Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry

This could have been an interesting film if the filmmaker/photog had shut up about himself for more than five minutes. There are a lot of people in those photos who are semi/pretty famous, and more than half of them don't even get a name tag, let alone be allowed to introduce themselves so that the less informed might know who they are.

What you get a lot of is the following laid over (unflattering, not yet photoshopped) shots of people you end up not knowing: "When I took this picture, I thought about myself a lot, because my ego is huge and I'm a super important guy. In a minute, I'm going to start talking to you about me. But first, let's discuss me. I think that when I talk about myself it's great, because I'm interesting. I know I am. I mean, I'm me!" etc. on and on ad nauseum. It gets so tiresome that even if you're interested in the people who are in the doc you end up shutting it off because the filmmaker is a blowhard bore.

Dude, I didn't tune in to see YOUR baby pictures.

Photographer takes on a vanity project to document AVN-awards and whole porn subculture.

As a photo hobbyist, I was initially drawn by the idea of the film. However it soon became clear that this film has no message or point, other than to advertise the directors book. Michael Grecco's work is usually pretty solid but here his images lack that special something. He shoots his subjects almost like in porn shoots and the results are what you would expect. Also his methods and way he handles his subjects, make him seem like amateurish a-hole - at least as a filmmaker.

Semi-interesting movie for photo enthusiasts, others should not bother.

This movie is stupid. I literally had to keep my finger on the mute button the whole time. Every time director/narrator opens his mouth, he starts talking about himself. STFU!!! There's even a part where we look at old pictures of him growing up! WTF?? Then we get a whole bunch of cheesy montages that make the ones in Valley of the Dolls look cool.

All you get from this movie is a pathetic plea: "Please believe me when I say that I'm not only a great photographer, but a FASCINATING person!" Sorry dumb ass, I don't buy it. Do yourself a favor and avoid this movie.. OR at least leave it muted. Why do I have to have 10 lines in my review? That seems kind of Nazi like.

Where do I begin... I can't believe that I let my old lady talk me into watching this after we were ten minutes into Kansas City Confidential. The 10 minutes of nagging about Black and White, old 50's movies and Jack Elam's crazy eye made me give up and go to this newfangled color movie from 2009.

First off this is not a documentary on the Adult Video Awards. It is a documentary of a guy trying to photograph porn actresses at the convention and awards show. So right off the bat I am wondering about why I am watching this. Who cares about the travails of a photographer trying to shoot a coffee table book about the adult convention and awards show.

Next, who are these actresses? Notice that I didn't call 'em stars. Stars are people like Seka, Desiree Cousteau, Christy Canyon, not Sunny Lane, and some tatted out goth chick. Strike two. I don't care about his subjects.

Now on to strike three, the narrator/photographer Michael Grecco stinks from every angle. He is pretentious, arrogant, condescending and with no reason. His photography skills are weak. To make it more painful after every session with an actress he shows some stills with a fast moving Ken Burns effect and he gloats proudly over his sorry photos. He is no Joe McNally.

Strike four, his narration is sad. I mean dude, learn to describe peoples personality and the vibe from the AVN awards. This guy basically says the same thing about every actress, actor and the whole AVN awards show: "She is so Punk Rock, He is so Punk Rock, The AVN Awards show is like a Punk Rock Academy Awards." Get over it. It is 2011 not New York in 74 with the Dolls playing in the background.

The only quasi-interesting thing was that most of the Actors he had were actually old school guys like Peter North, Eric Edwards and of course The Hedgehog. Where are the old school actresses from the golden age? Nothing but the new chicks who sit in front of a webcam all day. Lame.

With all these strikes, this film needs to be removed from Netflix, the Library of Congress and quite possibly the face of the earth.

My recommendation is to stay away from this one like the plague. I wish I would've stuck to my guns last night and watched K.C. Confidential. Noir is way better that this "new" garbage.

Portrait photographer to the stars Michael Grecco visits the annual AVN awards in Las Vegas—the Oscars of the porn industry—where he shoots the performers and their drooling fans for his (presumably expensive) fine-art photography book about the world of adult entertainment.

As this film's subtitle suggests, this is not an explicit examination of the 'in and outs' of the adult video industry: it's one that flashes a few boobs and butts but fails to get into the real nitty-gritty of the whole business. We get to meet the money men who make it happen, the colourful exhibitionists who perform in front of the camera, and the less self-assured types who watch the films, but Grecco fails to enlighten or educate the viewer, delivering a coffee-table documentary to accompany his coffee table book.