"Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography," a documentary by Betsy Goldberg, explores the growing influence of feminism in the pornography industry. In an industry dominated by misogynistic portrayals of women, feminist pornography sounds like an oxymoron. Betsy Goldberg's short documentary, enlists various actors and directors in the industry to discuss their views of female empowerment and sexuality.

In a somewhat corny fashion, the film begins with the title screen, flashing the words "Hot and Bothered" in front of shelves filled with dildos. It then cuts to actress and director Nancy Hartley, as she discusses how her love of sex prompted her to become involved in the porn industry.

The film then moves to Greta Christina, the creator of the sex toy company called Blowfish. Christina explains how Blowfish creates toys that are geared towards the pleasure of women. The toys range from the standard vibrator to bondage pleasures such as whips and handcuffs.

While Hartley again discusses being a porn star, the camera shockingly pans out to show her masturbating a man while talking. She then proceeds to demonstrate how comfortable she is with having sex in front of people as she all the while continues to talk to the camera.

Next, various clips of porn movies are spliced between interviews with women talking about feminism in the porn industry. All of the movies, such as "How to Fuck in High Heels" and "The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women," are directed by women for women. Ever since the feminist movement of the 60s, women are becoming more aggressive sexually and are growing as sexual consumers. Feminist pornography, unlike male pornography, shows women as empowered rather than subjugated by men. The porn is geared towards the fulfillment of women's desires and sexual fantasies.

In the next section, the film moves to discuss how feminism has influenced the sex toy industry. The designer of Blowfish shows an example of a dildo created especially for anal sex. The dildo, which was used in the educational film "The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women," has special design features to make it more comfortable for women.

Then the film discusses the negative aspects of the male-dominated porn industry. As one woman talks about how female orgasms were lacking in male porn, the film shows a disgustingly graphic clip of a man ejaculating all over a woman's face. Following this, the documentary shows a clip of another porn movie demonstrating male domination. In the rather hilarious and poorly acted scene a girl who has supposedly just turned 18 goes to a construction site to seduce her stepfather. While the girl moans, "Fuck me, Daddy," it is hard to know whether to be amused or disturbed.

In a short section with the only male interviewed, the man basically agrees with everything the other women had mentioned about feminist pornography. Surrounded by several females, he vehemently states that he hopes to see women in better positions in the porn industry.

Next the film includes more graphic shots showing women using strap-on dildos. The makers of the film, "Bend Over Boyfriend," disclose how male sexuality is not as rigid as the industry makes it out to be. For all those homophobic straight men, the directors insist that is it healthy for men to fantasize and enjoy their girlfriends pleasuring them anally. Surprisingly, the strap-ons are also used in feminist lesbian porn. The makers of several lesbian pornographic films explain that real lesbian porn is much different and more liberating than the lesbian porn made by men.

In one of the more interesting sections, the documentary explores the history of male porn, which was built on organized crime. The documentary shows example clips of movies with misogynistic mob mentality, even showing a clip from a silent porn film made in the 1930s.

Finally, the film discusses the troubles of funding feminist pornography. The documentary follows director Tristan Taormino as she pleads with top pornographic director John Staliano (a.k.a."Buttman") to help fund her film, "The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women." After much pleading, he decides to provide funding when she enlists the talent of porn star Ruby.

Although the film deserves credit for tackling such a tough subject, on the whole the documentary was not completely successful. While the women spoke honestly and passionately about their cause, several of the interviewed women reiterated each other, lessening the overall effectiveness of their ideas. In addition, the scene with Hartley talking and having sex at the same time was more tacky and distracting than influential. Also, it might have been more interesting if it had included a negative point of view from someone in the male porn industry. Despite its powerful message, the documentary has more entertainment value than potential for critical acclaim.