Mirror Image

I had always considered Bridgette Kerkove in the same light as Brianna Banks - a capable, larger-than-life (especially those big fake tits) gonzo performer of early 21st Century porn. This Kerkove vehicle for Sin City was directed by Bud Lee, and once again the talented, underrated major director is able to showcase an actress at her best, just as he did more famously with his wives Hyapatia Lee and Asia Carrera.

In his commentary and the DVD's BTS short subject, Bud puts the project usefully into perspective. It started out as a vehicle for real twins to be cast (I don't think the Russian Sin Twins he previously directed in England for Sin City were in mind) but was reworked to provide superstar Kerkove with dual roles.

Bridgette is wonderful portraying a hit TV star actress as an exaggerated diva: belligerent to all in her crew and entourage, but somehow not overacting - no mean feat. Lee's casting has an interesting gimmick not alluded to explicitly: all six leading actresses are blondes.

One reason for this has to do with the "Mirror Image" script premise: Kerkove as Candice Payne is tired of her work and plans to substitute a double to take over her acting (and humping) duties as she embarks on a new life. Lee has fun with the doubling premise in many ways, starting with a contest engineered by her supercilious manager Paul (Joel Lawrence in a delightful, tongue-twisting performance throwing many a highfalutin' term into his patter) whereby a celebrity lookalike for Candice will be selected and win a prize.

Brittney Foster, who doesn't look like Kerkove, wins the contest after humping corrupt contest judge Pat Myne. The actual doppelganger is played by Kerkove herself as Susan, with the movie's comedy and switcheroos centering upon the difference in personality between star Candice and double Susan. Candice is mean-spirited and nasty to everybody for no reason (her employees and co-workers are constantly quitting their jobs as a result) while Susan is so friendly that suspicions immediately arise concerning the switch, notably on the part of Paul. Another doubling is strange but very helpful to the feature's success, as tall and beautiful blonde Hollie Stevens appears as Candice's inseparable gal pal, handy for threesome sex scenes and also functional in "back of the head" matching reverse shots as double when Kerkove plays scenes with her other self.

Rounding out the femme cast are two more fabulous (and contrasting) blondes: cute Julie Meadows as Candice's put-upon personal assistant and dogsbody, plus glamorous Brittney Skye as key member of the TV production team. Besides Lawrence, male performers do a fine job of servicing, including Dale DaBone as Candice's egotistical TV co-star, Julian as Candice's huge-dicked boyfriend, Lee's go-to guy Steve Hatcher as Meadows' boyfriend, and especially Steven St. Croix, who employs a funny voice and accent as Julian's rock star buddy.

But it is Kerkove who dominates, proving once and for all that given the right script and opportunity she can shine alongside the great Adult actresses of her era, even though most of the audiences and pornographers only wanted to use her for gross-out exercises. Sounds like today's sorry state of Adult Cinema where matters have only gotten much worse since 2003 when Lee shot this feature.