"Where do these people come from? Where do they go at night?" – Words of astonishment, uttered by Rex Reed about Pink Flamingos fanatics, but just as applicable here. Through their consistently hot releases, Pearl Necklace has become one of the most successful amateur/pro-am manufacturers – located, strangely enough, in Florida rather than the porn center of the universe (L.A. to you out-of-towners).

Viewing their latest six volumes back-to-back brings a few thoughts to mind. A) When they're hot, they're volcanic, B) When they're bad, (infrequently) they really hit rock bottom, and C) I need a friggin' nap.

Some of their veterans have made the leap to pro features. Case in point: Raquel Linneau (Anal Therapy 2, Fat Dog), a voracious strawberry blonde who takes more up the butt than your average middle-class taxpayer. Catch her act in AA 33 and 34, where she rides her boyfriends' baloney pony like a jackhammer, much of it on a springy water mattress under the blazing southern sun. Two other ravenous vixens to keep a look out for are Laura and Chelsea. The latter, a cute, compact Asian lass appearing in AA 33¸specializes in terrific head and multiple orgasms, which are supplied by the tongue of Zach Williams. Laura's another backdoor bunny who gets her posterior plowed relentlessly in AA 34 and BL 22; she also takes a great wet shot to the face without flinching – and she's a redhead, to boot!

Speaking of bunnies, Ms. Bleu is prominently featured in the all-girl AA 32, with aforementioned Raquel, Chandra Sweet, and Melody Midnight. Admittedly, I used to think that Bunny's climaxes were as genuine as George Bush's press conferences, but I've changed my tune after witnessing the Bleu one get off – and off – on the oral antics of her Pearl Necklace pussy partners. Strap-ons and oversized double-headed dildoes really bring out the animal in these gals.

Again I was proved wrong in BL 21. Not being a fan of cartoonishly obvious breast enhancements, I was prepared to nod off during the pairing of Kimberly Kupps and the anabolic stud Nuke (whose tits are nearly as big as her own). But what was that I spied between her legs? Honest-to-gosh love jice, flowing and spurting like a lava lamp? A capper to the face ends this gushy segment on just the right note. Before we draw the curtain closed with rounds of glowing applause, it's only our duty – in the name of fairness – to point out some rather clumsy and dull sequences. First of all, the "scenarios" that get the balls rolling (so to speak) are usually lamebrained Xeroxes from equally muttonheaded pro features; i.e., "the pool guy", "the interview", "the gym workout", etc. These disingenuous exercises would be better dispensed with entirely.

Particularly offensive was a lengthy piece on BL 22, where Roni Raye, a dumpy blonde, reads "fan mail" from some flounder aloud for nearly twenty minutes straight – all in an uninterrupted, paralyzing wide shot. WAKE UP! Okay; we thought we'd lost you for a moment. And so did Pearl Necklace lose us, with the ensuing Roni Raye/Jerry the Fan pairing, which may go down as one of the deadest events since Lenin's burial.

Another problem endemic to amateur porn is the "camera awareness" factor, where the participants make phony sexual glances at the viewer. This is no more apparent than on BL 21 and AA 34, where Syrina and Chandra need to be the center of attention (as if they're not already!) so badly that the constantly look to the viewer for approval.

However, you've got to take the bad with the good, and though Pearl Necklace occasionally stumbles, they never fall far.