The Wide Open “Back Door to Chyna”

We want the porn industry to survive. For a while, though, the celebrity sex tape market has offered grim choices. Lucky for everyone, Chyna wins this round by a knockout (or whatever they do in professional wrestling).

Backdoor to Chyna

Studio: Vivid
Director: B. Skow
Starring: Chyna, Dayna Vendetta, Dylan Ryder, Diana Prince, Evan Stone, Lee Stone, Jerry, Billy Glide, Mick Blue

Review by: Gram Ponante

Watching a celebrity sex tape is often disappointing. If you don't know the celebrity, you wonder who this amateur is cluttering up your pornography. Ditto, more than not, a celebrity you know. But Chyna is so self-assured and non self-conscious that she reminded me of Kelli McCarty, the former Miss USA who was fantastic in Vivid's "Faithless."

Chyna, originally from upstate New York, explains to director B. Skow (against a backdrop in which the Hollywood sign is obscured, for some reason), that she was a gym groupie from way back, and through her nascent enthusiasm for wrestling, was hired on by the WWF as a "Killer Assassin Girl."

Because celebrity sex tapes come with their own lowered expectations, it's important to point out that Chyna goes for the gold in this movie. At 40 (the movie was shot last year), Chyna is no winsome slip of a thing, finger-biting and coy, but instead a take-charge cougar who looks really good doing (and being done by) her costars. She doesn't sit back and masturbate with dainty toys, or even work only with women (Dayna Vendetta, Dylan Ryder, and Diana Prince, all strong performers on their own, back her up nicely), but she hooks up with the best male talent in the business as well.

It is as if Chyna is thinking that if she's going to jump into porn, she might as well go all the way.

The movie is shot and edited to reflect the greater attention its star should receive; the music is exhilarating and, but for all the labia on display, "Backdoor to Chyna" would be at home on Spike or ESPN.

You did it this time, Vivid. Let us never hear from you of Casey Anthony or Octomom again.

· Vivid (vivid.com)
· Buy "Backdoor to Chyna" (tlavideo.com)