Public Affairs
Director- Henri Pachard
Cast- Annette Haven, Paul Thomas
Country of Origin- US
Distributor - Vinegar Syndrome
Number of Discs - 1
Reviewed by Bobby Morgan
Date- 03/03/2020
New York congressman Nicholas Stern (Paul Thomas) is running for a Senate seat and has a dedicated team at his side: his chief financier Fritz von Holenwohl (Robert Kerman) is dedicated to getting Stern elected; Stern’s driver Tommy Corona (Joey Silvera) is dedicated to getting his boss laid; and campaign volunteer Jodie (Annette Heinz) is dedicated to recording Stern’s stump speeches and satisfying his sexual needs. Some the more controversial areas of Stern’s political platform get him in the crosshairs of investigative journalist Elvira Lawrence (Annette Haven). If her mission to uncover the corruption at the heart of Stern’s career in politics don’t derail his senatorial ambitions first, his lusty pursuit of former girlfriend - and current wife of money man Fritz – Marybeth (Kelly Nichols) will. And since this is a porno, most of the cast gets laid.
Political satire was in a virtual coma once the era of Reagan began, and if you need further proof of this try watching an episode of D.C. Follies sometime. Public Affairs, the brainchild of prolific adult filmmaker Henri Pachard (The Devil in Miss Jones Part II) and co-writer Joyce Snyder, didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, and its basic premise of an anti-pornography and prostitute politico who’s secretly a raving sex fiend is hardly a stunning revelation. You could watch some average congressional proceedings on C-Span any day of the week and chances are one of the Republicans present will have some very weird and uncomfortable skeletons in their closet (remember what Bill Hicks said about Jessie Helms). But although it is an adult film, Affairs treats its plot and characters as much more than devices used to string the sex scenes together. Its ambitions are a little greater than that.
The character of Nick Stern is literally every self-righteous politician on the local, state, and national level who crusaded for “family values” in full view of their adoring voters while simultaneously harboring desires that could get them booted from public office, and in many cases, did. Paul Thomas, who started his acting career in mainstream theater and film (most notably Jesus Christ Superstar) under his real name Philip Toubus, has the charm and conviction to play both sides of the conniving Stern – the inspiring leader his voters see, and the insatiable and demanding freak only his close friends and campaign staffers have to deal with every damn day.
Snyder and Pachard’s screenplay is packed with light, intermittently barbed humor that keeps the scenes that don’t require the intersection of genitalia watchable and entertaining. Its solid material for a cast of seasoned professionals in the adult industry to seek their teeth into, and the presence of strong performers like Annette Haven, Joey Silvera, Annette Heinz, and the late Robert Kerman (returning to his XXX roots after a brief sojourn in Italian cannibal exploitation) ensures the character and political work in Public Affairs is performer well. But this movie also knows which audiences are going to help Pachard and co. make their money and then some, so the sex scenes that have practically every member of the cast getting in on the action are beautifully staged and photographed and often very erotic.
Among the sexual highlights are a lesbian encounter between Jodie and another volunteer played by Michelle Maren (a short-timer in the adult film industry who started her acting career with bit parts in two Enzo Castellari’s post-apocalyptic action cult classics Escape from the Bronx and 1990: The Bronx Warriors), couplings involving Elvira and Tommy and later Elvira and a bit character played by the infamous George Payne, and Stern’s climatic (in more ways than one) session with the intoxicating Kelly Nichols. The sexuality is often intertwined with the politics, as emotions rarely play a role in what is, for many of the participants, either a business transaction or an expression of physical pleasure at the expense of the soul. Pachard and Snyder’s frank treatment of the subject is one of the most refreshing aspects about Public Affairs as an adult feature.
Previously available on home video from labels like Caballero that utilized VHS-sourced transfers for DVD releases, Public Affairs comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome with a new high-definition master culled from a 2K scan of the original 35mm camera negative. Fans will definitely appreciate finally seeing the film in its intended 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio, restoring the accurate framing favored by director Pachard and cinematographer Larry Revene (Doom Asylum). The improved picture quality brings with it crisper detail, splashy colors that don’t detract from the rest of the image, and a thin layer of fine grain in order to maintain that authentic texture that only celluloid can provide. Imperfections inherent to the negative persist, but they are minor and don’t detract from the overall quality. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 track gives the original mono sound mix the best presentation possible, keeping dialogue audible and the music and ambient sounds layered where they need to be instead of allowing them to overwhelm everything else. English subtitles have also been included.
“Going Public” (18 minutes) is an illuminating interview with co-writer/producer Joyce Snyder (who also has a small acting role) in which she starts out revealing how she parlayed a journalism degree from the University of Georgia into writing for various adult publications and ultimately getting involved in adult film production, leading to her collaborating with Henri Pachard (whom she refers to by his real name, Ron Sullivan) on Public Affairs. She talks about convincing a small crowd of extras that Paul Thomas’s character was a real politician for an outdoor rally scene, her conflict with Pachard over Thomas’s casting as Stern (the director favored John Leslie), how part of the budget came from the magazine Swank and how that lead to Snyder using the publication to promote the film, and much more.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Joe Rubin conducts a lengthy, career-spanning interview via phone with co-star Annette Heinz that covers her earliest days in adult entertainment and transitioning into film work. Heinz is very candid, warm, and humorous in sharing her many fascinating stories, and Rubin proves once again to be an excellent interviewer. Manual volume adjustment is a necessity as the audio can often be difficult to make out. Reversible cover art and a standard-definition DVD copy round this package out.
Fans of vintage 1980’s adult films will find much to enjoy in Public Affairs. Besides the sex, there are some genuinely good acting performances and the writing is smart and occasionally pointed about its subject matter. Coupled with a terrific new HD master and a pair of entertaining interviews, Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray release of this Henri Pachard classic comes highly recommended.
