Once Upon a Time in the Valley 2

When Steve Jacobs (Parker Ambrose) decides to strike out for Hollywood with the intention of making it big in porn, he goes in with his eyes wide open. It's a tough job in a tough city. But even with a steady head on his shoulders, Steve is not prepared for just how cutthroat the business can be, how hard it is to stay on top, and how lonely it can be once you get there.

Director Seth Gamble called this film "a love letter to the time that raised me," and as a viewer, I couldn't agree more. The '90s vibe is strong with this project, which feels pulled straight out of a time when the contract star and sprawling features were the foundation of porn. Jennifer White delivers her best, Parker Ambrose arrives as a leading man, Ken Feels is brilliantly unhinged, and the sex is off-the-charts hot.

"Part 2" of this sprawling epic picks up right where "Part 1" left off, with Lotta Passion (Jennifer White) bringing the house down at a high-end strip club. As Steve collects her winnings for her, he meets a brand-new girl named Wendy Snipes (Ameena Green) in the dressing room. The impressionable young starlet is starstruck by Lotta, unlike fellow new girl Violet Rain (Gal Ritchie), who calls Lotta old. Violet rifles through Lotta's luggage in the dressing room, igniting a rivalry with the established matron. Cornering the club owner Zac Wild, she asks him to get her booked as a headliner. When he says there's nothing he can do if she doesn't have several box covers to her name, Violet resorts to a more unconventional method of persuasion. Wild works gorgeous Gal over hard, leaving her face a gooey mess.

Meanwhile, things between Steve and Jake get really tense when Jake asks him to financially back a script that he wrote. Steve is hesitant, citing the risk and the fact that his bankroll isn't as long as Jake seems to think it is — which only incenses Jake further. Desperate, Jake reaches out to Rick Stroke (Michael Vegas), a popular male talent who he thinks has the star power and the cash to get his movie off the ground. But there's a catch: Rick will only do the movie if he gets to work with Lotta Passion, who has him on her "no list." It's a backbreaker for Jake because Rick won't invest in the movie without her.

Elsewhere, Violet has booked Lotta's newest movie, and she smugly claims that the box is hers and Lotta is finished. But when her attitude runs her afoul of the director, she finds herself fired on the spot. The director gets Paris Picasso (Blake Blossom) to replace Violet, and the scene with co-star Talon Steele (Isiah Maxwell) goes off without a hitch.

As the friendship between Lotta and Steve grows, their comfort level grows with it. Lotta shares the struggles she's faced during her career, including how important it is for girls to stay in the spotlight so they aren't forgotten, and how quickly the older girls get jealous of the hottest new thing because that hot new thing can signal the end of the old girl in a heartbeat. Lotta also admits that at this point in her career, she has become one of those old girls she ushered out to pasture when she was 20 — and it's been hard for her to accept. This is such an emotional scene because it reflects reality, and Jennifer really sells it with her tone and body language.

The film's sexual climax comes as Wicked picks up Jake's movie script and all the relevant players get signed to work it.

The story ends on a reflective note that mirrors life itself. It's an ending that will leave audiences thinking about what their favorite performers go through to bring these fantasies to life, and the impression it leaves on viewers will be a lasting one.