With Sexcapades, director-screenwriter Henri Pachard initially ridicules the repetitiveness of adult movies but ultimately rejuvenates the genre with a power-packed ending.  His efforts should be applauded by discriminating viewers who appreciate the filmmaker’s attempts to expand the limits of hardcore fare.  Pachard obviously believes that XXX-rated features could – and should – be more than the same old ins and outs.

Appreciating Sexcapades requires a level of viewer sophistication.  Anyone planning to show this at a stag party – where a bunch of horny, drunk guys watch with wide-eyed glee as sexually proficient performers do the usual assortment of oral, anal and vaginal tricks – might consider sticking to something much more traditional.  Henri Pachard, unlike so many adult filmmakers who assault the viewers with continual flesh pounding, makes demands on his viewer.

The filmmaker, who most recently made Devil In Miss Jones, Part II, also takes some clichés, (notably the frigid wife and hot-to-trot maid), and gives them nice twists.  Pachard requires patience from the viewer.  Initially, Sexcapades delivers very few hot-blooded thrills.  Those looking for fast payoffs had better stick to the 25 cent peep-show loops, but for those wishing to grow a bit, here’s a look at Sexcapades.

Eric Edwards plays Harry, a failing director who left the hardcore business six years ago to concentrate on a Hollywood filmmaking career and stayed just long enough to complete a number of flops and to put himself in debt by purchasing the usual material excesses associated with the movie business.  Harry brings back to the hardcore arena an eye for detail and an insistence that his picture – Fantasy – be something special, though not necessarily spectacular.

This return to adult movies infuriates his snobbish spouse (played by veteran Sharon Mitchell), but delights his producer and first wife, Lorraine (Lee Carroll).  The hot-blooded producer puts the gifted filmmaker back “in touch” with the type of adult fare viewers demand today, as opposed to six years before when Harry deserted the business.

For the picture’s first half, Pachard focuses on the negative side of the business filmmakers must deal with, including untalented “performers” who will do anything to break into the movie business.  One woman even insists on keeping black socks under her knees to avoid “rug burn.”

In his directorial work, Harry issues orders such as “I want to see animal, baby.” He gets turned back on to the business at the same time Pachard increases the sexual intensity in a scene between Tiffany Clark and Tony Santino. From there, Pachard turns on the heat, concluding with a three-way love-making session between Edwards, Mitchell and Mai Lin who plays the director’s maid and proves that a fantasy can become a reality.

Despite many positive aspects, Sexcapades has one extremely annoying element: A number of sloppy matching shots.  Pachard has created an adult film which demands close attention but allowed far too many distracting visual flaws to remain. In one scene, Sharon Mitchell has off her negligee, then it’s back on in the next brief shot.  Likewise, the opening “audition” scene has a performer kneeling on the black socks in the long shot and then up on her toes in to the cut to the intercourse shot and then back on her knees.

Filmmakers who expect their audiences to grow with them must also face up to technical competence.  But for the most part, Sexcapades (the title really seems more appropriate for an ice skating hardcore spoof than this) has a polished look and boasts some interesting performances.

As adult films continue expanding in terms of story and substance, Sexcapades puts Henri Pachard at the forefront of the movement.