Sharing several cast members and a central location with Roger Marks' far superior THE CROOKED ARRANGEMENT, THE GREAT RIP OFF comes off as a pale companion, a rote and near-plotless bump-and-grind done doubly wrong by poor photography. Fitting for a film about paying the bills, it seems like everyone here is just cashing a paycheck.
The plot, which doesn't even reveal itself until two-thirds through the film, concerns a residence that rents rooms to wayward young men. Given most are unable to meet their financial obligations, the landlords allow them to take it out in trade. In the final minutes, one of the guys overhears the two discussing their scheme, and comes up with a lousy plot for him and his fellow tenants to get revenge.
Even the synopsis above gives the film too much credit, as it seems like more of an experimental exercise in narrative delay than a proper movie. The film begins with one of the landlords (a curly-haired guy with a mustache) making it with a tenant (a cute young twink in a gaudy '70s floral-pattern shirt) before cutting to another couple, a ridiculously fit bodybuilder and a willowy blond, and their dilettantish explorations of (very) light S&M. It takes a whopping 40 minutes for these two set-ups to conclude, at which point the central conceit of the rental scam (how is it a scam, exactly, since both parties get something of value?) is finally revealed and then immediately resolved. It isn't even made clear that the two couples are in the same house until the start of the (largely theoretical) third act!
As usual in porn, when the story fails, what's left is sex, and RIP OFF unfortunately proves insufficient in this regard too. The first pairing was the less appealing to me, with the one guy's curly hair and mustache a turn-off and reminding me of THE JOY OF PAINTING's Bob Ross. While the twinky partner is cute enough for two (at least theoretically), he's unfortunately undermined by terrible photography, which favors disorienting macroscopic zooms into his shaggy raven locks over clear views of the action.
More interesting is the second couple, which features two hot guys and the promise (though failed delivery) of S&M thrills. Unfortunately, most of what the implied discipline amounts to is just weird positioning, with the muscular top at times hefting his partner onto his thighs (while remaining standing) or bending him over horsey-style for rear entry. Still, despite the scene itself failing to achieve take-off, the uber-toned dom is captivating, and, using his tattoos, I was able to match him (and his submissive partner) to a longer, far better scene in CROOKED ARRANGEMENT. That sequence, where the two engage in a marathon - and very hot - sex session in an upstairs bed, is even sampled here when the final tenant peeks through a door and briefly spies on the couple, inadvertently offering a free glimpse of a far better film. I'd advise you to stick with that production and skip RIP OFF, whose only real merit is truth in advertising.
The plot, which doesn't even reveal itself until two-thirds through the film, concerns a residence that rents rooms to wayward young men. Given most are unable to meet their financial obligations, the landlords allow them to take it out in trade. In the final minutes, one of the guys overhears the two discussing their scheme, and comes up with a lousy plot for him and his fellow tenants to get revenge.
Even the synopsis above gives the film too much credit, as it seems like more of an experimental exercise in narrative delay than a proper movie. The film begins with one of the landlords (a curly-haired guy with a mustache) making it with a tenant (a cute young twink in a gaudy '70s floral-pattern shirt) before cutting to another couple, a ridiculously fit bodybuilder and a willowy blond, and their dilettantish explorations of (very) light S&M. It takes a whopping 40 minutes for these two set-ups to conclude, at which point the central conceit of the rental scam (how is it a scam, exactly, since both parties get something of value?) is finally revealed and then immediately resolved. It isn't even made clear that the two couples are in the same house until the start of the (largely theoretical) third act!
As usual in porn, when the story fails, what's left is sex, and RIP OFF unfortunately proves insufficient in this regard too. The first pairing was the less appealing to me, with the one guy's curly hair and mustache a turn-off and reminding me of THE JOY OF PAINTING's Bob Ross. While the twinky partner is cute enough for two (at least theoretically), he's unfortunately undermined by terrible photography, which favors disorienting macroscopic zooms into his shaggy raven locks over clear views of the action.
More interesting is the second couple, which features two hot guys and the promise (though failed delivery) of S&M thrills. Unfortunately, most of what the implied discipline amounts to is just weird positioning, with the muscular top at times hefting his partner onto his thighs (while remaining standing) or bending him over horsey-style for rear entry. Still, despite the scene itself failing to achieve take-off, the uber-toned dom is captivating, and, using his tattoos, I was able to match him (and his submissive partner) to a longer, far better scene in CROOKED ARRANGEMENT. That sequence, where the two engage in a marathon - and very hot - sex session in an upstairs bed, is even sampled here when the final tenant peeks through a door and briefly spies on the couple, inadvertently offering a free glimpse of a far better film. I'd advise you to stick with that production and skip RIP OFF, whose only real merit is truth in advertising.