Hot Girls Wanted

Hot Girls Wanted is a 2015 American documentary on young adult pornography directed by Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus. The film follows the lives of several 18- and 19-year old pornographic actresses. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Netflix on May 29, 2015.

Synopsis

Several 18 to 25-year old young women are interviewed about their experiences as pornography performers. Several women, including Rachel Bernard (from Illinois) and Tressa Silguero (from Texas) are recruited by a 23-year old pro-amateur porn agent Riley Reynolds to live in his North Miami Beach home.^[2] Reynolds's agency is called Hussie Models.^[3] Silguero, 19, leaves the business.^[4]

Production

The film was originally imagined as an exploration of male consumption of pornography on college campuses. The filmmakers abandoned this idea when they discovered that the men were mostly watching pornographic videos starring young women. Curious about why such a large number of young women were entering the industry, the film was reoriented to tell their story.^[5] Further edits took place after the Sundance premiere to address issues the filmmakers identified during screenings. Following discussions with the public on Twitter, some of the film's statements were also clarified.^[6]

Release

Hot Girls Wanted premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.^[7] Netflix picked the film up for distribution^[8] and released it on May 29, 2015.^[9]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 80% of ten surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.4/10.^[10] Geoff Berkshire of Variety wrote, "An intimate and ultimately harrowing peek inside the world of amateur porn, Hot Girls Wanted will shock and outrage audiences in equal measure."^[1] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "rigorous, timely study".^[11] Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "If you were in the dark about the potential dangers for young women of employment in the porn industry, this documentary may prove instructive. For everyone else, it's an unnecessary – if salutary – reminder."^[12] Mike Hale of The New York Times described it as "a documentary with a provocative subject and title but an uncertain tone that vacillates between weary outrage and motherly concern".^[13]

Reynolds and two of his performers said that the film focuses too much on the worst case scenarios. Regardless, Reynolds said the film has inspired young women to enter pornography.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website
• Hot Girls Wanted at the Internet Movie Database
• Hot Girls Wanted at Rotten Tomatoes
• Interview with Rashida Jones on Her Porn Documentary 'Hot Girls Wanted'