Roulette provided by Courtney Trouble for review

Joseph

Roulette is Courtney Trouble’s nofauxxx.com first DVD and it is a doozy.

I wish that I had seen Roulette before Seven Minutes in Heaven: Coming Out. It is not that I didn’t like Seven Minutes. It was a strong offering, but I certainly was not blown away by it.

I was by Roulette. I fucking loved it.

Aside from having some of my favorite queer performers in it, the soundtrack kicked ass, the chemistry felt real for the most part, and the presentation was a near perfect mix of indie aesthetic and deliberate professionalism. The camera work is at times amazing and the sound and editing choices back them up beautifully. To top it off, Trouble breaks up the sex scenes and clears the proverbial palette with indie music videos. It was somewhat reminiscent of surfing the internet…you know, porn porn—oh hey, I wonder if Someband has new music video—porn porn porn….

Except that all the porn in Roulette is real and shot well and no one has implants or is crying and Roulette probably isn’t putting any viruses on my computer. Ok, maybe it is not much like surfing the internet.

The thing that really sold me on Roulette was the diversity of performers and scenes. We got to enjoy everything from an engaged pair of dudes fucking on a rooftop (Walter Crasshole and Nikolaj) to a gangbang with a few of my favorite queer stars (Jiz Lee, Syd Blakovich, Rozen Debowe, and Donny) to a burglar (Dia Zerva) masturbating while showering herself with stolen milk.

That diversity makes the focus of Roulette hot sex and not queers or bois or fags or anything else but Hot. Sex. It is beautiful.

Mimi

We haven’t watched or reviewed a great deal of porn so maybe this isn’t actually saying much, but other than as a joke (“Yes, it’s a SATYR porn! It’s hilarious!”) I have never wanted to show a porn to a friend. I’ve never thought, “Hot damn. This is fun as hell to watch.”

Part of what strikes me about Roulette is that it’s obviously porn on a mission (“bring art back.” is shown alone across a black screen at the very end of Roulette’s film trailer), yet there’s nothing overbearing, pretentious, or preachy about its tone. It comes across with a high amount of youthful, rebellious energy. Sexuality, lifestyle, gender identity, and age are all blurred and solidified and then broken down again. The lack of clarity, as opposed to being distracting, is really exciting. It feels more honest.

Of course, the energy of Roulette is greatly aided by music selections and the three indie music videos placed within the whole of the film. My favourite was Katastrophe’s Big Deal, which re-creates Andy Warhol’s famous Factory and his eventual attempted murder by Valerie Solanas. The song itself, the grainy black and white film quality, and the living character of Andy Warhol all fit together perfectly. The other two videos are for Scream Club and French Quarter. The style in which the last two videos are shot completely matches with the overall film – close-ups, hand held cameras, DIY attitude – so there’s no break in continuity.

Also, Joseph wasn’t exaggerating when he was talking about the mash-up of awesome people from various backgrounds and perspectives. Roulette is the winner of Feminist Porn Awards 2009: Most Diverse Cast. Well deserved. There’s a burlesque performer seduced by her real life girlfriend while attempting to prepare for a performance (she misses it); a wrestler who breaks into a teammate’s locker and masturbates with what he finds; two “fags in love” with bright pinkish-red mohawks and makeup drink a 40 and fuck on a rooftop; a seriously sexy blonde who breaks into someone’s house and masturbates with their milk – and so on. You get the idea.

Some of the sexiest masturbation scenes I’ve witnessed were in this film. I really didn’t think watching someone jerk-off while wearing gym socks on a locker room floor would turn me on, but it happened. Trouble’s curvaceous body lit by only a red light and her self-satisfying moans are certainly memorable. And I’m not sure that I will ever look at milk the same way again. Every scene appeared to be so genuine, so thoroughly enjoyed, so individualistic and respectful. How could it be forgotten or ignored?

I have laughed at porn, cringed at porn, fallen asleep while porn was on, masturbated to porn, fucked to porn, and liked porn… seldom do I love porn. So listen up, kids, I’m about to say something special: I heart Roulette.

The Naked Truth

Aesthetics:

Sound Quality:

Educational Value: N/A

Entertainment Value:

Creativity:

Overall:

We’re not creepy! YOU’RE creepy!

Thanks to everyone for airing their screw ups for us. Mimi and I got a lot of good laughs out of your stories. We hope you enjoyed the opportunity to laugh at other people’s misfortune and the brief glimpse into Mimi’s gas problem that was offered.

The best screw up is Dr. Ruthie:

Oh goodness, where to start?

There was the time that I was demonstrating a condom at a safer sex workshop, and to show how much it stretches I rolled it over my hand and spread my fingers. Too bad I didn’t trim my nails first! Of course, it broke and my little demo failed miserably. Now I stick to putting them on dildos, inflating them or rolling them down my fist.

Or how about the time a little kid burst into a private pleasure workshop for moms, grabbed my big, plushy vulva puppet and hugged it to her face while cooing “prrrrrretty!” I’m not sure who screwed up there, but it was certainly funny!

Perhaps the best one is a classic. It wasn’t so much the wrong person, but the wrong time. With a huge snow storm outside and the dorm room to ourselves, we decided to try a little light bondage and then add in some cherry sauce, chocolate, etc. Of course, someone pulled the fire alarm and the RA insisted that we vacate the room immediately. There he and I stood in the snow, both wearing pastel bathrobes, flip flops and ice cream toppings, and him with some bits of rope still attached to his limbs…. shivering away while our friends laughed! I’m proud to say that we marched bravely back to the room afterward and continued where we left off.

That sounds like a deliciously embarrassing time!

Thanks again to Tabu Toys and all those who entered and good luck on our next not arbitrary contest.