Written by Fumo Verde
Back in the late '70s and early '80s the adult film industry was in it's golden age-- although it wasn't realized yet, and through that sexual revolution, certain stars rose to the top. One of these great goddesses of the silver screen was a woman named Seka, star of films like Blonde Fire and A Taste of Seka. This was a time when a porno actually had a plot and the people who made these films truly believed they were making a real movie-- just with some fucking. This was also the time before the big video boom, when porn movies held premieres, and the stars and directors walked down red carpets. During this time, Seka ruled supreme. She had worshipers by the millions, and just her name alone brought out fantasies in men of all ages. This is a documentary, but it's more of one man's adventure to find the woman, a woman named Seka.
Stefan Nylen is a journalist from Sweden, who as a young adult discovered the porn industry and its number one star at the time Seka. In this movie, he seeks her out to ask her questions about her career, her life, and why she stopped doing porn. The movie starts out with a thirty-second montage of porn clips featuring Seka. We are then whisked away to a porn convention in Las Vegas. Here Nylen interviews a few adult stars that worked with Seka, including a talk with Nina Hartley and Randy West. Neither of them gives real clues into who Seka was or why she stopped doing porn. From there he goes to L.A.-- mainly “the Valley". The San Bernardino Valley is where the porn industry settled and still lives today. Here he finds directors such as Al Goldstein and Bob Burns, who made some films starring the blond bombshell. These men give a little more insight to who Seka was, but not to why she stopped being a porn star.
Most of the interviews that Nylen gets shed little light on Seka, with the exception of Jane Hamilton, who worked with Seka on a few occasions and who gave her the best advice in her life, "if you don't want to do something or you feel uncomfortable, then don't do it…these guys are just happy to have you here." Hamilton is now a producer and director and since her beginning with porn in 1977, has made a great living from the industry. Her very first scene, a girl on girl, was with, of course, Seka.
From L.A., Nylen flies to Chicago, where Seka now lives with her husband and cats. Here is where he finally gets to meet his boyhood fantasy. Seka, whose real name is Dorothea Patton gives a great interview about how she started, what was happening at the time, and why she did finally stop making porn. She first stopped in 1985 after Careful He May Be Watching, but then made a comeback performance in 1993 in American Garter. She also discusses what it's like being a normal housewife.
This movie isn't about trying to find Seka as it a window into the porn industry of the '70s and '80s, and it sheds some light on what is happening now. The interview with Goldstein and Burns explained what it was like making films back then, as Scott Taylor, a current producer and director, explains what it's like now. Seka explains her life to Nylen with the same charismatic sense of humor that made her a star, and her reasons for quitting when she did are as simple as the reasons for her starting.
The extras on the disc are pretty cool, some extra interviews with Seka about what it was like working with John Holmes, and Ron Jeremy. And, for you total horndogs, yes there are some sex clips that pop out through out the movie. There are also little blurbs that pop up here and there and explain certain things to you as you go along. Unfortunately, they aren't easily read, and if you focus on them, you may miss out on what the person being interviewed is saying. I got tired of pausing it all the time just to read the blurb, but they did have insightful information that gives one the idea of how big the porn industry is in the U.S. and around the world.
Desperately Seeking Seka is a fun little documentary for those of us who remember the golden age of porn and all it's freakiness, and the golden goddess with the one word name that could make anyone horny. Thank you Seka, for everything.
This is Fumo…stay horny, babies.
