Details from IMDB:
The Girl Next Door
A documentary about the rise to fame of adult movie star Stacy Valentine. Starting out as an under-confident woman pushed into entering a Hustler Magazine contest by her domineering husband, Stacy quickly became more sure of herself after winning the contest, dumping the husband, and embarking upon a remarkably successful career in the unconventional field of hardcore… Read all
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Initial Thoughts:
I decided not to see a movie on Saturday, lately unless there is something out I really want to see I only go to theatres once a month (and I saw Tron: Ares earlier in October). I did a lot of looking and found a movie about the porn industry on Bell Aliant on Demand, I didn’t realize it would be full of ads (or how graphic it was) and gave it watch Saturday afternoon.
Main Points:
I’m sure I must have seen Stacy Valentine in porn sometime in the 90s but I couldn’t recall it, so I went into this movie knowing almost nothing about it. It looked a little low budget and didn’t get great reviews but that rarely stops me. This is a documentary about the porn industry and Stacey Valentine (real name Baker) in particular. It has a lot of nudity (mostly female) and while they don’t show penetration, it does show a lot of behind the scenes during the shooting of porn movies. It shows how difficult it for a woman to be a successful porn star (especially winning awards) and the terrible tole it takes. From tanning, to liposuction, to implants, plastic surgery and basically being completely fucked up emotionally, it doesn’t seem worth it to me. Speaking of, there is an EXTREMELY graphic scene with liposuction/plastic surgery where she gets smaller breast implants, I had to cover my eyes even then it was something I wish I never saw.
I felt bad for Stacey, she was pressured into taking nude pictures by her ex-husband and then he gets mad at her when she does a nude photo shoot!? What an asshole! Then she gets cheated on by her boyfriend (multiple times and she keeps taking him back). You can see fans at conventions who just grab her breasts, directors who order her around and there are a couple of real heart breaking scenes when she says anyone who touches her only wants to have sex and that the only person she trusts is her Mom. She says she loves sex and is good at it but you are left to wonder if she just got in the industry to get out of her hometown/be successful and that she would have been happier doing something else (she talks about being a make-up artist but doesn’t pursue it during the film).
Final Thoughts:
This was an interesting film and shows an incredible amount of what happens behind the scenes/in Stacey’s life. I felt bad for her and certainly didn’t feel good about paying for porn (or even watching free porn) if this is what it does to women. It’s a strange thing, I think Stacey was very brave to show everything about herself and shed a light on what the porn industry has been like for her (at least in the 90s) but I find a hard time recommending this because of the very graphic content. So I will give it a 7 out 10 but won’t be promoting this in any way. I did like how they interviewed many people in Stacey’s life and you get a good idea of what being a porn star is really like for a woman. Ages 21+ for reasons stated above, PLEASE don’t let your kids watch this, I would say unless you have a strong stomach/not bothered by blood/surgery footage perhaps don’t watch it at all, I did it for you.