‘After Porn Ends’ Review
Stars: Mary Carey, Asia Carrera, Luke Ford, Nina Hartley, Houston, John Leslie, Shelley Lubben, Amber Lynn, Neil Malamuth, William Margold, Sandra Margot, Crissy Moran, Richard Pacheco, Raylene | Directed by Bryce Wagoner
After Porn Ends is a documentary that examines the lives and careers of some of the biggest names in the history of adult entertainment and what happens to them after they leave the business and try and live the “normal” lives that millions of other Americans enjoy. Asking questions about what makes a man or woman go into porn? Can adult stars really live a normal life after porn? And what the hell do retired porn stars do?
Featuring interviews with some of the most famous and infamous porn stars of the past four decades, including superstars such as Nina Hartley, Asia Carrera, John Leslie, Amber Lynn and Mary Carey, After Porn Ends starts out as a refreshing look at what porn stars do after their careers have ended but quickly descends into yet another diatribe on the evils of porn and how damaging it is on performer’s lives.
Of course the stories vary, from the “success” of people like Nina Hartley, Asia Carrera and John Leslie and how they’ve come out of porn with the heads screwed on straight – to tales from former stars such as Shelley Lubben, who blame everyone but themselves for the failings in the lives both in porn and out. Sadly there seems to be an agenda behind the film to focus on the evils of the industry – the damaged childhoods that led to working in the industry, the copious amounts of booze and drugs pedaled to performers – there really seems to be a heavy bent on how “bad” porn is.
Although the filmmakers will undoubtedly deny that they set out to make a film looking down on the industry and that the negative tone of the movie is completely coincidental, you can’t help but think whilst watching After Porn Ends that the filmmakers (at least the editor, if not the director) consciously chose to focus more on the stories of those that have “failed” post-porn rather than those that have had a modicum of after-industry success.
UPDATE: After Porn Ends director Bryce Wagoner got in touch on Twitter to clarify that: “The “failed stories” in my film #afterpornends were coincidental, I did my best to make a well balanced film w/o an agenda. You infer my having an agenda as if I could just get anyone I wanted in the film. I was a no-name director BEGGING people 2 do it.”
A bittersweet look at life in the adult industry, After Porn Ends is yet another depressing look at porn and the effect on it’s performers, sadly offering nothing new beyond interviews with some of porn’s most famous stars.
After Porn Ends is available on Netflix (UK and US) and iTunes now.
