The concept behind this documentary, while presumably having been extremely difficult to implement, is simple as pie: it follows porn actress Stacy Valentine over a course of roughly two years (a hell of a long period for a documentary, and about several eons by porn standards) through her ups and downs, as she rises from mere talent to a "signed", award-winning star. Stacy enjoys being before a camera and at the center of attention , and she is as uninhibited talking about her private life as she is ... erm, I haven't actually seen any of her videos, but getting porked before an audience of millions, I guess.<br /><br />The documentary doesn't vie towards any extremes, Stacy likes what she does and is pretty successful at her job. It doesn't deal with, say, burned-out, drug-addled talent who have to do freak scenes to get by, or just plain sick stuff such as "Showgirls". Therefore you expect a fluffpiece that complements the title: hey, sex is natural, that Stacy is just a small-town girl with a wild streak, and hasn't she done well for herself? Luckily for the viewer, the documentary is thorough, unblinking and lucid, mainly because it follows Stacy for so long, and documents so many aspects of her life. At first you'd swear that she is just as wholesome as shredded wheat, and feel sorry for any hardships that she has to encounter. But this carefully constructed image gradually unfolds: Stacy visits the cosmetic surgeon more often than I see my dentist, and she occasionally comes off as incredibly callous, such as when she prostitutes herself to a wealthy fan (not too long after gushing about how frightened she is of losing her boyfriend because he might find someone better), or when she gets very cross at her boyfriend because he can't handle doing a double-teamed scene with her (she actually services the other guy first -- that's showbusiness).<br /><br />Overall this movie is less about the porn industry (it shows only a thin and fairly respectable slice -- where a girl can actually earn a living) but more about the psychology of a porn starlet -- and all about Stacy Valentine.<br /><br />And here's what I came away with from this movie: Stacy Valentine isn't the girl next door. Or at least she isn't the girl next door as we like to imagine the girl next door to be like. This movie penetrates the candy-coating.