Part comedy, part drama Velvet careens from Los Angeles to San Francisco to give us the story of two warring, gay porn-producing, mafia-style "families" as they try to outfox each other over newcomer Fox Ryder who both studios want as an exclusive. The scheming doesn't stop there, however. Fox has some plans of his own, Matthew Rush is plotting to overthrow both families and take over the porn industry, Jason Ridge as a corrupt critic sees a way to feather his nest, and Derrick Vinyard and Omer's secret affair (which Erik Rhodes is determined to put an end to) gives a tender Romeo and Juliet subplot to the proceedings. (Rhodes, by the way, holds Velvet's biggest secret.) Falcon has rolled out the hardware for this – in more ways than one. In addition to such big "guns" as Rush, Rhodes, Vinyard, Roman Heart, Chad Hunt, and Jason Ridge, there are four bloody murders by handgun. Each movie has four sex scenes and faves Ryder, Rush, Heart, and Rhodes appear twice. Hugely popular 19-year-old Ryder is given quite a workout: he flip-flops with Rhodes and also gets boned by Hunt (so does Heart – wow!). The story does start to unravel in the second half, and all of the acting doesn't meet the script's demands, but there are many high-powered performances with special mention going to Paul Barresi's spectacular portrayal of the capo of one of the families (pre-nom Best Non-Sex Role). Other pre-noms: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Music, Actor (Rhodes), Sex Scene (Rush, Ridge), Non-Sex (LaRue).

RETAILING: Stock generously. First-rate cast and big marketing push created intense interest in this. Expect big sales.