Boot Black Review

Cast: Jake Andrews, Daryl Brock, Zak Spears, Tanner Reeves, Dallas Taylor, Matt Gunther, Mark West, Wolfe, David Logan, Brett Ford, Steven Turro, Alex Wild, Patrick Ryan, Rob Costa and Dirk Fletcher.

Director: Chi Chi LaRue

Production date: Credits are copyrighted 1994; DVD release date was summer 2002.

Length: 82 min.

Extras: Director's commentary, director's biography and filmography, five trailers, catalog information for four additional titles, and a slide show with 20 photos.

Audio/visual quality: The lighting in this movie is outstanding. The sets are dim and smoky, yet the action is easy to see. Skillfully directed rays of illumination accent the actors' eyes, genitals, feet and other body parts. The camera angles are equally satisfying, with an artful mix of long, medium and close-up shots. The focus is generally sharp, as well. The opening footage skips slightly, as if frames have been removed. This may or may not be an intentional motion effect; regardless, the remainder of the video (including every sex scene) plays smoothly.

The soundtrack consists of percussive synthesized music. It's a bit repetitive, but it has a nice groove, and I'd rate it a notch or two above standard 90s porn fare. The music normally serves as the only audio, which seems like a wise editing decision, since the sex sounds are flat and muffled where they do occur. The narration between the scenes is easy to understand and very well balanced with the music, as is the director's commentary on the optional audio track. The overall volume is also good.

Disc problems: There is no sound on the slide show or any of the trailers. This problem occurs on my Apple DVD Player (version 2.2.1) and may or may not be an issue with other players. Fortunately, the audio on both the feature and commentary tracks plays correctly at all times.

Reviewer's caveat: This is the first and also the only gay movie I've seen to date. I like this movie a lot, and I hope I will be forgiven for any unintentional gaffes in my review (such as misidentifying actors or overstating the obvious).

First impression: Mmmm...these boys can polish my boots anytime!

Scene highlights: Jake Andrews shines boots in a busy Levi-leather bar. He narrates a loose collection of scenes that illustrate what takes place in the back room.

Daryl Brock and Dallas Taylor find their way to the room one at a time. The expression on their faces is stoic, but their eyes are lit with anticipation. They start by kissing, and Dallas cleans Daryl's boots with an extended licking. Eventually, Dallas moves upward again to nibble, lick and suck Daryl's cock and balls through his jock strap. After Daryl's dick is freed, Dallas runs his finger under the flap of skin at the corona and takes the shaft all the way down his throat. Daryl gets so turned on by the blowjob that he literally rips Dallas' jeans off. He runs the torn seam up and down Dallas' gluteal cleft before doing him in doggy. Dallas hops on for a ride in reverse cowboy, soon sending his spray toward the camera lens. Daryl ejaculates thickly over his own hand. The intercourse feels a little short, but the foreplay is generous and delicious, with plenty of heat between the two men.

The second scene begins with some amazing shots of a dick swelling within the transparent chamber of a penis pump. The owner of the aforementioned member attracts the rapt attention of two other guys. They fondle each other's buttocks in a circular embrace that's oddly reminiscent of the Three Graces. Several different linear arrangements follow, featuring rimming, blowjobs and masturbation. All three guys are bottoms, but David Logan arrives mid-scene to save the day. Each one gets a turn with David in doggy. To finish, the four men line up along a wall and jerk themselves onto each other's legs. Three of them climax in quick succession, without the benefit of a cutaway shot. The fourth has a little trouble, so he lies down on the floor while the other guys rally round him in moral support. He, too, eventually comes on his own hand.

Tanner Reeves and Brett Ford team up for a darkly romantic coupling. They silently size one another up, and then they kiss and caress and help each other undress. I'm not 100% sure about the performer identifications, but I believe it's Brett who first gets down on his knees to give Tanner a blowjob. He tackles Tanner's hard-on with enthusiasm, occasionally batting at it playfully. Tanner makes his curved cock dance up and down while Brett kisses his nipple. In the spirit of equality, Tanner then kneels to give Brett his share of oral attention. Tanner drops a huge load onto the side of Brett's face, and with no cutaway, they switch positions and Brett sends a forceful spray all over Tanner's face. This is one of those "less-is-more" scenes that really appeal to me. There's no anal action whatsoever, and even though I love anal sex, these guys are so into each other that I failed to notice its absence until the second viewing.

Zak Spears dominates a smaller, submissive guy in a spirited scene. The nervous-looking bottom paces around until Zak grabs him by the jock strap, pulls him close and spits beer in his face. This leads to voracious kissing. Zak runs his tongue all over the submissive's body and spits more beer into his mouth and down his jock strap. The bottom gets very excited by all this attention and eagerly takes Zak's thrusts down his throat. They rim each other repeatedly, always spitting fresh beer at the receiver's ass when they trade. Zak fucks the guy in doggy for an extended time, with a couple of camera angles showing the penetration very clearly. The guy lies on the floor and ejaculates onto his own belly; Zak stands over him and blows a second layer of cum onto the guy's belly a few seconds later. Although the spitting in this scene might sound disgusting, it's clear both men are truly enjoying it, which helps me enjoy it, too.

The final scene shows what happens when eight men get so horny they can't make it to the back room. There's a whole lot of stroking and sucking going on, with a few dashes of kissing in the mix. One guy also licks the head of his dick exactly once—I would have liked to see more of that. I don't know the name of every actor, but Jake Andrews and Daryl Brock are the central pair in a threesome, Wolfe is part of another threesome, and Dirk Fletcher is one half of another couple. Both Jake and Wolfe do a fantastic job of swallowing their partners' swords all the way down. Daryl and Jake are the only two who engage in anal sex; Jake is the receiver in doggy and reverse cowboy. For the big finish, Jake sits at Daryl's feet while the other half dozen men gather round to aim their jizz at his legs, arm and torso. The main weakness of this scene is that there doesn't appear to be any definitive footage of Jake climaxing. He's so covered in sweat and cum by the end, though, that it's really hard to tell.

Thumbs up: This movie is visually engaging. Although the sex is not always exceptional, it's generally very good and it definitely holds my attention. The audio commentary covers just 20% of the total running time of the movie, but all of LaRue's remarks are interesting and highly relevant, and they have greatly enhanced my appreciation of this DVD.

I know it's cliché to say that men in gay porn look better than men in het porn, but these guys are looking especially good to me. The physiques are lean and muscular without being overblown. Tattoos are not overdone; piercings are minimal and limited to nipples and ears; pubic hair is neatly groomed. The outfits—jeans, leather jackets and vests, undershirts, jock straps, boots—also seem just right. I hate to be so shallow, but all that is definitely working for me.

Thumbs down: The heat is not perfectly steady. The anal intercourse often feels rather brief. In the second scene, the bottoms do a lot of waiting around for their turn with the top—it would have been better to see them more involved (either with each other or in support of the main action). The cameraman also faces a serious challenge in the final orgy. With only one lens and so many performers, he misses a cumshot or two (which LaRue addresses in the commentary). No scene is below average, but with only a few improvements here and there, I'd have raised the overall rating to 4.5 stars instead of 4.

Themes: Gay, group (orgy), masturbation, oral, anal, rimming (male to male), deepthroating, foot worship (boot fetish), toys (penis pump, cock rings), beer spitting, facials.

Condom use: Yes, for every anal penetration. Sometimes we get to see the men putting the condoms on and taking them off, which I enjoy watching.

Juice-o-meter: Medium high.

Final analysis: Boot Black is widely considered to be one of Chi Chi LaRue's best movies. For my first-ever gay DVD, I couldn't be more pleased. There's a lot to like about this disc, including the very nice price.

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