Menu #1 (click for trailer)

screen captures from the SD version

Not The Cosbys XXX Blu-ray

X-Play/Hustler Video

Genre: Sitcum, Parody

The Ladies!

Director: Will Ryder

Non-sex roles: Thomas Ward, Cassidy Clay, Nina Devon

Length: 149:11 minutes

Thomas "Cliff" Ward in the opening credits

Dates of Production: 12/9/2008, 12/10/2008, 12/11/2008, 12/13/2008, 12/14/2008, 12/15/2008, 12/17/2008, 12/18/2009

Extras: First off, it should be noted that to keep costs down, the company decided to go with a single disc release, requiring some of the bonus material be edited out.  Personally, I hate this approach even though I understand the economic realities of it The single disc Blu-ray dropped the three unrelated bonus scenes and a few of the short BTS featureds (editing the rest) but had a nicely elevated video bitrate for those that care about the true "meat & potatoes" part of the upgrade.  It provided some solid extras, the initial one catching my eye being the full length audio commentary starring Will Ryder, Thomas Ward, Misty Stone, and Monica Foster (and a cameo via cell phone by Lana Violet). While Will led the discussion, the rest of the cast chimed in a lot, even though they spent significant time enjoying the movie (it was the first time they saw the show). Still, they added a lot of detail and background information so fans may want to plan spending some time with it as a result.  There was also an option to replay the menu intro (which was kind of cute for fans of the show). The disc had trailers, a long Slide Show,  but the biggest deal of all were the Eight Behind the Scenes features (see my screen capture). The first four were "on the set" versions (9:23, 10:26, 10:23, and 10:14 minutes respectively), the fifth was a series of cast interviews (22:27 minutes), part six was the usual director/producer travelogue (18:21 minutes), seven focused on the music (18:47 minutes), eight dealt with a 7:46 minute long interview of Thomas Ward by Director Will Ryder. There was a wealth of information provided in these segmented features for fans of movie making, fans of the cast, and those of you wanting to see the kind of work that goes into "doing it right", which I get asked about way too often by production companies unwilling to watch these themselves. There were some dramatic moments when tempers flared, times when I thought a few of the ladies were going to jump the director for a quickie, and a whole lot of minute detail anecdotes from a variety of viewpoints (Will, Jay, Richard, and Nick Ventura, and Eric Swiss seemed to shoot most of these features, Scott helping out a time or two as well). Tim Studley getting pissed off, Jeff goofing on director Eli Cross's comments, the fact that two separate volumes were being shot at the same time, and the importance of comedian Thomas Ward were all covered and more. Wow!

Misty "Denise" Stone

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: Not The Cosbys XXX Blu-ray was presented in a crisp widescreen using a 1.78:1 ratio as shot by director Will Ryder for X-Play. The resolution was 1080i using the AVC codec for this high definition upgrade. The bitrate on the feature tended to hover around the 9.8 Mbps mark when I spot checked it, the "Kmart" lighting allowing for all the proper body equipment to be seen in motion easily but also mirror the look of the show itself. One of the things many directors have trouble with is properly lighting black performers, especially when they are having sex with white performers, but this was not an issue this time, Tim Studley's lighting making it easier to shoot the scenes. There were few visual elements that were not very much in tune with making the movie look mainstream and the DVD appeared to handle them very well. The director and cast mention a few of these issues on the commentary but the closer you watch and listen, the more you will see just how much effort was put into doing this one "right" rather than doing it as expediently as possible, the basic reason why X-Play sitcums are the Criterion standard of the porn world while all others tend to fall short (the preplanning and post production work amounting to the icing on the cake). While I used to rail when I heard the director/publicist tell me "this one is so much better than all the others" so often, I'd be lying if I said he wasn't accurate in his description, the work by Scott David alone as Art Director and Co-Producer elevating these titles substantially, providing the proper counterbalance to Ryder's dedicated visions of the shows. This time even the editing by Mark Dawop at Copper Digital (AKA: "the sixth floor guy" who also handled a variety of other technical aspects on the movie) was upgraded, the end result in a class by itself. The high definition version, if done on double disc to insure a high bitrate, is almost assuredly going to be a standout looking title under his guidance). The audio was presented in the usual 2.0 Dolby Digital English using a 192 Kbps audio bitrate and 48 kHz sampling rate. The vocals were decently recorded with few moments sounding like they were dubbed or otherwise looped. If you listen very closely, you might hear something in the background here and there but for the most part, the voices were clear to hear and balanced with the music and laugh track. The score was the product of the infamous Jeff Mullen and Rock Hardson, more about it seen on the BTS segment (#7 mentioned above) than most people will ever care about, a few professional musicians joining the pair (including "Bone Her" on guitar and "Chazzy" on sax) to make the aural experience reflect the homage this entire production was towards the original show work.

Most of the orgy members (Misty and Tori aside)

Body of Review: Will Ryder & Scott David are currently the most reliable team in the porn industry for handling parodies (also called "Sitcums") of mainstream projects, bar none. Their homages to some of the most beloved television shows in history have worked so well, they appear to be on speed dial to the mainstream media, including shows such as Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, with performers trying exceptionally hard to land roles in their works as a means of standing out from the endless supply of flavor of the month types populating the industry. That said, their company X-Play is the leading source of sitcums worth mentioning, each project elevating the bar ever higher to frustrate the hordes of copycats seeking to cash in on the genre but unwilling to put in the effort to "do it right". Their latest release is a long awaited interracial title called Not The Cosbys XXX Blu-ray, arguably the highest profile work they've done, finishing just in time for the Bill Cosby show's 25th Anniversary. The original show garnered all sorts of awards and helped introduce black people to a mainstream audience without the need for silly stereotypes, showing an upper class family consisting of a doctor, his lawyer wife, and a bunch of screwball kids that drive them crazy. Unlike most sitcums though, the key to making this one work was not just the excellent casting, a solid script, or the myriad of technical issues to be solved, but the lead role which is now played by comedian Thomas Ward. To say he "nailed it" would be an understatement but as the key player in the cast, he helped make the rest of it work on many levels. The movie works well as an episode where Denise (Misty Stone) wants to lose her virginity but wants it to be special, the rest of the cast getting in on the fun as well. Here's a brief look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used for those still interested:

Tori Black and Tyler "Theo" Knight

Scene One: Denise Gets It On By Herself: Misty "Denise" Stone, playing wayward child "Denise" who was stressed out about going to college and her friends all getting laid while she was a virgin. She's the hotty on the back row of the cover wearing blue (with the frilly hair), a classy looking babe that looks even better in person (don't ask). Anyway, after an amusing exchange between her and her "father" (Thomas Ward), she went up to her room to masturbate, her lean young figure looking ever so sweet on the bed as she rubbed one out. It was over too soon but showed her oiling up and playing with a nubbed purple vibrator, her all natural body certainly worth more attention any time she wants it from me (or her soon to be legion of fans). Yum!

Monica "Clair" Foster

Scene Two: Slumber Party Group Sex: Jenny Hendrix, Jaylyn Fox, Lana Violet, Sarah Vandella, Dick James, and Jay Ashley, were up next in a large orgy taking place in a living room. Jay was a bit old for the situation but the ladies were all in fine form, Sarah looking especially hot, Jenny always welcome with her sweet booty, and Lana adding some spice to the cast. Jaylyn rounded out the female portion of the cast with Dick serving up some large schlong for the gals to appreciate. The orgy mixed it up a lot with the ladies working each other as much as the men, sucking cock and pussy with some rimming to boot but providing the levels of energy needed to overcome the oft repeated complaint that "sitcum porn is too lightweight". Lana blew Jay while Sarah and Jaylyn slobbed Dick's knob, Jenny giving Lana some loving before they all started actively riding the cock. The specific permutations aside, Sarah was "sex on a stick" in terms of aggressively leading the pack with Lana close behind, both gals getting facials to share with their female pals as the genetic juice flew mighty hard. The scene appeared to be shot with two or three cameras too, helping capture more of the action taking place though I wished the scene lasted longer. Still, it was a very strokable piece of work with lots of replay value.

Melody "Vanessa" Nakai with Tee "Cockroach" Reel

Scene Three: Theo Gets Laid: Tori Black, the lean brunette known for her oral talents over acting ability, was up next on the couch wearing her pink bikini undies, seducing a hapless (but willing!) Tyler "Theo" Knight. Tori loves a black cock plunged down her throat and this was no exception, the camera catching her bent over ass as she inhaled his pecker aggressively. Tori also used some hand to gland action to make his erection stronger, Tyler going down on her after some POV blowjob footage was shot. Tori then gave a very active vaginal ride, his dick stretching her out as she grunted in submission, the chemistry between them ending when he unleashed his seed onto her face and mouth.

Misty "Denise" Stone

Scene Four: Claire's 1960's College Flashback: Monica "Clair" Foster, was up next in a dorm room as she reminisced about her college days with moper Danny Mountain. He is not known for his strength as a performer so much as who he was married to but she looked much, much better out of her clothing than with it on her curvy body. She was wearing an orange go-go outfit in the psychedelic outfitted room, Danny feeling her up as her clothes were removed. Her ass was great looking and but for the overly active camera (which sort of seemed appropriate for the timeframe), it was actually a better scene than I thought it would be knowing he was in it. She worked his modest meat pipe with passion, jerking him off as she ticked her teeth (it wasn't long enough for her tonsils), her active vaginal riding complimented by her vocal talents as they boned. It ended with a mouth pop too, Monica elevating the scene beyond the lame status of her mate to my surprise.

The original BTS menus!

Scene Five: Is That A Cockroach?: Melody "Vanessa" Nakai, the gal on the front row wearing the pink coat and striped shirt, was up next with Tee "Cockroach" Reel, playing a game of advance spin the bottle together. A few kisses led to her shirt being lifted up for him to access orally, his hand digging for clams in her bright stretch pants. Melody responded well to his advances, the visible signs of her state of mind easy to see. If anything, these two had the most chemistry of the entire cast, coming across as though they had done this all before and liked one another enough to give each other added pleasure, Tee giving her a lot of head before she inhaled his cock like a seasoned professional. Except for the tell tale tattoos, she fit the role really well but Tee was perfect in his role (the men were the closest in terms of their screen personas throughout the flick). Melody was often an active rider too, looking a bit too young for my tastes but enjoying the small pop Tee gave her (the joke being how much he's been working limiting his output).

Media Accolades

Scene Six: Denise Loses Her Virginity: Misty "Denise" Stone, again the hottest babe of the movie, was up last in a scene with moper Scotty Lyons. She wanted to lose her virginity but also was mad at her boyfriend, the gal seducing the scruffy looking guy on the flower print couch but moving him up to her parents' bedroom to do the deed. She jumped on top of him and they kissed, her lips wrapping around his cock as she engulfed him during the blowjob. Misty was lean enough to look her character's age, her sexy figure enticing enough to get Scotty to go down on her long enough to juice her up for the vaginal positions. She was most active on top of him and loved to do taste testing, the young lady a charmer throughout the movie during the sex and non sex parts of the show. Her loud grunting was slightly distracting but she is welcome to distract me that way any time she likes, especially if she takes a mouth pop as well in real life. Nice!

Summary: Not The Cosbys XXX Blu-ray by director/producers Will Ryder & Scott David for X-Play once again hit the high mark as the best sitcum (situation porn parody) to date, elevating the standard for the rest of the pack yet again. One might argue that the casting relied too heavily on Thomas "Cliff" Ward as the lead but Tee Reel and Tyler Knight were also exceptional in their roles, Misty a pure delight in and out of the bedroom, and the others managing to hold their own as well. Technically, this was the most polished production by the team to date, the writing suiting me as a solid homage to the original series rather than an exploitive goof as porn is usually known for, the movie earning a rating of Highly Recommended from me, dropping a grade due to the loss of some extras while the price was obviously increased. The levels of interracial fuck for the buck, the acting, and the entertainment value taken as a whole was so solid that it reminds me of what porn could be rather than just unrelated scenes of gonzo sex, no wonder why the production team is hailed as the saviors of modern porn (in a time when so many are unable to pay their bills). In short, as far as high profile features are concerned, Not The Cosbys XXX (and presumably part two since it was shot at the same time) is now the movie to beat for comedies come awards time, the dedication and effort put into it what made it work above the pretenders to the throne so check it out whether you're a fan of the original show, a fan of the sitcum genre, or just want to see some hardcore, heated sex for your personal pleasure. Thumbs Up!