Sex Rehab Episodes 1-3: Porn Star Sex Addicts NOT Advised to Change Careers

In terms of social trends, I am generally a laggard, embracing trends just as they become uncool. Which brings me to my recent discovery of this radio show called LoveLine.

I always knew such a sex show existed, mostly from clips of its MTV incarnation which ran during the John Henson years of Talk Soup. But I think it wasn’t until Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla guest starred on Dawson’s Creek (which I embraced during the show’s peak college years) that a friend explained the radio show to me. And only within the last 18 months have I become a listener. And the more I listen, the more I wonder whether Dr. Drew is an ally or an enemy.

Obviously, Dr. Drew performs a valuable service by dispensing frank medical information and tough-love advice on sexual matters to young people. He seems particularly progressive on female orgasms, a common concern for callers. But as soon as a caller veers from a traditional (heterosexual?) monogamous sexual relationship, Dr. Drew can be dismissive, moralizing and insulting.

So I was excited when I heard that Dr. Drew was expanding his VH1 drug rehab show to feature sex addicts. I would finally learn if Dr. Drew is teaching or preaching. Unfortunately, through the first three episodes, he is simply the host of a reality show dominated by genre elements.

In the first episode, we meet the show’s eight patients. There are five women and only three men. The theory being, I suppose, that if one wanted to watch a bunch of guys obsessed with pornography, masturbation and getting laid, he or she could go to a T.G.I. Friday’s. But women addicted to sex, now that’s an act.

Each patient is introduced by way of an initial consultation with Dr. Drew. First we meet James Lovett. Billed as a “professional surfer”, James embraces the stoner personality only to come off like he’s on meth. He spends the first episode literally bouncing off the house’s exercise equipment.

Kendra Jade, billed as a “model/dancer”, is a former porn star turned celebrity stripper. She has supposedly been out of the sex business for 8 years and is now married to a rock star and runs an animal rescue clinic.

Next is Jennifer Ketcham, billed as “adult entertainer.” Unabashedly a porn star, she performs under the stage name Penny Flame and is made to sound very successful. (Check out her website www.clubpenny.com. For the record, I have a couple of her movies from Naughty America.) Jennifer represents at least half my emotional investment in this show. Can a woman be bisexual, a dominatrix and still healthy? The problem is that right now, Jennifer is so clearly damaged.

Nicole Narin, billed as “model”, is a former Playboy playmate and star of a Colin Farrell sex tape. After three episodes, I am still not convinced that most of the patient’s suffer form sex addiction. Acts that superficially indicate sex addiction seem somewhat rational when performed by women who have chosen to make their celebrity living in the soft core porn business.

Kari Ann Peniche, billed as “former beauty queen”, won the 2003 Miss United States Teen pageant. She lost her crown for posing in Playboy and was the other woman in the Eric “McSteamy” Dane nude hot tube video.

Duncan Roy, billed as “producer/director”, is the producer/writer/director of a handful of independent movies, his most famous and autobiographical film being “Aka”, seemingly a kind of Catch Me If You Can set in England the 1970s. He tells Dr. Drew that he wastes whole days surfing Internet porn.

Amber Smith, billed as “actress/model”, is credited with covers on several popular, mainstream fashion magazines, and of course Playboy in 1995. In a repeated clip, Amber talks about her need to start each morning searching for men in order to get “her fix”. This is an example of the show twisting the facts to make sex addiction sound more like a drug addiction. The full scene explains Amber was cruising for men to hustle in order to get her fix of actual drugs.

Phil Varone, billed as “Rock Star”, by VH1 and his own proclamations, played drums in some of the later Skid Row formations. Looking very much the part of a rock star with tattoos, he still comes off with some level of maturity.

These eight people will all being living in Pasadena Recovery Center for 21 days with no sex, masturbation or physical contact with fellow residents beyond a handshake. I wonder if sex addicts are routinely treated so cold turkey. The treatment feels like a reality show construct—put eight celebrities through a drawn of version of Seinfeld’s “The Contest”.

The second episode beings the treatment, divided between group and individual therapy. The individual therapy plays like a camera confessional, allowing different cast members to be spotlighted. The second episode spotlights Duncan, Jennifer and Phil. Dr. Drew, who has such a strong voice on the radio, has an awkward camera presence. In one session, a female patient says something like, “I just want to make a connection with someone.” Dr. Drew replies with a suggestive smile: “I think we can help you with that.” Dr. Drew is assisted by Jill Vermeire, a licensed marriage and family therapist.

The first group session focuses on the patients’ traumatic pasts. If I am going to spare the snark, it is because these people have had truly horrible experiences. Most were molested as young children and then raped in their teens. Dr. Drew often points out that sexual addiction is the effect of such abuse, and even states that sexual addiction usually doesn’t occur without it.

Duncan picks up this theme in his individual counseling; he was raped as a young child by family members. He confirms that although sexual addiction can occur in both genders, those who cause it are men.

Jennifer expresses guilt about initiating sex with other children, essentially committing child abuse. Dr. Drew agrees abuse happened, but believes Jennifer was a mutual victim of child-on-child abuse. Her career as porn star isn’t addressed. I suppose that’s infuriating me because I could respond if he took a position for or against, but can’t argue with his silence.

Phil’s issue is that he doesn’t have trauma in his past. Dr. Drew believes Phil’s trauma was the death of his mother late in his life. I think that’s a stretch. Maybe Dr. Phil doesn’t want to back off from the abuse explanation, but does that also mean that if one wasn’t abused, one doesn’t need to worry about sexual addiction?

James has been largely silent since making such a noisy entrance. I wonder if he is the show’s one true sex addict. He went through immediate withdrawal but has now largely shut down while the rest of the cast plan their dramatic scenes for the cameras and their future careers.

The third episode’s group therapy begins with the women. They are asked to remove their make-up. Then the men come in and Phil and Duncan tell the women they look just as good…and they are right, unless they are all wearing TV make-up. That does raise interesting questions about sex addicts. People can remove drugs from their lives, but they’ll always be surrounded by fashion, other people and they’re own bodies. For example, Jill is very attractive. If normally patients routinely transfer emotions onto their counselors, how can sex addicts resist?

The third episode’s individual therapy spotlights Amber, Nicole, and Kendra. Amber speaks of her father (former Charges running back Russ Smith) abandoning her at an early age and then her guilt when he died alone of alcohol poisoning.

Kendra speaks of her husband. Dr. Drew surprised me by referring to her husband as part of her addiction, when it seems to be the only monogamous relationship among the patients.

Nicole speaks very generally about her a failed relationship and people moving in and out of her life. She is example of what seems to be Dr. Drew’s classification of sexual addiction as anyone who hasn’t had (or doesn’t want?) a long-term relationship.

The group activity in the third episode is an exercise instructor who I imagine is there to help them release pent up steam: but she is also attractive. Jennifer and Kendra articulate their attraction to the woman in one of the show’s few titillating moments.

The biggest problem is that everything I’ve described is barely half the camera time. Too much is spent with the cast members just hanging around, “being real”. The most camera time in episodes 2 and 3 goes to Kari Ann’s acting bratty, fighting with the facility’s lead tech, whining to her manager that she wants to quit, and fighting with Kendra. Because that’s what a reality contestant does.

This show isn’t spotlighting a taboo topic, but is simply advancing what I think is the original screwed-up thinking: that for women promiscuity is the price of fame and for men promiscuity is the reward for fame.