Toronto [blogto.com] – Confessions of a Porn Addict, starring Toronto TV star Spencer Rice, will open this Friday at the Bloor Cinema. Though the film is being pitched as “a hilarious mockumentary about voyeurism, obsession, and life in the San Fernando Valley,” I might call it more of an extreme modern romance – and definitely one you don’t want to miss.
Spencer ‘Spenny’ Rice plays Mark Tobias, a man who has lost everything due to his obsession with porn. In order to salvage his character and himself in court, he decides to document his addiction… and thus we enter the quasi-reality of Confessions of a Porn Addict.
I must admit, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I sat down to talk with Spenny. His persona from Kenny vs. Spenny and that of Mark Tobias can be misleading, and difficult to sort from reality. However with the help of his co-star and Yuk Yuk’s Canada owner, Mark Breslin, we got down to the business of sorting out the ‘mock’ from the ‘documentary.’
spennyGiven what I’ve seen on Kenny vs. Spenny, I was surprised to see Spenny star in a movie featuring porn addiction, tragic romance, and extreme pornographer Rob Black. He actually came up with the concept after seeing a movie with a compulsive gambler: “I wanted to do something with addiction and sex is always funny, and so Mark Tobias evolved from there.”
porn addictAssisted by his Porn Addicts Anonymous sponsor Bob (Mark Breslin), Tobias sets out to kick his habit and reconcile with his wife, who left him over his addiction. Breslin, Spenny’s real life good friend and mentor, is a hilarious addition to the movie as Bob – a man who hasn’t jerked off in 10 years (a role, I might add, that he says grew around his own comedic persona).
Spenny crafted much of the story with the help of director/editor Duncan Christie, who previously worked on K vs. S and plays himself as the director of the mockumentary. Christie, who is a talented musician with Toronto band Madrid, pulled together a fantastic soundtrack for the film. They also managed to get legendary and litigious porn producer Rob Black in on the project – even if Black didn’t know it.
Rod Black was only semi-aware of his participation in the movie, at least at first. Speny met the legendary Extreme Pictures producer through Jan (who has a spot in the film, the bukakke screener). Anyone who’s been watching K vs. S knows Spenny is a huge wrestling fan, and so is Black (who headed the Extreme Wrestling venture). So they hit it off, and Black agreed to participate. Though at first the film was presented as documentary on Black himself, he was later let in on the real story behind Confessions of a Porn Addict.
Spenny porno
Why did Rob agree? Spenny told me he always felt it was to somehow help the producer’s legal case, somewhere down the road. The footage itself is blended so well, you probably can’t tell what is mock vs. doc… however, the tour of Black’s studio is real, as is his porn star wife Lizzie Borden, and the rather ‘unique’ adult actor named Diablo (who apparently has a huge apparatus, as both Spenny and Mark assured me).
Of course, when it comes to reality and Spencer Rice, it’s always difficult to tell where his persona ends and his personality begins. Without begging the obvious question (which I am sure Spenny is asked all the time) I did try to ask just how close the real Spenny is to these characters. “Well you won’t ever see me playing a tough guy gangster,” he explained. “Mark Tobias has similarities between the real me and my persona; he has decency, he wants to get his wife back and stop with the porn… he’s a good guy.”
Of course, I said; he’s likeable, anyone can relate to that. “Kenny can’t. Kenny can’t relate to that.”
And as funny as it was to hear him reference his TV co-star this way, I understand how they both must struggle to fit into new roles, given their niche stardom. “We’re constantly fighting the tyranny of our Kenny vs. Spenny characters… but also constantly redefining myself in my roles.” I have to agree; Mark Tobias is a very successful iteration of Spenny, and indeed a genuine and humble character. He just happens to have a hilarious addiction that has brought him a lot of heartache.
Love Confessions of a Porn Addict is hilarious, raunchy and all the other good dirty things you’d expect from the title, but this movie is also quite touching… even sad. The ironic love story between a porn addict and his estranged wife has a candid approach to sexual relationships that’s refreshing, and brings a surprising depth to the film.
After the success of this film and Kenny’s Testees, I’ll also be watching for the new “single cam comedy” we discussed, coming soon from Spenny, Mark Breslin, and TV great David Steinberg.