Tonight on Playboy Radio: The Chameleon (1989)

Tonight on Playboy Radio, we’re going to be discussing John Leslie’s The Chameleon, starring Tori Welles and Tom Byron, with a special appearance by our own Debi Diamond!

I picked this movie because it appears that Tori is on her way back to the business, teaming up with Tom Byron to form “Hall of Fame Management” (Facebook / Twitter) and I thought it might be fun to look back on one of their many movies together… and it certainly didn’t hurt that Debi is in it, and it’s a pretty awesome movie, to boot!

The plot goes more or less like this: Tori plays a woman who is able to change her appearance (i.e. a chameleon).  As the movie opens, we see a moody party going on and April West is being jerked off by Alex Horn while Scott Irish looks on; the boys change position and Scott fucks her.  We then see that she’s telling her story to her psychiatrist, played by Richard Pacheco.

She’s married to Tom Byron who does not like her changing shape, since she usually goes out and fucks people while she’s not herself, and that makes him feel bad.  To make it up to him, she turns herself into Debi Diamond and has him fuck her while she’s not looking like herself.

(Fun fact from the show: Debi and Tori never had a scene together, but Tori did end up ravishing Debi on the floor of a karaoke bar one night…)

Some time later, they go to dinner and Tori sees Victoria Paris and Peter North slinking away into a back room, so she joins them and has a torrid three-way.

Afterwards, Victoria Paris runs into a tuxedo-clad Buck Adams who takes her to a party.  There, she sees Pamela Rose and Lynn Franciss take on Ray Victory; and while they fuck Ray, she fucks Buck.

The next day, Tori arrives home and Tom is pissed that she stood him up at the restaurant.  So she gives him a gift and then they fuck a bit.

Tori then tries to seduce her analyst who wants no part of it, so she goes to a bar and transforms into Selena Steele, who is being a stalked a bit by Joey Silvera, so she bangs him to keep him at bay.

Finally, Tori ends up in the arms (and between the legs) of Buck Adams, who may not be who he seems…

There’s lots to like about this movie.  I like that has a lot of people from John Leslie’s past in it. In addition to Joey Silvera, with whom Leslie worked quite a bit both as an actor and as a colleague at Evil Angel, there’s Richard Pacheco who did the Talk Dirty to Me / Nothing To Hide movies with him; Lynn Franciss had a scene with JL in Talk Dirty to Me 2… I know the porn world is a small one, but the presence of these “older” performers just made the endeavor feel a bit more special to me.

Also notable, the Debi Diamond / Tom Byron scene won the 1990 AVN Award for Best Sex Scene Coupling: Video , and Tori and Victoria tied that year for Best New Starlet.

Roger T. Pipe over at RogReviews.com says of our pal DD:

Debi shows the sort of sexual talent that would later win her Preformer of the Year as she takes Tom all the way to the root. No small task even by this scuz guzzling blonde bim’s high standards. This sex scene is perfectly shot, well lit and just the right mix of sexy close ups and beautiful full shots as Debi uses her whole body to make love to Tom as if her life depends upon it. Her hair still dripping from the shower, she rides Tom’s cock, not screaming like a stuck pig, but moaning softly to encourage his strokes deep into her body. This may not be the super slutty Debi Diamond that raincoaters worship, but she is plenty sex in a more subduded manner here, and still manages to sound classy saying “Fuck my mouth.” Something he does with absolute glee until he cums all over her face. Then, just as the post climax lull kicks in, Tom is in the arms of Tori once again.

Rieekan over at Adult DVD Talk has this to offer:

The Chameleon is a 1989 porn classic directed by John Leslie and starring the insatiable Tori Welles. I have it on loan from a friend considerably more versed in 80s pornography than myself, but was still quite interested to see it. Unlike other classics I’ve reviewed, this one actually turned out OK and succeeded in stimulating body and brain with its eroticism. Definitely a good choice for couples if they can get past the funky hairstyles.  Hairstyles aside, the women were natural-looking — the only departure from that department being Tori’s breasts (which were still a sight to behold). The sex wasn’t as hot as contemporary offerings but the eroticism was right up there, and there were merits for this film in not just being about inter-genital reciprocation. Tori really carries the day with her performances and voracious appetite. Not only that, but she and most of the other cast also acted quite well and the interesting and original story worked nicely.

Also over at Adult DVD Talk, Goldmember (while labeling this an Official Selection of the Goldmember Masterpiece Collection) says:

Now this is a rare example of the kind of plot that actually does work in porn! The plot creates excellent scenarios for interesting sex, is always directly related to the sex, is short & sweet, and is often arousing on its own. It turns out Tori’s character can transform herself into different women. Talk about a perfect girlfriend. The plot runs with the idea very nicely, throwing in a nice twist ending. Tori and most of the cast do a surprisingly solid job acting. I hate it when adult movie try to perform story lines that call fore extensive non sexual acting segments. This film really hits a nice balance.

Hands down, the best scene in the movie is a three-way between Peter North, Tori Welles and Victoria Paris. (Sorry, AVN…)

Corey Thomas at Adult DVD Talk:

The best and probably most memorable scene, however, is a threesome that takes place in the backroom of the restaurant between Tori Welles, Victoria Paris, and Peter North. The lighting and photography in this scene is especially good and the performers are entirely into it. North drenches Tori in one of his usual full-force cumshots.

Of the scene Rog says:

A quick glance at Tori’s body is impossible. You have to just stare in amazement at absolute feminine perfection as she disrobes and shows Victoria that she eats pussy as well as she sucks cock. Speaking of steak swallowing, Victoria does an admirable job trying to fit a good amount of Peter’s peter into her tiny mouth. Poor Tom is stuck at the table, while the love of his life is taking a huge cock from behind. By the way, Tori in her thigh high stockings is a very pretty picture. As is Victoria, who was not always known as a nasty girl, sucking Tori’s juices from Peter’s rod as he pulls out. Make no mistake, the two women here dominate the scene, with Peter just providing the meat between them. Tori’s RC is one of the most sensuous things I have ever seen in my life, she is absolutely perfect. To finish things off, Tori gets down to some serious two fisted cocksucking and tit fucking (YES, tit fucking. Horray!) With her face so perfectly located, what can Peter do,. But decorate that pretty face with thick, white cum. Tori never stops sucking and stroking, instead just leaning here head back to catch the spray as if she were showering in sperm. This is an amazing facial that must go in the all time hall of fame.

Goldmember says:

Mr. North is the third member of this historic threeway. I can remember quite a few critics in the past pointing to this scene an one of the all time threesomes. The scene gets started once Tori walks in on North and Paris, she quickly joins in and helps the Victoria deal with the “Loadman.” You can really notice the North and Paris are living in the days of big hair, it is almost comical. However Welles still looks every bit the sexpot I remember. She is one of the women with an extremely fit fuller body, but a body that is in absolutely perfect shape, allowing the light to display every seductive womanly curve. The three of them go on to create some serious heat. Watching Tori grind away on North with that kind of passion is an entertaining site. The scene ends well with Tori enthusiastically trying to finish Peter of with some tit fucking and cock sucking until the “Loadman” does cometh. Historic!

I will add a few observations on the Tom / Tori scene, in there’s a bit towards the beginning where they’re both on their backs, and he’s eating her and she’s jerking him off which is really a great piece of staging.  There can never be enough “handjob as foreplay” in my book.  This was also done in the beginning where Alex Horn is jilling April West while she’s reaching behind her to jerk him off.  Good good stuff.

Finally, to sum up, Joey Markham of the dear departed RAME newsgroup posted:

This movie is a definite must see. A definite for fans of Tori Welles and John Leslie. One of 1989’s highly acclaimed features, this movie has a lot to offer. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with the talky parts of the movie, courtesy of someone over on YouTube… to see the naughty bits, get your own copy!

http://youtu.be/5RWTBJL102k

Oh, and here’s a picture of modern day Tom and Tori as part of their new venture: