The Stepmother Review

The Stepmother (2009)

When I heard that Nica Noelle, creator of the successful lesbiany porn company Sweetheart Video, was moving into boy-girl films, I was interested to see what the end result would be. Part of Nica's success with Sweetheart was the concept of "keeping it real" – making sure that all the sex was authentic, passionate and resulted in female orgasms.

I'm pleased to say that this formula is now being applied to the Sweet Sinner line and, judging from this first film, it’s a winner.

The Stepmother offers a relatively simple plot about an older woman marrying into an existing family, clashing with her stepdaughter and getting the hots for her boyfriend. While the story creates some decent scenarios for the sex scenes (and a good emotional payoff at the end), it's the way the sex is done that makes this film worth watching.

If you're like me and get very bored with the standard formula of 3.5 camera-friendly positions and a facial cumshot, prepare to rejoice. Nica Noelle throws all that out the window in favour of realistic, passionate and intimate sex. You know, like the sex you and I have at home.

There's plenty of luscious foreplay and kissing, few acrobatic positions and an insistence on female orgasm - to the point that the girls come after the guys, either through oral or manual stimulation. I'm hard pressed to think of another porn film that dares to offer such a (dare I say it) normal thing; in most porn, the male orgasm is signals the final whistle on the scene.

I'd be happy to recommend the film on that alone but there are plenty of other appealing aspects. The guys are all very good looking and they're allowed to make noise and look like they're enjoying themselves. Indeed, all of the couples seem to connect well, adding much needed passion to all the sex scenes. The camera doesn't linger on the genitals, instead giving up plenty of shots of ecstatic faces. And Nica is even prepared to let everyone have sex on a bed, ensuring they're relaxed and able to enjoy themselves.

The sex is great but the movie does have some flaws. The acting varies from excellent to seriously awful, although Michelle Lay does a decent job in the lead role. The lighting isn't particularly creative and can be overbright in some scenes. My biggest problem was that most of the sex scenes went for far too long, some for up to 35 minutes. While the sex was great to watch, it did get a little repetitive after a while and needed a bit of serious editing to prevent viewer fatigue.

It should also be noted that this film ends on a cliffhanger, as it's the first in a series.

Overall I enjoyed The Stepmother and welcome Nica's arrival on the scene. Hopefully more porn companies will take notice of her new "sex formula" and start changing things for the better.

Starring: Stephanie Swift, Michelle Lay, Jay Huntington, Johnny Castle, Alan Stafford, Ann Marie Rios, Tera Dice
Director: Nica Noelle

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Reviewed September 2009