Review: 9 to 5 – Days in Porn DVD

STUDIO: Strand Releasing | DIRECTOR: Jens Hoffmann | CAST: Sasha Grey, Belladonna, Katja Kassin, Audrey Hollander, Roxy Deville, Dr. Sharon Mitchell
RELEASE DATE: 5/4/2010 | PRICE: DVD $24.99
BONUSES: deleted and bonus scenes, Q&A, outtakes, trailers
SPECS: NR | 95 min. | Documentary | widescreen | stereo

RATINGS (out of 5): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

There’s a temptation to say 9 to 5: Days in Porn goes behind the scenes to show “how the sausage is made,” and although that would be correct, it doesn’t sound good. Better to say director Jens Hoffmann’s briskly paced documentary pulls back the curtain to reveal what the casts and crews of the Los Angeles-based porn go through to do what they so prolifically do. And the prolific nature is understandable as porn reportedly makes more money than the music industry.

The film follows several actresses—popular stars-of-the-moment Sasha Grey and Belladonna being among the most fascinating–during a typical day, from the moment they get the call from their agents to the end of the work day and a well-deserved shower.

For moral relief, Dr. Sharon Mitchell, a former porn actress turned physician (she received her PH.D. in Human Sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco) who founded a clinic specializing in porn performers, is on hand to assure us that medical advice, treatment and screening is not just available but required.

Hoffmann’s camera is very often positioned behind the crew that is shooting a X-rated scene – the once-removed viewpoint of, say, a staged gangbang or men “preparing” themselves just off-camera brings the lurid reality of what’s happening into distinctly unglamorous focus. Whereas Hoffmann’s objective “what you see is what you get” revelations are sympathetic to the actresses, not all viewers — especially ones unfamiliar with terms such as “cream pie” — are going to appreciate the chosen career paths or daily existences of the self-described “sexual athletes.”

Titillating? Hardly (OK, occasionally). Revealing? Most definitely.

Buy or Rent 9 to 5 – Days in Porn
DVD | Instant Video	DVD	DVD