Stairway to Paradise

What made me rent this video is its casts first.

Rarely one would rent an adult video for that reason, but look at the names: Nina Hartley, a well-known porn star, Chi Chi La Rue, which in 1990, was at his beginning as an actor, and he later directed, -with a lot of flair-, many gay movies and fan of Sharon Kayne will love it too.

As for the movie itself, it starts from a different angle, but it eventually goes down, pun intended, to the typical expected hardcore actions.

However, what makes this adult movie a notch above other movies are that these are known actors in the adult movie, and it's fun to see them reunited and in full action in this movie.

Sharon Kane takes the viewer on a mystical journey in "Stairway to Paradise", a New Age-styled Adult movie that is clearly a personal dream project. I never knew of its existence back in the day (30 years ago) but was quite impressed finally catching up with her work now. Compared to other porn of the time, especially that of her distributor VCA Pictures, it's a welcome example of serious filmmaking (with comic relief) within the Adult genre.

While watching the classic tv series "Mad Men" by creator Matthew Weiner, I thought its one deficiency was the short shrift (and outright mockery) given to the Hippie phenomenon that coexisted with the main story of Madison Avenue advertising types. Though working in porn, Sharon Kane manages to make fun of the stereotypes of "flower power" culture in this movie, while adopting the Eastern philosophical bent of that period in her screenplay, far more satisfying than Weiner's ridicule, even though his saga took antihero Don Draper on a similar journey of self-reflection in the later episodes.

A beautiful young Nina Hartley is well-cast in the central role as Susan Moore, walking up the title staircase clad in a diaphanous black nightgown, where she meets various characters with Hippie names, led by Randy Spears as Rainwater, introduced somewhat jokingly with pipe and smoking jacket as a Hugh Hefner type, surrounded by gorgeous acolytes. No, it's not heaven as he points out, nor hell, purgatory, limbo, and she's not dead. She's on a journey, and with sex scenes dotting her way she's guided by guest star Kay Parker who calls herself a "Regression Sessionist" rather than a shrink, guiding Susan through 300 years of her past lives in cinema's traditional Bridey Murphy fashion. (Regression therapy has been debunked and discredited, but in this age of the ascent of QAnon and other nonsensical theories it plays as quaint.) Movie is shot on black backdrop abstract studio sets, similar to plays done on-stage with minimalist decor. Parker takes her on a series of sexy (but tragic) misfortunes, with Susan a witch in 1692 Salem; reincarnated as male in the form of Jesse James (played by Jeff James) in 1878 having sex with a fine guest star Lee Carrol as a saloon madam, and as a hippie (played by newcomer Heather Lere) in 1967. These scenes include a dual role for Spears as Bob Ford (Jesse James' assassin), Peter North in powdered white wig as a fanatical deacon who has sex with her witch back in Salem, and Joey Silvera in his familiar goofball mode as a bullshitting guru giving her bad advice leading to a threesome with newcomer Lere (as Susan's new persona) and North as a surfer. Some comic relief is also provided by Chi Chi LaRue in drag as a saloon lady and later "straight" as a hippie flunky for Silvera.

Meanwhile, in the nether waystation lorded over by Spears as Rainwater, we're treated to sexy Aja, Tianna and Victoria Paris, Nina has a strong lesbian group sex scene for the fans. Ultimately she's set on a final journey (is it the end or a new beginning? Is trumpeted by the end credit of the movie) of enlightenment.

This is enjoyable and quite different erotic content, and Kane is to be lauded for a very fine theme ballad she wrote and performed for the movie, not as successful as Led Zeppelin's but worthwhile in its own sincere way.