In case you weren't aware of the fact, Hollywood has a bad case of sequelitis, and it looks as if there is no end in sight. But, let's face it, we do love our sequels, and we've grown very accustomed to them. And we know that a movie is a sequel because of the familiar "II" (or "2") behind the title, or whatever number the movie is. But, have you ever watched a movie having no idea that it was a sequel? How could one not know that a movie was a sequel? Well, that would happen if the movie had a title like Elektra Luxx which gave you no clue that it was a follow up. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Carla Gugino plays the titular character in Elektra Luxx, a former porn star who has left the business. She now oversees a class teaching women how to be more sexy in the bedroom. Elektra is approached by Cora (Marley Shelton), a woman who knew Nick Chapel, a rock star Elektra once dated. Chapel wrote some songs about Elektra and Cora has come to give the lyric sheets to Elektra. In exchange for this, Cora asks Elektra to seduce her fiance -- this will help to assuage Cora's guilt for the affair that she had. While Elektra wrestles with this request, Holly (Adrianne Palicki) and Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui) (both of whom apparently worked with Elektra) go to Mexico on vacation. While all of this is happening, on-line video blogger Bert Rodriguez (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) chronicles Elektra's career while trying to keep his sister, Olive (Amy Rosoff) from getting naked on-line.

Elektra Luxx is the sequel to the 2009 movie Women in Trouble, which I haven't seen and I'm pretty sure that I'd never heard of until I fell into this whole Elektra Luxx debacle. I double-checked the DVD box for Elektra Luxx and re-read the press release and there's no mention of sequel or Women in Trouble, so I don't feel as if I overlooked something. So, this raises the question, "Is viewing Women in Trouble a pre-requisite for watching Elektra Luxx?" Again, I haven't seen Women in Trouble, but I'm going to yes to this. The movie introduces some of the characters, but others come in and begin talking about things which we are clearly supposed to already understand. For example, Nick Chapel (who was played by Josh Brolin in Women in Trouble) is dead when this movie begins, but the movie talks about him, and his relationship with Elektra like it's common knowledge. And while Elektra's story is explained to an extent, I never fully understood who Holly and Bambi were, and the Bert character, who at first seems like he's going to be a narrator, just turns into an odd annoyance.

However, even if I had seen Women in Trouble, Elektra Luxx wouldn't have been a good movie. The movie was written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez, who just happens to be Carla's Gugino's boyfriend (which explains why she's in this movie, but what about all of those other people?). His writing resume contains such movies as Snakes on a Plane, Gothika, The Eye remake, and Rise: Blood Hunter (which he also directed), so that may give you an idea of what to expect from Elektra Luxx. The movie looks terrible. The framing of some shots is very questionable, and the editing is very sloppy, making every scene feel like it's full of first takes. Gutierrez has reached too far with the writing here. It's clear that he wanted to hit it out of the park with every line, not realizing that there have to be some mundane lines for the great ones to really stand out. It's as if he's tried to fill the movie with the sort of great dialogue which Kevin Smith would have delivered 15 years ago. Thus, no one here talks like a real-life person, and every conversation feels very staged. While Elektra's story feels as if it has some sort of point, the other two storylines feel very tacked on and add nothing to the movie. Bert eventually has somewhat of an impact, but the Holly and Bambi sub-plot is completely useless.

When glancing at the Elektra Luxx DVD, you may be tempted by the familiar cast. In addition to those listed above, Timothy Olyphant, Kathleen Quinlan, and Vincent Kartheiser appear in the movie. However, unless you've seen Women in Trouble and enjoyed that movie, you probably won't find much to like here. The story is pointless and don't be enticed by the fact that porn is mentioned quite a bit in the movie, as it's never titillating. Elektra Luxx is a play on words of the name “Electrolux”, which is a brand of vacuum cleaners. And we all know what vacuum cleaners do.

Elektra Luxx offers synopses of fake movies which sound much better than the one we’re watching on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is fairly sharp and clear, as it shows little grain and no defects from the source material. However, the movie also sports a decidedly low-budget look at times. These images are soft and slightly dark. The colors look good however. The picture doesn’t offer much in the way of impressive detail. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The track is adequate, but not exactly inspiring. Stereo effects show good separation and are fairly well detailed. The surround sound effects seem to only come from musical cues. I didn’t detect any significant subwoofer effects.

The only extras on the Elektra Luxx DVD are three DELETED SCENES which run about 19 minutes. All three of these feature new characters and new subplots, which is exactly what this movie didn't need and...hey, wait, is that Eric Stoltz? All three of these scenes exist completely separate from the main storyline of the movie (if you can call it that). They are pretty slow and wouldn't have added to the story.