This review of the (of course, widescreen) September 2014 DVD release of the documentary "I'm A Porn Star" (which could have been titled "Getting to the Bottom of the Gay Erotic Video Industry") from Canteen Outlaws (which is a branch of gay video giant TLA Video) is an apt follow-up to a recent Ureal TV post on the documentary "A Life in Dirty Movies."
These films offer far different perspectives on the adult-oriented film industry. The former tells the bare truth regarding the current gay porn industry, and the latter is a more artistic look at a man who is considered a top auteur of the sensual film genre.
Another interesting aspect of "Star" is that it can be considered the anti "Unhung Hero." "Hero," the review of which is solidly in the all-time top three of Unreal TV posts, offers the related messages that the size of a man's "equipment" does not matter and that an assumed blessing regarding that part of the male anatomy can be a curse. Conversely, "Star" advertises that someone who is above average in that regard has a good chance of using it to his advantage regarding paying the bills as long as he does not mind appearing in all-male productions.
A related parallel between these films is that adorable "Hero" star Patrick Moote, whose Unreal TV interview is another fan favorite, commented that watching straight porn both provided a sense that his endowment did not measure up to theirs but that the larger versions surely must have hurt the "actresses" on the receiving end of those blunt instruments.
Getting to the meat (of course, pun intended) of the matter, one of the best things regarding "Star" is that trepidation regarding it was unfounded. Much of the fear related to the involvement of producer/director Charlie David of "Dante's Cove." This gaycentric series is the most hated of all programs that Unreal TV has ever reviewed.
Other concern was associated with predictions that "Star" would merely be a series of hardcore clips of the four featured performers interspersed with superficial insights. Not only is this not the case, the fact that any glimpses of the naughty bits of the boys are very fleeting seems absurd considering that anyone with any device that can access the Internet can quickly find images of our subjects in their full glory.
This is not to say that the entertaining (and charming in its own right) "Star" is award worthy; its value lies in both the unexpected insights that it offers and the overall appeal of the "fantastic four" who seemingly have learned that "eight is enough" regarding their chosen industry around whom the film centers.
"Star" opens with a brief (but highly explicit) history of gay pornography from the early days of photography up to the 21st Century expansion of the Internet, which has led to an obscene (of course, pun intended) number of porn sites that are as starved for content as fledgling cable stations were in the mid-80s. Enter (of course, pun intended) the boys to fill that need.
The following erotic trailer, courtesy of YouTube, for "Star" is more apt for "Cove" than the current film but provides a good sense of the fun-loving tone of the movie.
The underlying theme of the origin stories of Johnny Rapid, Brent Everett, Colby Jansen, and Rocco Reed is that they discover that individually falling along the scale of human sexuality at a point that makes them adequately comfortable releasing physical tension on film in an all-male setting is a good way to relieve financial tension. At least two of them are doing this to help pay for graduate or undergraduate school and/or to support their families.
One remark regarding this is particularly insightful; this comment observes that a man who is a straight as some "actors" assert is physically incapable of performing some of the on-screen acts in which these supposed completely "breeders" engage.
In this respect, "Star" evokes thoughts of the Florida high school boy who faced strong grief roughly a year ago after everyone at his school learns of his video for the Sean Cody gay porn site. (Of course, this story prompted at least 1,000s to find this short online.) Conversely, his mother praises him for going to such extreme measures to bring needed money into their home.
These experiences in this film industry niche leads one to wonder if (faced with such a choice) working at Wal-Mart is more unpleasant than being anally penetrated for the sole motivation of bringing home a paycheck.
Although "Star" does not offer any hard (of course, pun intended) numbers, the film strongly indicates that the compensation from a few days shooting a gay porn film exceeds the income from flipping burgers part time for several months.
Further, the boys all seem happy regarding the manner in which they start in the business; they range from the once completely straight Colby discovering on inadvertently falling in love with a transsexual that he enjoys a wider range of sexual activity than originally thought to another boy and the boyfriend of that lad quickly receiving a positive response to an inquiry about work in that field.
In other words, none of these boys were living on the street or in otherwise dire situations or hustling on the street corner. Additionally, the behind-the-scenes folks who make these videos seem just as respectable as the guys in front of the camera.
Learning of the acceptance that most friends and family provide the guys is another nice surprise. It is not all wine and roses, but the tears and recriminations seem relatively restrained.
All of this measures up (yeah, another pun) to a mostly positive look at a industry with a less than positive reputation. This shows that performing in gay porn may be a textbook example of not knowing whether you will like something until you try it.
Anyone who has comments or questions regarding "Star" is welcome to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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