"After Porn Ends" is a good example of, "well it looked good on paper." The idea of a documentary about former porn A-listers trying to survive in the real world after retirement from the industry is an excellent idea. In fact, that's the exact reason why I watched this doc from 2012. However, in reality, I'm disappointed that it didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. That's just one of many issues I have with this doc.
"After Porn Ends" interviews the likes of Amber Lynn, Asia Carrera, Houston, Raylene, and also trail blazers Nina Hartley and Randy West, and many more ex-porn-industry A-listers (but no Ron Jeremy? WTF?). They tell their story in the first person, revealing their admiration's and hesitations about their past and current lives. They explain how and why they entered the industry and the feelings they experienced along they way. Take your best guess on how they answered these questions and you'll probably be right.
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" (1997) pretty much hits the nail right on the head about what it's like before, during and after the on-camera sex. What I learned from that movie already confirmed what I guessed to be true about the real porn world, making this documentary moot. Many porn stars made a lot of money when times were good, but a lot of them blew the money on drugs and alcohol, ended up broke and/or in trouble, had a hard time keeping a stable home life, and eventually returned to porn to make ends meet. Some of the women were tricked into it, and some were sexually abused as children, and some felt that sex was the same as love and that's why they stayed. Some have no employable skills at all, could never work a 9-to-5 job, and/or are avoided like the plague because of their porn industry dealings. That's pretty much the gist of this doc....and Boogie Nights: art imitating life imitating art. "Boogie Nights" is more entertaining, though. Watch that instead.
"After Porn Ends" has the look and feel of a quickly-put-together-film-school-project. Swish-pans and quick-zooms that look like the editor forgot to cover them up with B-roll. Actually, considering the amount of material these porn stars shot in their lifetime, I was expecting a lot more B-roll and less talking-head. If you need to have a 45-second clip of someone talking, fine, just make sure you have 40-seconds of interesting visuals to cover that. You learn that in your first year of film school.
What I found the most interesting were the scholars talking about the psychological affect the industry has on both porn-stars and viewers, and how being an adult film star (current or former) will follow you everywhere until your death. Like the mafia, "you are never really out." Although, even that, I pretty much knew already because whether you're a porn star or not, thanks to the internet, your history is never really history. I know, right, tell you something you didn't already know.
