Review of Hardcore: A Dirty Movie

Introduction

Now and again, new technology is adapted for slightly different use than mainstream opinion expects. It didn`t take long for CD-ROMs to be used by commercial firms to advertise their wares, and now it seems that DVD is having the same effect. I don`t know if this is the first of its kind, just maybe the first I`ve seen.

Scruffs is a company that sells tradesman`s clothing and protective equipment and they have had an idea of using the DVD medium to reach independent tradesmen who may be interested in using their products.

This idea is a `dirty` movie featuring three tradesmen visiting a building site, who get a bit more than they bargained for that day at the hands of three women in the Page 3 stunner mould.

Video

Not that it really matter, but a clear and colourful picture with on-screen graphics to highlight the benefits of clothing in these unusual situations.

Audio

Mainly music driven, although there is some dialogue of sorts from the actors involved at the climax of each set piece (pun intended). It also sounds as if the opening and closing narration is done by Don Henderson (Star Wars, Bulman, Strangers)

Features

Out-takes - two brief out-takes with the promise of racier ones on the scuffs web-site.

Stills - two stills in a Page 3 style, 4 more promised on the site under the premise they are too `hot` to be featured on an 18 certificate DVD.

DVD credits - very brief, no mention of any of the actors involved (including the narrator). Slightly odder is the lack of director credit even though the packaging this came in carries exactly the same information and identifying Lab Ky Mo (9 Dead Gay Guys) as the director.

Products - some detailed information on presumably a small selection of the products available from Scruffs.

Conclusion

Well, it`s different. The marketing strategy is aimed at the Scruffs customer base who `love nothing more than pasting a page three stunner on the wall` and a first for the clothing industry apparently. So proclaims the publicity blurb that came with the DVD.

The film itself is only five minutes in length and is really just a spoof `dirty movie` with soft-core sexual antics on a building site (get it?) that advertises products from the Scruffs catalogue. At various segments of the film, product blurb highlights the plus points of the items being shown (a jacket, some trousers and some boots - all worn by different people).

Although the director clearly fancies having a go at a bit of a Reservoir Dogs pastiche at the beginning of the film, this is clearly not a film to be taken seriously. It`s kind of like watching an old `Confessions Of` film without Robin Asquith and without the rubbish plots, which would maybe explain why the latter inevitably ran for longer than this. It is relatively funny and it`s short run-time contains some obvious clichés.

This may well attract attention from the customer base it is targeting, although I doubt this DVD will stand the repeat viewing test. Clearly released just to attract more visitors to the website and hopefully pick up some new customers on the way. Quite novel yet blatant way of doing this and it may just work.

All marks are adjusted due to the obvious promotional nature of this item.