What a strange, fascinating excursion in XXX moviemaking this is. Among the adjectives that might be used to describe Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, "arousing" is not the first that leaps to mind (at least for those outside the dangerously unbalanced set). Even with the whole stable of principal characters being converted into super-hot sex divas, the material—otherwise reproduced here virtually verbatim, barrels of blood and all—is about as antithetical to porn's main purpose as you can get.

Add to that the formidable intensity and complexity of these roles from a thespian standpoint, and the prospect of pulling this thing off in any sort of passable way with the means of an adult production starts looking very much like an exercise in futility.

And yet, these folks do it.

Credit for that lies very heavily with three players whose acting prowess has been well proven in the past and one who delivers a breakout performance here: respectively, Andy San Dimas (as Ms. White), Kimberly Kane (as Ms. Pink), Amber Rayne (as Ms. Brown) and Chanel Preston (as Ms. Orange). The fact of the matter is, the dialogue these four were charged with delivering isn't just any old porno dialogue; it isn't even any old porno parody dialogue; no, this is Tarantino dialogue. Word-for-word. It's protracted, it's poetic, it's difficult and it's very well known. And particularly in San Dimas' and Preston's cases, it has to be rattled off with very specific cadences and major injections of emoting. They all handle it prodigiously, truly transcending what any adult actress should really ever be expected to be capable of.

What's more, meanwhile, these also happen to be four of the most powerful sexual performers working today, and they do not disappoint in that department, either. San Dimas has a rowdy hook-up with Joe (Tom Byron doing his best gravelly Lawrence Tierney impersonation) in his office; Kane hires gigolo Anthony Rosano for some sleazy jollies in a hotel room; Preston, in a flashback sequence, offers some no-strings pussy to her soon-to-be-earless cop comrade Xander Corvus in the police weight room; and Rayne instigates a torrid lesbian three-way with Ms. Blue (Zoey Holloway) and stripper Tara Lynn Foxx at the latter's work establishment.

People may be a little disconcerted by this Porn Actors Studio-esque venture, but they'll also most likely find it irresistibly compelling, whether simply by virtue of the original's cult status or because of the sheer peculiarity of the whole affair. One thing's for sure, though: Quentin Tarantino must see it.