Reviewing the career of Paul Thomas, arguably XXX's greatest director, "Hard Time" has to fall in the lowest 1 percentile of his work. It is shockingly deficient in every department.
Nominally in the women in stir genre, it mixes the expected lesbian quotient with token boy/girl sex to relieve the monotony. Zero production values immediately signal a lot of bad road ahead, as the scenes are haphazardly shot, poorly lit, and seemingly aiming at a gritty feel. Minimal plot line means PT is foregoing his usual quest for quality.
Some otherwise top talent is wasted, notably Kayden Kross in the lead role of stuck-up new inmate Tiffy Fisher, sure to disappoint her many fans used to more glamorous (and meaty) roles. Darryl Hanah as a tough inmate and Steven St. Croix as stereotyped warden also go down to defeat. Bondage, anal sex (even incorporating a butt plug) and other antics like squirting kill time.
In mainstream entertainment, we used to refer back in the '70s to this type of junker as an "alimony assignment", when the likes of (though not specifically) Cameron Mitchell or Ray Milland would pick up a quick 50K (to make payments) to appear in some piece of crap unworthy of a serious actor with a previously commendable career. So to for director PT.
