Even if Nina Hartley is not the most intellectual woman in porn, she certainly is the most articulate. Part Jack LaLanne/part Shirley Maclaine, she dispenses advice to the camera no matter what position she's got her vagina wound up in. Practical and insightful, her sexual annotation covers all of the known bases: seduction, lubrication, condoms, pussy farts - in a terminology liberally sprinkled with new age jargon about "healing," "calming," and good and bad "energy," while Herschel Savage, her demonstration assistant, stares at her like a crazed badger.

In the first half-hour, Nina emphasizes the removal of psychological blocks, convincing viewers to balance themselves on that ever-slackening tightrope between traditional sex roles and kinky far-out liberation.

The second part of her demonstration features hardcore examples of sex shared by wives, husbands and consenting extracurricular lovers. Hartley's Harlequin-romance art direction sets the stage for feminine fantasy. Instead of a boxy set and a mildewed casting couch, she chooses clean, softly-lit domestic settings. A large open mattress is strewn with flower petals, and accessorized with lavender scarves, scented candles and Kenny G-type make-out music.

Mandatory introduction to bedtime procedures for people who are confused about what they really want to give and get in bed.