An Erotic Film From the' Hood That's Not Very Good

Thug Passion (Part 6); Directors, E.J. Parker and Dee (Chocolate Joy Entertainment; 2009)


"We're in the 'hood, not Hollywood," declares E.J. Parker, the co-director of Thug Passion (Part 6), one of a series of erotic videos for homothugs and their admirers. Parker's statement is in answer to a question I had about the lack of a storyline and the amateurish quality of the video.
Someone (probably Parker) is seen in the background in jeans and white socks holding a camera. No attempt is made to create the illusion that the viewer is a fly on the wall, peeping at the ones on-camera.
The video is divided into six segments (some will have the same models in them). What we get in most of them are monotonous, overlong jack-off sessions.
One has to give Tyson Cane, the black porn star turned video producer, credit for aiming to bring together art and erotica. His films have a storyline (although flimsy) and have a much more polished look to them.
In Thug Passion, E.J. and his co-director, Dee, don't know how to photograph a sex scene, moving the camera too much, giving the viewer vertigo. The action takes place in a room with a lot of electronic equipment in it (not exactly the most romantic setting) and the editing is not seamless. Maybe they should consider a more Hollywood approach, or at least follow in the footsteps of an independent filmmaker like John Sayles, who knows how to tell a story and how to make it visually appealing. When you're asking people to put down their hard-earned bucks for a movie, you should try to give them their money's worth.