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"Hot Girls Wanted"
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U.S. Documentary
The searing documentary "Hot Girls Wanted" shines an uncomfortable spotlight on the internet porn industry, specifically the world of so-called "amateur" porn. Filmmakers Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus start with a "talent agent," Riley, putting an ad on Craigslist offering a free plane ride to Miami to attractive 18- to 20-year-olds with "girl next door" looks. These young women are lured by easy money and dreams of glamour — without being told how rough the work can get, and that the average career may last three to six months. The movie lets us get to know several of these women, with a particular focus on Tressa, a Texas 19-year-old who goes from enthusiastic to jaded in no time. Bauer and Gradus, with a big assist from editor/writer Brittany Huckabee, connect these girls' experience with the blurring divide between pop culture and porn culture, and reveal how a largely unregulated billion-dollar industry is built on their naiveté.
- Sean P. Means
"Hot Girls Wanted" is screening in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It screens again: Tuesday, 6 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinema 6, Salt Lake City; Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Redstone Cinema 1, Park City; Saturday, noon, Egyptian Theatre, Park City.