Pleasure Beach

This minor gay classic is at a crossroads, both in terms of the time in which it was released and the subject matter of two young men coming to terms with their gayness. It is dealt with beautifully as a relationship blossoms between Tom and Steve. Steve is uncomfortable with a part of himself, whereas Tom ultimately helps him fully embrace that part of himself. A beautiful backdrop of the Pacific ocean with riveting sunset as well as compelling cinematography keep the viewer captivated.

In the last quarter of the film, a stunning black and white visual of Tom loving on Steve during the night-tide brings a retro meaning to the word "edging" for pleasure and love. (That scene is quasi-reminiscent of a similar scene in a gay film from a decade earlier: that of Wakefield Pool's "Boys in the Sand"). In this pivitol scene, there is a "heavy load" of face and penile kissing, very artfully performed. Tom handles Steve's most intimate parts with tender yet very sensual care as the smallest frames are highlighted.

Following that zenith of sensual experience between Tom and Steve, Steve leaves a note on the bed to be found by Tom next morning. To Tom's dismay, it states that "After last night, I don't want to see you again." Yet Tom knows "what's going on inside that head" of Steve's. What happens in the final scene of the film is for the viewer to discover!

Scenes are excellent and the cinematography makes you feel like you are there right on the beach in Catalina. Great one-on-one and group scenes. Classic surfer "guy" film. It makes you want to join in with the guys. Michael Christopher is very natural in his role and you want to hang out with him even though he does not always play by the rules. Chris Burns is also excellent in his role. All of the cast is natural and the guys in it are timeless. Even now you feel the same vibe walking along any beach town in SoCal such as Encinitas, Oceanside, Santa Monica, or Venice. There is a tremendous amount of beach scenery as well with the perquisite sunny views of rolling surf. The movie takes you through a lot of twists and turns while the plot, such as it is, keeps you hooked.

Rewatching some of gay porn's classics, it always saddens me to realize that many of the people associated with them on both sides of the camera are no longer among us, usually because of the atrocity known more commonly as AIDS. The epidemic was still in its largely ignorant infancy when the late Arthur J. Bressan (who made the exceptional low budget indie BUDDIES about the dreaded disease) presented his magnum opus to appreciative audiences worldwide.

This intentionally naive tale charts the budding relationship between two lifeguards during the last days of summer, one ostensibly straight (Richie Cunningham lookalike Johnny Dawes), the other (muscular Michael Christopher from Tom De Simone's equally brilliant SKIN DEEP) a glad to be gay man eater. True to the genre, this is not so much a two-hander as a flesh-filled tapestry covering college age guys' early explorations of their sexuality.

Save for Dawes, who has to come to terms with his attraction to another man following a far from rosy relationship with a girl, none of these boys seem to experience any anguish over their sexual orientation. Now this would be a given in present day porn, where fantasy tends to overrule reality (we all need to escape sometimes, after all), but as a prime ingredient in a well-developed, down to earth narrative with surprisingly strong characterizations it was and continues to be nothing short of revolutionary. Add to that the most beautiful imagery of the California coastline you'll ever encounter in homo hardcore, save perhaps for William Higgins' PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, and you have got a true carnal classic for the ages.