Porn Review: Live Sex Show by Courtney Trouble

For the sake of honesty, I must admit that I was predisposed to like this film. During the summer of 2010, while interning in San Francisco, I attended the Masturbate-a-thon, a fundraiser for the Center for Sex & Culture. While there, I sat in the audience as Courtney Trouble filmed what eventually would be called Live Sex Show. On top of that, when Courtney Trouble couldn’t get the film distributed with it’s fisting scenes intact, I joined in the International Fisting Day movement and became even more invested in the film’s distribution. Finally, when I found out some of the proceeds from the film go to keeping the Center for Sex & Culture, I knew I just had to love this porn.

When I finally got the DVD in the mail, a year and a half after watching it filmed, I was so excited I watched it that very night, hiding in the back bedroom away from my parents (I’m staying with them for awhile). And, just as I thought I would, I absolutely loved it.

The Ratings:

• Overall Bang for the Buck: 5/5
• Cinematic Quality: 4/5
• Acting/Performances: 4/5
• Kinkiness: 3/5
• Realism: 5/5
• Educational Value: 4/5
• Going at it Alone: 4/5
• Watching with a Partner: 4/5
• The Big “O”: 4/5

The Good: I can honestly say, with or without bias, that this is a great porn. What I love most about this film is the raw, real feel it has, something that’s equally attributable to the vulnerability of the actors in front of a live audience, the intimacy with which all the actors know each other and the directing of Courtney Trouble.

There’s a decent mix of straight and queer couples and a variety of soft and hard scenes, all of which feel very intimate and all of which feel like you’re watching actual sex, not something acted out for a camera. The banter between actors is absolutely adorable, and I especially love the scenes between Roger Wood and Tina Horn and Jiz Lee and Nina Hartley, both of which show love, compassion and a sense of humor that’s all too often missing from porn but very present in sex, especially sex between friends or couples.

Also, I love 1. the outfits of everyone, 2. the giant turquoise couch used, 3. that I can hear myself laugh in the background.

The Bad: I said it at the time of screening and I agree with it still, I feel like April Flores was having an off day. I’m usually a big April Flores fan, but in this film I feel she is acting to the camera too much and ignoring the audience almost completely. Her scene felt the most mechanical and least intimate of all the scenes, even though her partner Matador is her husband. To be fair, I was told this was his first porn shoot, so maybe she was trying to help him out, but I just can’t get into their scene together.

I also wish that Courtney Trouble had included a boy-on-boy scene to round out the mix of queer and seemingly straight couples. Additionally, while the film looks great on my computer, it’s a bit gritty when blown up past a 15″ screen.

The Bottom Line: Live Sex Show is a sexy and unique departure from the normal porn experience and provides a hot and often times adorable look into real, raw sex.

Available at: Trouble’s porn shop.