Review: Hot Girls Wanted

Hot Girls Wanted

Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus

Netflix

Hot Girls Wanted principally examines Tressa Silgnero’s (aka Stella May) foray into amateur porn. She is a case study for this documentary, which reveals the competitive reality of the amateur-porn machine that renders 18- and 19-year-old girls starry-eyed once they learn of how much money they can make per scene.

Three months is the marker at which most girls survive in the industry, however, lest they consistently take less desirable work in genres mentioned in the film like facial abuse, hardcore bondage and even as ethnically niche as “Latina abuse.” Such is the case with Silgnero, who lives with about four other girls in talent agent Riley’s house, who helps them contract with porn producers and takes a 10-percent cut.

Other female actors in Riley’s house include Rachel (aka Ava Taylor) and Jade (aka Ava Kelly). They view participating in porn mostly as their job and write off bad scenes as going to work and generating a good for sites that garner 41 million hits per month, thereby increasing their own online visibility. Work it is indeed—the documentary shows the girls experiencing exhaustion from and disillusionment with having so much sex.

Ultimately, Hot Girls Wanted effectively demonstrates that despite the sense of independence and empowerment they may feel in doing porn, the mainstream porn industry treats them as expendable commodities. This film is a must-see. –Alexander Ortega