Movie Talk: Redemption (2023)

Before we get into the main body of the post I need to clarify that the version I saw was the softcore Showtime cut called Lust & Redemption. I didn't even intend on watching this, but I found it on the Paramount+ app, and put it on out of curiosity. This also appears to be on Tubi under the original title Redemption, but with a slightly different run time than the Showtime cut. The cut I saw does still include sex scenes, but uses softcore takes to hide the naughty bits from the audience. From looking at runtimes, I'm guessing almost all of what was cut was to the sex scenes, with the biggest cut being to a sex scene between Stormy Daniels and Barrett Blade towards the end of the movie that is just omitted completely.  

Oh, I am going to put this here. I'm not going to be giving my opinion on any of Stormy Daniel's personal trials and tribulations that she has gone through over the last couple of years. That has all been discussed to death, and there is plenty of better commentary and exploration on that subject out there. I will say, I have no personal issue with her. I thought she was a fine performer back when she was under contract with Wicked, and I really think she blossomed when she got behind the camera. I know now they are trying to also market her as a kind of gay icon, with her hosting a dating reality show on Out TV. Don't fully understand that one... Still, nothing against her. 

Now on to the damn movie!

Redemption is an Adam & Eve release that is written and directed by Stormy Daniels. She also stars, and her real life husband Barrett Blade co-stars. The basic plot is that Stormy's family runs a ranch. Her dad dies, and leaves the place to her. As is often the case with situations like this, there is tons of family drama that follows. On top of that an evil developer is trying to buy the farm from her, and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. The plot is basically a spicy version of a Hallmark movie, with a few darker (although not too dark) twists thrown in for dramatic effect. I actually liked the story in this one. Stormy has always been a good writer when it comes to her features, and this one is no exception. There is a lot of story here, too. The runtime of the soft cut is almost 90 minutes, and none of the sex scenes are all that long in this version. So she has a full movie's worth of plot. 

It was interesting to me to find a soft cut of a hardcore movie. I didn't know if they still made these. Obviously, they do. It used to be pretty common practice with more story heavy features to have cable cut that sometimes even made it into video stores like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster back when those still existed. The most famous one is of course Digital Playground's Pirates, although Wash West's The Hole (a gay porn The Ring parody) also got a soft cut that got mainstream release on DVD. For that one, the soft cut is the only version that is really around anymore. They also used to sell those cuts at certain retailers like Coconut Music. I think that was where I got my cable cut of Breathless from Wicked. Wish those were more widely available these days... 

Whoops, got off track!

I literally just threw this movie on to see if it was the movie I thought it was. Then I just kept watching, and before I knew it I had finished it. It kind of gave me romance novel vibes with the plot, had some likeable characters, and an ending that felt sweet. To answer if this works as a movie, yes it does. It's a fun little family drama, and the entire cast gives pretty good performances. Laney Grey, who plays Stormy's daughter, has a lot of the movie resting on her shoulders and she carries it well, as her romance with Jay Romero is kind of a driving part of the film. They both do what they need to do to make it believable, and the script actually holds off on getting them in bed together, making the progression of the relationship feel more natural. Stormy has a secondary romance plot with a man played by Barrett Blade. Theirs is a more complicated, tortured past kind of deal, and it works. Her and Barrett have good on screen chemistry, which isn't always the case with real life couples. 

The sex scenes here are a fine. You aren't going to be seeing the more graphic bits with the soft cut, but from the stills I saw of the hard cut, nothing is left to the imagination there. I didn't see anything crazy or over the top. This is a couples feature, so it has to appeal to a wider audience that includes women. Those features tend to play it a little safer when it comes to sexual content. I will say that the tone of the sex scenes does shift pretty hard from the story bits to the porn bits, though. That part is a little jarring, but I mean, it is to be expected. 

I will say that as nice as this movie looks, the audio is really rough. The mix is a bit of a mess, and there are scenes where you can't hear the dialogue over the soundtrack. For such a dialogue heavy film that is a problem. Especially towards the end of the film dialogue can become impossible to hear. The second the characters get outside the audio mix just drops to a near whisper. I didn't check to see if the Showtime version had subtitles, but if it does, I would recommend them. 

Audio aside this is actually a pretty enjoyable little movie, and Stormy Daniels did a good job creating a high end feature. There is a hardcore version of this film, but I'm good with the softcore cut. It is easy enough to find, so I'd recommend checking it out. If you like it, then you can easily find the hardcore cut online at most adult streaming websites.