow Bangers: Eddie wants a Harley and he knows who can get it for him. The totally horrendous Eddie Matthews sets up a blow job session with Julie and a group of men. The blow bangers are standing in line in a garage or a warehouse at the bottom of a wooden staircase. There are about twenty guys waiting to get their cocks sucked. The routine is for each man to pay Eddie before he walks up the stairs and enters Julie's room. For the most part, she is already on her knees. This image of her is very striking and sad. When the first man enters her room, she looks very willing to perform the deed. She sucks him well with a smooth, steady motion. She gags at the end and he cums in her open mouth. Astonishingly, Julie looks quite content as the second man appears. The lady strokes him off on her face. The woman wipes her face with her fingers and tastes his goo. The third guy shows up. She takes his cock without any reluctance. Her "deep-throat" of him makes her gag. She jacks him off too. Afterwards, Julie rips a paper towel off a roll. We feel sorry for the young woman. This routine of ripping off a paper towel continues after each succeeding blow banger. Four of the satisfied men are Jordan Lane, Jack Logan, Pike Nelson, and Sebastian Silver.

Evan Stone and Sasha Grey

Scene Seven: Julie & Danny: Sasha strokes Evan Stone's soon-to-be legendary cock and sucks it with tender loving care. She gags while "deep-throating" him. Next, the sweet woman rides his big manhood cowgirl style. She sucks it briefly before a 69 occurs. Sasha is on top. Next, he gives her a heaping spoonful of sugar. Mr. Stone fucks her in the mouth. Moments later. a missionary hump follows. The woman really screams a lot. Then, she sucks his rod and gags again while "deep-throating" him. An anal spooning occurs. During this activity, Sasha is sucking on a fat dildo. Later, she strokes him while he fucks her mouth with the toy. A doggie is performed as she sucks the dildo. Lastly, he pulls out and cums on her ass.

Tom Byron and Penny Flame

Penny Flame and Tom Byron

Scene Eight: Punish Me: In an alley, Penny teases Tom while undressing. He ties his necktie around her neck. Her partner actually chokes her later in the scene. But, for now, he spanks her butt. She gets on her knees and orally stimulates his weapon. Her treatment on him is hot. We can't keep our eyes off her. A doggie follows. Soon, while laying on his back, Tom receives another bj. Her cute ass is shown. Penny rides him next. The detectives have chemistry. A missionary and a spooning follows. Penny's body is amazing. She rides him again before stroking him off. The scene ends when she kisses the tip of his cock. She really loves him.

Sasha Grey and Herschel Savage

Scene Nine: A Private Client: While a couple is having sex in the other room, the tall stranger played by Herschel Savage wants Julie to "deep-throat" him. After giving her money for her service, the man gets his condom covered dick pleasured by the talented female cocksucker. Not feeling totally satisfied, he gets her to remove his condom so that he can feel her mouth on his flesh. He cums on her chest. The scene felt creepy. He used her like everyone else. At the end of the scene, we see the other couple in the other room. He jacks off on his partner's ass. The blond woman is Carmen McCarthy.

Sasha Grey and Lee Stone

Scene Ten: Julie vs. Dante: As Julie is on the couch, Dante DeMarco played by Lee Stone rides in on his motorcycle on the stage. He walks towards the woman and she sucks his monster cock immediately. She takes all of his meaty sausage with ease. She shows us why she is a great blowjob talent. When she hears the plans that they have for her, she gags and bites his dick. Her mouth is full of blood.

Final Thoughts: Throat: A Cautionary Tale is a movie that will pull you in from the start and not let you go. The murder/mystery gets your attention immediately, but when a live Sasha Grey enters the scene, you are fully committed to her and the movie. You want to know why she had to die and who killed her. Ms. Grey's portrayal of the loveable Julie Garrett will earn her numerous awards from the AVNs to the XRCOs. She was able to bring heart and soul to a fascinating role. Julie Garrett is totally a tragic figure. Meanwhile, Penny Flame's portrayal of the multi-troubled detective could rival the lead character. Of course, this was not the vehicle to get into a more broader inspection of Detective Byrd Smith. A separate movie would be the more appropriate vessel. I encourage Vivid Entertainment to follow up on my idea. If done right, Penny Flame and her movie could receive many awards as well. Her character deserves it. I bet the fans will love it too. The script and Paul Thomas deserve award recognition as well. The pace of the action is super and the viewer is always wanting to know what is going to happen next. It has been a long time since an adult feature came out where the storyline was more important than the sex scenes. The ending is a total surprise. I highly recommend this movie. It's one of the best movies of the year.