Yes Tod, that was Mark Twain,
Such was the case with Digital Playground’s latest release “Rush”, everyone else bagged on it so I figured maybe it is pretty good. I got a screener from my buddy A-Dell and Cori and I slipped it into the VCR to give it a watch and a review. This was being billed as an attempt to bring mainstream production values to porn. Jewn did a decent job of designing the box and the title is catchy in that same sort of vain as “Blow” and “Traffic”. I wanted desperately to REALLY like this movie. First I am going to approach this from a movie watchers standpoint, Cori and I were in complete agreement here.
First there really is no story, it isn’t until an hour into the movie that you learn that what little story there is was lifted straight from “48 Hrs” The main character escapes from jail in hopes of recovering the loot that he had stolen and been busted for stealing, but he and his accomplice had hidden the loot, the accomplice is still in jail but the third partner didn’t know where the money was hidden so he is going to kill “Carter” and squeeze his weaker partner who is still incarcerated, for the hiding place, This puts Carter at odds with both the law and his partner in crime.
They even stole lines from other movies;
Garage Owner “Its been here 5 years?”
Carter “I been BUSY!”
Those were straight out of “48 Hrs”
Devon; “For that you can do pretty much whatever you want, you can fuck my ass and cum on my face”
That was from “Leaving Las Vegas” Devon does neither By the way…
The picture quality is terrible and the music underscoring already weak sex scenes is loud and annoying. It is your standard Cats fucking on metal trash cans kind of porn music.
The acting is bad even by porn standards, I mean I don’t expect much from people with a sixth grade education ( Ya I know thats from “The Beverly Hillbillies”) but this is just plain bad, even Mike Horner who can on occasion, act, is not believeable in his minor role as the garage owner.
The story has more holes in it than Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway at the end of “Bonnie & Clyde”, in one scene Devon, the kidnapped hooker is wanting to get away from Carter, so he tells her to go get the car, instead of driving off and leaving him she actually picks him up. Had there been some indication that just maybe, she was falling for the guy, this would have at least been believeable…and this is only one of many.
There are huge jumps in logic, even at the very end when there is no explanation at all given as to how they survived the car wreck and explosion to cross the border and buy a beach house in Mexico.
Now for the technical stuff, because if I am going to “grade ” this movie I owe it to Digital Playground and specifically Nic Andrews to tell them exactly why I am being as harsh as I am.
First of all let me clear the air here, there is NO jealousy, had I been handed this script and a 100,000 dollar budget to make this movie I would have handed it back and suggested that they call the Vatican, I can make movies, but miracles cannot be performed here. So we start with a really bad script, want another example …OK
The setting is California, supposedly anyhow, and Alexa Rae asks Carter in a thick overacted southern drawl “You aren’t from around here are ya”…HELLO They are in Cali, HE speaks like someone from Cali, She is the one obviously “Not from These parts” (yayaya thats from “Silverado”)
Ok lets move on,
The key to making a watchable movie is in both the script and the acting, even a bad script can be made watchable by a good actor, to bring any role to life you have to get the viewer to identify with the character that he/she feels closest to. “Rush” fails miserably here, the actors lines are very poorly read, obviously unrehearsed and the body language doesn’t match the character so you never get drawn in.
The filmography/videography is horrible, the shots are improperly lit, often the sky is white when it should be blue, the fleshtones are inconsistant and the video is actually grainy. Supposedly this was shot on the Digital 35 Cameras, if so Nic needs to drag out the manuals that he obviously overlooked. Proper lighting of a backlit shot is elementary, expose the background so that the sky is blue, not blown out white like your grandmothers automataic disposable camera does. After you expose the background you light the foreground to match….I shouldn’t have to tell you this, and the sad thing is, this was shot on video so someone watching the monitor, like a director should, would have caught these problems. Now, Nic on your night shots…you don’t really shoot them outdoors at night unless you have to, and when you do it is highly important that you make it look like night, not like you are shooting under street lights…try full blues, if you don’t know what they are call me and I will send ya a couple. The idea is to convey MOONLIGHT!
Moving on..
Music in any film or video should underscore the action, it should enhance the mood you are trying to create, when you play it too loud, it becomes a distraction, when it sounds like cats fucking on metal trash cans it becomes annoying. If you need music to underscore a sex scene, chances are your sex scene sucks.
and…
In Mainstream movies you have people whose only job is to maintain continuity, things like Mike Horner, the greasy mechanic with greasy hands rubbing them all over Alexa’s white blouse…does it get dirty….nope….
things like Devon’s outfit doesn’t change for the first hour, but her shoes change several times.
and why does Carter pay way more than the car is worth to get it out of hock at the garage…the money isnt in the car…
and why does this car have padded roll bars and a fire extinguisher visible in the shots?
and Devon fires a .45 semi automatic ONE HANDED, multiple times….ya right…
I gave this video to a friend of mine who is a Phd in film and a professor at Emory University Film School. I asked him to watch it and grade it as though I had turned it in as a final exam in FIRST year film school. He gave it a “D” and cited a long list of reasons why a first year film student is expected to do much better. Many I have pointed out.
This time I am sad to say I am not in agreement with the majority, this film is much worse than they said.
