Pin-Up Girls 9

My favorite Girlfriends Films series went down for the count with this self-defeating edition.

The nostalgia value of these period pieces about lesbians involved in the cheesecake craze of the '40s and '50s (think Gent magazine right through Bettie Page) is immense, and I found it immensely entertaining up until this volume. But it is tough sitting through the slowly paced "cutesy" scenes of such quaint lesbians spouting silly dialog to make the viewer feel superior and all-knowing merely due to hindsight.

Rayveness almost makes it work, as she has a knack to create and sustain characters even when believability is in question. She keeps shooting cheesecake photos of her friends and acquaintances (and herself) to earn easy money from girly magazines and especially mail-order customers ordering photo sets. The amounts of money are comically low to us now due to inflation, as the prospect of earning $20 or maybe $50 to model for softcore 8mm porn or just still photo sets is considered a small fortune by the cast. It's all involved with sexy vintage undergarments, the gimmick that makes this series unique.

Jelena Jensen is terrifically sexy alongside Rayveness, and freshening up the formula where Prinzzess is once again on board, we have voluptuous Valentina Nappi added. Incest is explicitly featured when Ray's jail-bait daughter Ashlyn Rae seduces her "mommy".