Gia: Lesbian Supermodel

Title:  Gia: Lesbian Supermodel
Studio:  Girl Candy Films (AEBN)
Director/Writer:  Nica Noelle
Released:  August 13, 2013 Performers:  Raven Rockette, Veronica Snow,  Alyssa Branch, Sinn Sage, Maddy O’Reilly, Samantha Ryan

If you thought that Gia:  Lesbian Supermodel was merely going to be a pornier reprise of the 1998 made-for-TV movie (starring Angelina Jolie) about the tragic life of 70’s supermodel Gia Carangi, you’d be mistaken.  Yes, the main characters are both lesbians and both become supermodels after having been discovered by the owners of modeling agencies.  And, yes, both stories are emotionally complex and dark – the original is darker by far.  But Gia:  Lesbian Supermodel stands on its own as a story even if we’d never heard of Gia Carangi’s tragic life.

Raven Rockette is a real “find.”  It would be cliché to say that she has “burst onto the porn scene,” so I won’t.  Personally, I didn't really notice her until she popped up in a non-sex role in one of Nica’s other works, singing and strumming her guitar in that Gen Y angsty sort of slightly out of tune style that Saturday Night Live occasionally makes fun of.  But while I’m not likely to search for Raven’s music on iTunes, I definitely consider myself a fan of her adult video work.  She was brilliant in Melissa Monet’s recent production Lesbian Office Seductions, Vol. 9 (Sweetheart Video).  She’s gorgeously unkempt and her mane of wild black hair seems to have a life of its own.  Strip off that punk exterior though and what you find underneath is a vision in alabaster.   It is not hyperbole to say that Rockette’s skin seems flawless.  In fact, after close examination (i.e. nose almost touching the screen) I can’t find a single thing that isn’t perfect about Raven’s flesh.  Nothing.  It’s incredible. 

But that wouldn't be anywhere near enough for her to be cast as a lead in a Nica Noelle production.  She can perform.  A little rough around the edges in the acting department Raven more than delivers in the clinches.  Her two scenes in this production push the passion and intensity meters well into the red.  I’d have to say that her scene with Sinn Sage is one for the ages, even without Sinn’s trademark pile driver trib move.  It’s worth the price of the download all by itself.  Raven’s pairing with the exquisite Samantha Ryan (please, Samantha, don’t EVER retire from girl-girl because you are THE BOMB) reveals a different side to Raven’s sexual persona, a more dominant, more “butch” presentation.   Ryan rather adroitly manages the switch from arrogant know-it-all to frightened bottom with just the right amount of shock-into-lust.

Veronica Snow is perfectly cast as the predatory head of a modeling agency.  She delivers her lines with an icy demeanor that makes it perfectly obvious what she wants and expects from her girls.  Her scene with Alyssa Branch was set up by an earlier encounter with Gia where Snow made it clear that models are expected to put out in return for all the great things she will do for their careers.  With Alyssa, this is much more explicit.  Branch does a great job playing the naive and inexperienced young thing; powerless to resist Snow’s dominance and the promise of a supermodel career.  Their sex scene might at first seem superfluous but it is essential to the story.  And, it provides the fourth (but not last) sex scene in keeping with the current adult video format.

But the crux of the story is the relationship between Raven Rockette’s character, Gia, and her roommate/lover Tuesday, played by Maddy O’Reilly.  Tuesday is every bit as confused and messed up as Gia -- we get hints of this every time she's on screen.  We see these two break up at the beginning of the story, but Nica puts them back together by the end in a desperately loving tryst that ties up the video with a nice big pink bow.  Which, of course, is when Nica punches us in the gut.  You’ll have to watch the video to see what I mean.

The script, as expected, is well written, the direction non-invasive, the lines delivered convincingly, the technology has all the ones and zeros in the right places, and the sound track was superb.  I don’t know of any other director who pays attention to the small details the way Nica Noelle does.  Which isn’t to say that there are none -- I don’t know who they are.  Feel free to correct me.  Just remember what I told my shrink when she said I was a self-absorbed narcissist – “why should I care what you

think?”

In case you were wondering I have no difficulty at all giving Gia:  Lesbian Supermodel a very strong “buy” recommendation.  Nicely done, Nica.  Nicely done.