Reviewed by R.W. Hulme
Parody is rife in porn. So at first glance, it would be easy to assume that Roma, from Italian director Antonio Adamo, is nothing more than a knocked-off version of the Rome miniseries.
In fact, Roma shares nothing but the setting with that critically acclaimed show. The plot of our porno version is entirely the creation of director Antonio Adamo, who guides us through the saga of Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome after his victory over the Gauls.
Roma is a pretty lavish production by porn standards. The costumes and sets are beautiful and Adamo even recreates Rome itself, albeit with slightly cheesy computer graphics. Nevertheless, the whole production hangs together very nicely.
The cast, too, are mostly very good-looking and capable (at least in the physical side of their roles). Unfortunately, not one of them can act worth a damn and when their lines (filmed in Italian) are then dubbed into English, it makes the whole thing seem a bit farcical. But nobody picks up a porn film expecting it to be Oscar material!
Roma’s plot isn’t very involved and serves to string us along from once sex scene to the next. The scenes themselves are simply stunning. They’re beautifully filmed, the girls are model gorgeous, every single one, and the sex is electric. Roma manages to feature some of the hottest sex action I’ve seen in recent years and stands head and shoulders above standard porno fare.
There’s one exception: a pale, podgy British porn star with a horrible body and obvious trouble maintaining an erection. However, nobody buys heterosexual porn to look at the men, so he doesn’t really hurt the overall production. Besides, the stunning women more than make up for his inadequacies.
My only other criticism would be the chapter setup on the DVD, which breaks the movie into fairly large chunks. Normally, with porn, you can ‘skip’ one part of the sex scene (the oral, for example) and move onto the start of the next chapter, which would feature the cunnilingus or penetration. Not so with Roma. The chapters are about 15 minutes long, so if you press the ‘skip’ button, you end up in a different location with different characters—not so good if you want to skip to the ‘good stuff.’
Those are minor quibbles, though. Looking at the big picture, Roma is a magnificent achievement, and director Antonio Adamo clearly thinks so since he’s included a second disc with the Roma boxed set that includes a sophomoric interview with him, plus lots of behind-the-scenes footage (revealing that, yes, the pale and podgy British porn star did have trouble maintaining his erection).
The second disc also reveals that Roma is just part one of a trilogy, so Adamo will soon be releasing the follow-up. If Roma II is nearly half as good as the first one (and the included trailer suggests it will be), that’s something porn fans should eagerly look out for.
Roma comes in a beautiful, glossy box and would make a perfect addition to any couple’s DVD collection. It’s classy, artistic and devastatingly sexy, successfully delivering porn that either gender would enjoy (especially if they watched it together).
My recommendation? Find a loved one, buy this DVD and snuggle up together for your own private ‘toga’ party.
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