scene title: it's not him, it's me
performers: alina lopez, bunny de la cruz
site: shape of beauty ◅ adult time (gamma)
production credits: casey calvert & eli cross (dir.), canchis canchis (ed.)
release date: july 3, 2019 | trailer
one of the things i've been most interested to track over the course of 2019 is the ways in which gamma has been incorporating girl/girl into the broader scope of adult time rather than segregating it all into girlsway. i've made no secret of the fact that i think the girlsway formula is exhausted. i had personally started wearying of it by the middle of 2016, but there was still plenty of gas in the tank then; by the end of 2018 overproduction and the limited emotional, casting, and filmic palette available to maintain brand consistency meant that dull, formulaic scenes had become the rule rather than the exception, and even the features which had always been the brand's stylish calling card were fading due to low engagement and poor quality control.
so when adult time, gamma's all-in-one netflix-style destination, launched at almost exactly the same time that stills by alan, girlsway's co-founder and primary director, was suspended due to allegations of sexual assault (over time industry opinion has sided with him over his accuser, but gamma has not reinstated him, and he's started his own competing brand which i will almost certainly not cover here, because fuck him), it represented a perfect storm of long-overdue transition, which has been a bit rocky over the first half of 2019. as the last few months' worth of alan's backlog trickled out onto the site alongside scenes directed by regular gamma contractors like craven moorehead or billy visual plus the new primary directing team of casey calvert and eli cross (calvert is a highly-regarded performer with a distinguished background in custom video creation, cross is a journeyman pornographer), the unevenness of the material seemed to underscore the fact that girlsway is on its last legs in terms of inspiration, if not commercially.
so i've been looking elsewhere on adult time for really engaging material. transfixed is probably their best overall line in terms of creative concepts and stylish follow-through, but other new series like age & beauty (showcasing older women) and shape of beauty (showcasing plus-size women) have been a breath of fresh air in an ossified porn environment. the first girl/girl scene on shape of beauty, starring estella bathory and mischievous kitty back in march, was one of my favorite scenes of the year to date, so i was thrilled about this scene when alina lopez first tweeted about her excitement to break the barrier between mainstream porn girls and niche plus-size performers.
and? it's good. the original remit of shape of beauty, to showcase plus-size women in a glamorous, high-polish way that their wildly popular clip stores and content trade could not, seems to have been slightly curtailed as production has gone on, and the striking cinematic visuals of the original handful of scenes aren't entirely forgotten but less prominent here. i admit that my old bête noire, the washed-out sun-drenched picture window in the background erasing detail and forcing the contrast up on the image, is the main reason i was cool on this scene: the interplay between alina and bunny was brilliant, tender and thoughtful.
but it was also tender and thoughtful in a very familiar way. purely in terms of scenario, it was indistinguishable from a girlsway scene: alina is dating bunny's son, but really has a crush on bunny herself, and when she finally admits it bunny is receptive rather than being shocked, and so to bed (or couch). the more stylized and glamour-centric settings of previous shape of beauty scenes had set them apart from the hokey five-minute-conversation scenarios that were why i was tired of girlsway (and girlfriends films before them) in the first place. don't get me wrong, i'm utterly delighted to see a woman of bunny's size treated as desirable and sexy (which point the cameras, and alina, are wholly convincing on), but aside from that single point of variation, calvert & cross do little to make the scene special rather than just another gamma girl/girl scene.
it's still a very good scene as far as gamma girl/girl scenes go: if it had been on girlsway it would probably be the most elegantly shot girlsway scene in some time. (the overwhelming light bleed annoys me, but i can understand it as a stylistic flourish.) alina gives an exceptional performance, vulnerable and tentative and eager all at once; while bunny's smooth assurance balances her out superbly. the sex is tender and passionate, both of them communicating their enjoyment and satisfaction with great professionalism, and alina's signature snaky tongue was put to effective use on bunny's curves. it just never developed beyond solid professionalism for me.
the domestic tête à tête is such a tired format in the girl/girl world that almost any scenario even in the same costuming (say bunny is trying on bathing suits and store clerk alina is turned on by her magnificence) would have landed more effectively for me. of course it's easier to shoot at domestic locations than it is to mock up a retail establishment, i get it. i just always want more. i really hope shape of beauty is successful enough that more work in this vein will be produced: as a girl/girl consumer who only consumes mainstream porn rather than performer-generated content i know i'm not in much of a position to make demands (fans of the "bbw" niche seems to prefer both performer content and boy/girl), but this is so good that i want it to be even better.
performances: 26
cinematography: 20
editing: 18
script: 9
sjw points: 8
total score:
performers: alina lopez, bunny de la cruz
site: shape of beauty ◅ adult time (gamma)
production credits: casey calvert & eli cross (dir.), canchis canchis (ed.)
release date: july 3, 2019 | trailer
 |
| l: alina lopez, r: bunny de la cruz |
one of the things i've been most interested to track over the course of 2019 is the ways in which gamma has been incorporating girl/girl into the broader scope of adult time rather than segregating it all into girlsway. i've made no secret of the fact that i think the girlsway formula is exhausted. i had personally started wearying of it by the middle of 2016, but there was still plenty of gas in the tank then; by the end of 2018 overproduction and the limited emotional, casting, and filmic palette available to maintain brand consistency meant that dull, formulaic scenes had become the rule rather than the exception, and even the features which had always been the brand's stylish calling card were fading due to low engagement and poor quality control.
so when adult time, gamma's all-in-one netflix-style destination, launched at almost exactly the same time that stills by alan, girlsway's co-founder and primary director, was suspended due to allegations of sexual assault (over time industry opinion has sided with him over his accuser, but gamma has not reinstated him, and he's started his own competing brand which i will almost certainly not cover here, because fuck him), it represented a perfect storm of long-overdue transition, which has been a bit rocky over the first half of 2019. as the last few months' worth of alan's backlog trickled out onto the site alongside scenes directed by regular gamma contractors like craven moorehead or billy visual plus the new primary directing team of casey calvert and eli cross (calvert is a highly-regarded performer with a distinguished background in custom video creation, cross is a journeyman pornographer), the unevenness of the material seemed to underscore the fact that girlsway is on its last legs in terms of inspiration, if not commercially.
so i've been looking elsewhere on adult time for really engaging material. transfixed is probably their best overall line in terms of creative concepts and stylish follow-through, but other new series like age & beauty (showcasing older women) and shape of beauty (showcasing plus-size women) have been a breath of fresh air in an ossified porn environment. the first girl/girl scene on shape of beauty, starring estella bathory and mischievous kitty back in march, was one of my favorite scenes of the year to date, so i was thrilled about this scene when alina lopez first tweeted about her excitement to break the barrier between mainstream porn girls and niche plus-size performers.
and? it's good. the original remit of shape of beauty, to showcase plus-size women in a glamorous, high-polish way that their wildly popular clip stores and content trade could not, seems to have been slightly curtailed as production has gone on, and the striking cinematic visuals of the original handful of scenes aren't entirely forgotten but less prominent here. i admit that my old bête noire, the washed-out sun-drenched picture window in the background erasing detail and forcing the contrast up on the image, is the main reason i was cool on this scene: the interplay between alina and bunny was brilliant, tender and thoughtful.
but it was also tender and thoughtful in a very familiar way. purely in terms of scenario, it was indistinguishable from a girlsway scene: alina is dating bunny's son, but really has a crush on bunny herself, and when she finally admits it bunny is receptive rather than being shocked, and so to bed (or couch). the more stylized and glamour-centric settings of previous shape of beauty scenes had set them apart from the hokey five-minute-conversation scenarios that were why i was tired of girlsway (and girlfriends films before them) in the first place. don't get me wrong, i'm utterly delighted to see a woman of bunny's size treated as desirable and sexy (which point the cameras, and alina, are wholly convincing on), but aside from that single point of variation, calvert & cross do little to make the scene special rather than just another gamma girl/girl scene.
it's still a very good scene as far as gamma girl/girl scenes go: if it had been on girlsway it would probably be the most elegantly shot girlsway scene in some time. (the overwhelming light bleed annoys me, but i can understand it as a stylistic flourish.) alina gives an exceptional performance, vulnerable and tentative and eager all at once; while bunny's smooth assurance balances her out superbly. the sex is tender and passionate, both of them communicating their enjoyment and satisfaction with great professionalism, and alina's signature snaky tongue was put to effective use on bunny's curves. it just never developed beyond solid professionalism for me.
the domestic tête à tête is such a tired format in the girl/girl world that almost any scenario even in the same costuming (say bunny is trying on bathing suits and store clerk alina is turned on by her magnificence) would have landed more effectively for me. of course it's easier to shoot at domestic locations than it is to mock up a retail establishment, i get it. i just always want more. i really hope shape of beauty is successful enough that more work in this vein will be produced: as a girl/girl consumer who only consumes mainstream porn rather than performer-generated content i know i'm not in much of a position to make demands (fans of the "bbw" niche seems to prefer both performer content and boy/girl), but this is so good that i want it to be even better.
performances: 26
cinematography: 20
editing: 18
script: 9
sjw points: 8
total score: