Summer Lovin'

Trust Barrett Blade to underwhelm in a potentially interesting Wicked Passions release aimed at Couples, "Summer Lovin". Even his bland product would seem to be an okay entry for Pay-Cable soft-core viewings, shorn of its XXX content.

Original script was titled "Picnic", and indeed the film immediately brought to mind the mood of that fine old movie made from William Inge's play "Picnic". The clapperboard in the DVD's BTS short subject reads "Summer Luvin'", another cutesy alternate title.

Asa Akira stars as a small-town girl, anxious to escape her smothering environment, a theme well-handled in several Adult features from Wicked Pictures by Michael Raven ("Adrenaline") and Red Ezra ("Roadblock"). Adding to her discomfort is a well-meaning but over-bearing traditional Japanese mom, well-played in NonSex role by plus-size actress Kelly Shibari. Poor Kelly receives no screen credit for her fine work here but later received a Digital Sin massive showcase vehicle, XXX style, titled "Here's Kelly".

Uncredited screenplay is very corny, as Asa is engaged to marry big-shot Seth Gamble, but falls for the bad boy, Seth's old chum Bill Bailey, who rolls into town with no visible means of support. He's a stock movie figure, most familiar to me in the minor classic "Bus Riley's Back in Town" in which Michael Parks delivered the apotheosis of his early career James Dean imitations. (No, the porno icon James Deen doesn't show up this time.) Wicked contract star Alektra Blue and IR provider Misty Stone are merely along for the XXX ride.

Other characters fail to be even one-dimensional, with the script in need of many a rewrite to justify the arbitrary sex scenes for Ryan McLane and Richie Calhoun. Of course, there's the annual town picnic featuring a plethora of uncredited extras, and besides his inevitable sack time with Asa, Bailey has the pleasure of humping busty Nicole Aniston after she gives him a ride in her convertible, with unexpected negatory results.

Acting is good, but the film lacks oomph