Color Me Bad Review

Cast: Ryan Block, Cougar Cash, Dominique, Duke Johnson, Dennis Lincoln, Ricky Parker, Deven Rexman, Rolf, Jeremy Strong, Ty Thomas and Dex Westin.

Director: William Careley

Writer: Edward James

Production date: The exemption statement indicates the movie was made before July 3, 1995. This appears to be an older movie, but more recent than the pre-condom era. The VCA copyright is 2002.

Length: 82 min.

Extras: Five trailers, catalog information on four additional titles, and a slide show with 20 photos.

Audio/visual quality: The camerawork and editing are adequate, but not always as satisfying as they might be. There are no explicit initial penetration shots; we do get some nice facial expressions, however. Very minor problems with lighting, shadows and soft focus occur in a couple of scenes.

The music is unremarkable, usually sitting so far in the background that it's barely audible. A bit of dubbing is obvious in a few places. Faint background noises are present (including at least one direction). This can probably be forgiven, however, since the sound clarity is good in all scenes except the fourth (where music provides the only audio).

Special note: As a gay porn novice, I hadn't yet seen any of the performers here. I've mostly relied on the reviews of Joe Shaver and Blkmagnum for my identifications. I've also done a little online detective work for the few remaining names. I apologize in advance for any possible errors.

First impression: It's okay, but it doesn't melt the crayons in my box.

Scene highlights: The multiracial cast members demonstrate various ways of being bad (such as cheating a steady boyfriend, "raping" a willing victim, seducing a straight roommate, etc.). Barroom gossip provides most of the framework, along with intermittent footage of a hunky ebony guy who strokes himself for no obvious reason. Beyond that, the plot is unintelligible.

Ryan Block, whose skin is a light caramel color, has lost his watch while moving furniture. His buddy, the darker-toned Ricky Parker, finds the missing timepiece while Ryan admires his ass. The dialog sounds improvised—it's not always inspired, but it is sweet and playful. Abundant kissing and nipple play ensue on the bare mattress. They please each other orally, and Ricky accepts a brief anal pounding from Ryan. Both climax onto Ryan's pubes. The ending is a bit of letdown simply because the cumshots feel clipped. After all that slow, teasing buildup, there isn't a split second to spare on either side of either ejaculation.

Duke Johnson, a mahogany-toned muscular man, is handcuffed to Dex Westin, a mustached brunette who's dressed like white trash. They've found refuge in a barn after escaping prison. Rolf, a brown-skinned farm worker, cuts the cuffs and submits to the two larger men. One convict comes pre-equipped with a cock ring and the other sports a magically appearing rubber—it would've been better if these devices had somehow been worked into the script. There's good enthusiasm in the cocksucking, though, especially from Rolf. Duke climaxes on Rolf's tailbone after fucking him over a saddle. Dex shoots vigorously somewhere into space (I think onto a straw bale, but the camera's in a little too close). Rolf cums thickly onto his own hand.

Assuming the character names are identical to the performer names, then the black guy in scene three is Jeremy Strong. The white guy is Deven Rexman. Deven looks very cute in his union suit and reminds me slightly of a young Sting (the musician). He's having technical difficulties with the video he's editing, so he takes a break in favor of showing his straight roommate a good time. Jeremy's feeling more adventuresome than usual and lets his friend kiss, suck and nibble his nipples. Deven undoes Jeremy's fly and perks up his pecker with tongue and teeth. Although Deven is the psychological top in this scene, he's the physical bottom. He gives great eye contact and groans passionately as Jeremy does him on the sofa. Deven jerks onto his own abs and Jeremy onto his own hand.

Cougar Cash, a Caucasian wearing some hot leather pants, pairs up with bar buddy Dennis Lincoln, whose skin is light brown. They trade several times with the blowjobs, also pausing to fondle each other extensively. Since Cougar's pants are tailored with an open bottom, he doesn't even need to disrobe to receive Dennis' cock. He bends over a bar stool and later lies on the counter while Dennis pumps his butt. Dennis' semen wets Cougar's forearm, and Cougar's spray arcs toward points unknown.

Ty Thomas, the cover model, has been playing pool with Dex Westin. Ty doesn't hesitate to accept Dex's invitation to suck his dick instead. Dex talks dirty to Ty, asking him if he wishes to be fucked like Rolf. Ty is mostly silent, but responds by running his tongue all over Dex's balls and up his butt crack, too. Dex gives Ty a blowjob, as well, and then rolls him onto the pool table so he can bury his cock in Ty's ass. Dex is very toppy in this scene (just as he was in scene two), and it's largely his energy driving things along. They each wank onto their own stomachs; Ty's load is rather modest, and Dex's is more voluminous.

The movie ends with a slo mo money shot from our well built mystery masturbator (who by process of elimination, must be Dominique).

Thumbs up: The sex is pretty good; in my estimation, it's a tad above average. These performances won't win any contests for athleticism or endurance, but at least every performer seems interested in what he's doing. I also appreciate that this is an interracial title which successfully avoids derogatory language on the box cover and obnoxious stereotyping in the movie itself.

Thumbs down: Ty Thomas receives top billing as the star of this movie, which is somewhat misleading. None of the performers takes a well defined leading role, but for comparison purposes, Dex Westin participates in two scenes while Ty participates in only one. I haven't counted their individual lines, but it doesn't seem like Ty has any more dialog than Dex (and certainly not while they're having sex). Undoubtedly, Ty is on the cover to advertise that this movie features men of color. That's fine, except that anyone who buys this DVD with hopes of seeing Ty in multiple scenes is going to be disappointed.

Themes: Gay, threeway, interracial (major theme), oral, anal, rimming (limited), masturbation, nipple play, fondling, undressing, kissing, domination, dirty talk, toys (cock rings).

Condom use: Consistently for all anal sex.

Juice-o-meter: Medium for the third scene, slightly lower for the others.

Final analysis: All in all, Color Me Bad is a solidly average movie. It's neither breathtakingly great nor hopelessly flawed. The story is weak, but the guys are reasonably attractive and the sex isn't half bad. This DVD doesn't possess replay value for me, but on the other hand, it's available at a budget price. It might be worth picking up if you're looking for an affordable, multiethnic DVD that doesn't offend.

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