‘Love Act’ Bares Tawdry Yet Poignant Tale

“Everyone has a sex fantasy tucked away like a strapped ham.” Such is the vision that transforms two nerdy siblings into pornographic impresarios in Cintra Wilson’s “XXX Love Act,” which receives a thoroughly immersive environmental treatment courtesy of Actors’ Gang.

Director Mark Seldis and designer Don Luce turn the company’s intimate El Centro space into a seedy strip club, replete with pre-show “performance” on a tinsel-lined runway--the perfect setting for this cautionary chronicle loosely based on San Francisco’s Mitchell Brothers.

Harboring grandiose visions of creating “artistic” porn, the flamboyant Randy O’Farrell (Kyle Gass) and his accountant brother Manny (Kirk Ward) parlay their notorious early film efforts into a fabulously

successful adult entertainment empire.

But for the O’Farrells, the fantasy release that was supposed to be a healthy antidote becomes the disease itself--a downward spiral of drugs, depression and murder.

Though more sexually suggestive than explicit, Seldis’ confrontational staging is rarely hampered by psychological restraint. The banality of the subject matter, however, doesn’t always warrant the consummate detail and care expended in the assault.

Squalor notwithstanding, Wilson’s sharp writing wrests surprising poetic jewels from the cesspool, at its best recalling the eloquence of Raymond Chandler. These flashes of subtlety are most evident in the real-world relationship issues that surface when Manny seeks an anchor of normality in marriage with one of his performers (Susan Dalian), who in return abandons her lover (Rebecca Gray) for him. Unexpected moments of poignancy also occur in Randy’s mistreatment of his adoring dim bulb girlfriend (Victoria Cunningham).

Outrageous antics descended from “Cabaret’s” Master of Ceremonies are supplied by Arthur Hanket and Michael Rivkin as a sardonic duo who serve as guides and commentators through the O’Farrells’ tawdry, libido-drenched version of hell.

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* “XXX Love Act,” Actors’ Gang El Centro, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays through Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 16. $12. (323) 465-0566, Ext. 3. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.