Tinseltown

Director– Carter Stevens

Starring –  Ashley Brooks, Danielle Raye, Tawny Pearl (as Loni Henderson)

Country of Origin – U.S.

Distributor - Vinegar Syndrome

Number of discs –  2

Reviewed by - Flash

Date- 05/29/2019

Tinseltown is the only adult film from director and co-writer Carter Stevens extensive career that was shot on the west coast making Tinseltown unique.  Carter Stevens makes excellent use of the California locations, which west coast adult filmmakers took for granted, making a film that could have only been shot in California.

Tinseltown tells the story of three women, Mary Jo Harmon (Danielle Raye), Pat Norman (Tawny Pearl), and Dominique Allwyn (Ashley Brooks).  Mary Jo Harmon is a small town girl from Oklahoma, who leaves her boyfriend Billy to go to Hollywood to become a big star.  Pat Norman is a Los Angeles girl who is a freshman at UCLA studying drama to become an actress.  And Dominique Allwyn is a New York City prostitute, who is paid to come out to Los Angeles is just looking to make more money hooking.

Tinseltown is a fun film about the pitfalls of Hollywood's seedy underbelly.  Frequent readers of The Rialto Report will note that Carter Stevens and E.M. Kennedy's story may be more accurate to real life than either Carter Stevens or E.M. Kennedy would like to admit.  Several sexploitation directors and producers have told The Rialto Report similar stories about how a star is born.  However, Carter Stevens and E.M. Kennedy make good use of the story to interject humor and ultimately make an enjoyable fluff piece.  Viewers will see the story coming from a mile away, but in Tinseltown, the joy is in the journey, not the destination.

Carter Stevens did an excellent job casting the film.  Danielle Raye, a one-and-done actress that was Carter Stevens' girlfriend at the time, does a great job with the role of Mary Jo Harmon.  The viewer easily believes that she is a hick from the middle of nowhere that is well out of her element.  Tawny Pearl fits the role of Pat Norman perfectly and Ashley Brooks, who had almost as short a career as Danielle Raye, is excellent as the seasoned hooker.

Carter Stevens has done an excellent job with the supporting cast as well.  William Margold, as Morty Green, gives a superb comic performance mainly playing himself in the film.  Eric Edwards, who was one of the high-end actors of the time, is excellent as Jerry Kaminsky.  And Pat Manning is great in a twist role as Jack's wife.

The sex scenes in the film are excellent.  Carter Stevens and E.M. Kennedy have done a great job of integrating the sex scenes into the story.  The cast members do a great job with the sex scenes as well.  The cast stays in character for all of the sex scenes and gives great sexual performances.

Tinseltown is a fun comedy that, had the hardcore portions been snipped, probably would have done well as an R-rated sex comedy.  The film has an above average cast that handles the material well.  The story is predictable, but still is incredibly fun to watch.  

Vinegar Syndrome has done a stellar job with their Blu-ray and DVD combo pack for Tinseltown.  Tinseltown was shot on 35mm film, and Vinegar Syndrome has used a 2K scan of the camera negative for this release.  Tinseltown is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in 1080p on the Blu-ray and 480p on the DVD.  The image quality on the release is outstanding with excellent fine detail.  There is grain in the image, along with minimal print damage and artifacts present.  The colors look nice with a few instances of color shifting.  This presentation of Tinseltown is as good as viewers saw on the big screen 39 years ago.

On the Blu-ray, Tinseltown is presented with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 monaural audio track, and on the DVD the film is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track.  The sound quality is nice, with only a few instances of dirt present.  The dialog is clear and easy to understand at all times.

Vinegar Syndrome has only included two extras on the release, which are present on both the Blu-ray and the DVD.  There is a feature-length commentary track with Carter Stevens, co-writer and director, and Earl Kessler, who has designed many of the limited edition slipcovers for Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray/DVD combo packs.  The original theatrical trailer is also included on the release.

Tinseltown is one of those entertaining adult films that one can't help but like.  The story is predictable; however, the story is presented in a way that it entertains the viewer throughout.  The cast is terrific, and the sex scenes are great.  Vinegar Syndrome has done a stellar job with their Blu-ray and DVD combo pack release of Tinseltown with excellent image and sound quality along with a few extras.