Video store dishes on back room rentals

By Jonathan West

For the Daily

For years Liberty Street Video has helped students overcome the burden of class work by providing tens of thousands of videos for home entertainment. This video store is unique, though, in how it provides a stress reliever of a different sort in the form of adult related material. Seeing that pornographic material has gotten the shaft from the major video rental stores, we had the chance to talk to Kevin Smith, an employee of Liberty Street Video, about the importance of porn to the store.

The Michigan Daily: Just how many adult movies does the store have?

Kevin Smith: I'll just make an estimate, but over a thousand. That's just a rough estimate, but I know that it's a lot.

TMD: What are the different contents of the films?

KS: They're all pretty much hardcore. There's gay and straight videos. Anything from "Grateful Grannies" to like "Granny the Tranny" to the "The Fat, the Bald and the Ugly." There's the "Ultra Milk Maids" and pregnant women videos if that's what you want.

TMD: In your opinion how deep are pornographic films?

KS: Like do they have a plot? Most of them no.

TMD: Have you ever seen a porno that has a plot then?

KS: Not a well developed one.

TMD: What have you noticed about the demeanor of those who come in to rent porn?

KS: They're just like everybody else, really. The stereotype, you know, is this sweaty old guy with hairy palms. It's not like that, I mean women come in to rent porn too.

TMD: Do you think that customers rent other movies to mask the embarrassment of renting a porno?

KS: It probably happens every once in a while but it's not that common.

TMD: Well then, if you were on the other end of the spectrum, and you were starring in a porn film instead of watching one, what type of character would you be?

KS: Let me think about that for a second. (Scoffs) Wow, that's too hard. I have no idea.

TMD: All right. Who then would you like to see most in a porno?

KS: Personally, I'd like to see all of the presidential candidates make a porno together.

TMD: You mean like all in the same film?

KS: Yeah, like a gang bang orgy porn.

TMD: Okay and just to be fair, who would you never want to see in a porno?

KS: Ron Jeremy, but unfortunately I have many times.

TMD: Has the store ever come across any problems from having an adult video section?

KS: Like customers complaining? Not really, customers complain more about the gay and lesbian section than they do about the other videos. And that doesn't even happen that often.

TMD: What's your advice to someone who is selecting adult films for personal entertainment?

KS: I'd say not to judge a porno by its cover.

TMD: So the true beauty of porn isn't just skin deep then?

KS: Exactly. My recommendation is to read reviews. There are a lot available on the internet because there's a lot of crappy porn out there.

TMD: What's your definition of crappy porn?

KS: Since they get churned out by the thousands every year, a lot of films have too low of a budget to be decent. Very few are shot on film; most are shot on videotape. There's low all around quality, like bad editing, bad dubbing, bad shooting, and bad acting. Ugly people, too. Yeah, if you read reviews, in the end it could save you some money.

ABBY ROSENBAUM/Daily

Liberty Street Video employees LSA sophomore Carrie Matherly and manager Steve Smith peruse the store's ample stock of adult films.