Sigel and I had heard about this story a while ago but we had never actually watched the movie. It was a study in contrasts. The acting is about what you would expect form main stream porn and I kind of felt that they were keeping true to the standards and scripted sex of the era when Gia was a mega star. The interviews were heartfelt and touching, we could very well feel how loved Gia was before she lost it all.

The director of the movie is Spencer Benedict AKA Jason Green.
The cast of the movie: Sunny Leone, Monica Mayhem, Tori Black, Breanne Benson, Bill Bailey, Ariel King, Lexi Belle, Dale DaBone, Jennifer Dark, Ryan Driller
Non-sex interviews: Herschel Savage, Ron Jeremy, Janine Lindemuller, Randy West, Dyanna Lauren, Debi Diamond, Mark Kernes, Jim Powers, Wesley Emerson, Evan Seinfeld, Marci Hirsch, Howard Levine, Shylar Cobi, Spencer "Jason Green" Benedict, Cecil B. Watkins, Duke Manly, Roger Ring, Ralph Parfait, Nicole, Holden Jay, Scott Wallach

The viewer should keep in mind that the movie is based on the life of Gia and not entirely, factually correct. Basically the script was written based on first hand stories of people who knew Gia. The interviews with the people who knew her are heartwarming and in some cases bittersweet. The interviewees also reminisce about other famous stars and this presents a real look behind the scenes at the lives of our favorite stars. Far from being only about Gia this is a piecemeal study of the industry as seen through the eyes of the actors. All the interviews were conducted at the AVN awards.
Gia was a star that burned brightly and everyone seemed to want more and more from her. She sizzled on the screen and her co-stars begged to do scenes with her. The excesses finally took their toll, however, and her fall was a meteroic as her rise had been.
We enjoyed the interviews and the naked glimpse into the 'behind the scenes world' of the industry.

The sex scenes were pretty typical of the porn industry but since they were meant to emphasize and portray the world that Gia inhabited I felt they were entirely appropriate if a bit formulaic. It should be noted that Sunny Leon had her first on screen double penetration and anal sex scene though, admittedly, it was with a toy, while portraying Gia.

The production vales of the movie were very top notch. I know the moaning and over dubbing of the girls was very irritating but it was meant to show the era, as it were. The lack of safer sex practices was a bit disconcerting as well and may have leant realism but the risk far outweighed the reward since this wasn't a totally factual accounting of Gia's life. My lady bits cringed at the jelly toy being shared but I told myself that not all ladies are as sensitive as I am in that area!
The camera work was great, there wasn't any of the weird angles or fuzzy focusing that has become more popular recently. The production company really went all out incorporating different styles of camera work from the face to face interview style to black and white shorts.
The music, when there was any music, wasn't jarring or the same run of the mill porn music that gets laughed about in comedy skits. It seemed to fit the scenes and was quite pleasant.
Most of the movie is sex scenes, which would fit a porno in my opinion but we really would love to see a real documentary made that included some of Gia's actual work and was a bit more factual. Her's really is a cautionary tale about the effects of fame and how NOT to deal with it.

There were quite a few bonus features included on the second disc which runs about 2 hours longer than the main disc! There is a director's cut, a few deleted scenes and out-takes, some behind the scenes footage, and a lovely photo gallery.

There are 8 total sex scenes mixed through the interviews and other plot point scenes so there is a whole lot going on in this movie. It left us kind of bewildered and feeling like the producers had so much thay wanted to do with this movie that 3 hours just wasn't enough time. Seems to us that it would have suited them better to break up the movie into parts or even different themes. As it is it's a nice film that has some good features that elevate it from the usual porn movie fare.

While it was a novel approach to a pseudo biography the charm wears off quickly and I haven't pulled it off the shelf for many months. It's cute, shocking and a great look into the adult entertainment world but it isn't really a biography.