The Swinger (2012) Online

James Avalon's THE SWINGER for Sweet Sinner is a bloated, unpromising beginning for the ongoing series. I'm not sure why he is interested in beating around the bush for 3 hours.

In fact, you have to wait for Part 2 to actually find out what this video series is all about. The title character is unidentified in Part 1, but turns out to be incidental player Erik Everhard, who takes over center stage in Part 2.

Instead, Lily Carter and James Deen are the principals here, shown living quietly in New Mexico when Deen suddenly announces (without prior consultation with his wife) that they're moving immediately to L.A. where he's secured a job in India Summer's family law firm. Lily is unhappy with this rather callous treatment, but has no choice but to go along with the gag.

Deen's role and acting approach (if you can call it that) reminded me of a carbon copy of his role in Avalon's THE EXHIBITIONIST, which was shot a year later. India is no-nonsense, perfect as the boss whose stern exterior hides her secret lust (hey, remember this is porno). She also did a fine job in a similar role for Paul Thomas in the French-backed L"AVOCATE, made shortly before this one.

Though he has 3 full hours to waste, Avalon spends zero time introducing Rocco Reed, an office worker (per the BTS short subject filling in some blanks) who humps India standing up in her office to get the show's XXX content rolling. Significantly, Lily is visiting, and accidentally sees them in the act through India's open office door, and she masturbates watching them. For his efforts, including a money shot on Summer's belly, Rocco gets no credit at all on the DVD's packaging.

Lily rushes home, accosts Deen and they instantly make love, she being ultra- horny after the previous scene. An interesting touch is that Lily looks a lot like Juliette Lewis in this feature, not the current one on TV opposite Ryan Philippe in "Secrets & Lies", but the earlier persona when she was a star in the '90s.

Plot finally threatens to thicken when India sends Deen, still a new flunky at her firm, to gather some important signatures. He arrives at my favorite porn location, the mansion featured in Sweet Sinner's IMMORAL PROPOSAL, notable for its oval windowed doors and striking spiral staircase. Sexily clad (almost fetish outfit) Chanel Preston lets him in the door and leaves him to wander around looking for the guy whose sig India needs, and instead he finds a set of swingers in action, having sex all over the place. When Chanel leads him upstairs to the master bedroom, she doesn't help him find the guy but instead starts humping Erik Everhard. Forty minutes later, Avalon (and the hapless video viewer) have forgotten all about James, focusing instead on the talented porn duo going through endless positions until Erik finally shoots his load.

We next see Deen back home, gazing through the window blinds at his wife inside. He enters and gives Lily a smooch, and we see the couple from the same outdoors angle through the blinds, and fadeout. No sex, but an elegant little sequence, one which Avalon would have been wise to follow elsewhere in the show and get it down to perhaps 80 minutes long.

Back at the office, India apologizes to Deen for a wild goose chase, she gave him the wrong address, so he ended up at her mansion, which she rents out for parties like the one he interrupted. By the way, she informs him that Lily has accepted an invitation for the both of them tonight to attend just such a party there. Deen, in uncharacteristically (for the actor's fans) prudish mode, takes umbrage, insisting Lily will be grossed out, but both India (who spotted her peeping at her & Rocco the other day) and the viewer know better.

So the series' style of 3-ring circus Swingers' parties finally unfolds well over 2 hours into Part 1. The IMMORAL PROPOSAL mansion provides a lavish backdrop for folks having sex, and this time India takes Lily & James upstairs to her master bedroom where they have a stimulating threesome. Deen does his usual moves, while the focus is on the two actresses, and in a choreographed pas a trois, they get it on for the duration. Once he's spent, Deen gets to make a wisecrack to India his boss: "See you Monday at the office".

To find out what this nonsense is all about you have to tune in to THE SWINGER 2 (see my separate review).