Largely forgotten today, POOL PARTY is probably best remembered, when it's remembered at all, as the discovery point for Richard Locke, who was spotted by Joe Gage on the poster and subsequently tapped to headline his "Working Man" trilogy. Generally lost in the discussion, perhaps as a result of scarce availability, is how the movie itself stacks up.
Unfortunately, the film is porn in its basest, most facile incarnation: a largely plotless series of events strung together with little regard for narrative interest. Lounging by the pool one, a couple young gay guys discuss their past sexual conquests and await the arrival of their friend Nick (Locke). When a hunky pool cleaner stops by but rebuffs one of the men's (Jayson McBride) advances, he takes the opportunity to tell his friend Jim (the adorable, bearded Scotty Scotte) that he's already seduced the guy during an earlier encounter. This leads to an extremely long flashback of sex by the pool.
Growing curious as to their friend's whereabouts, the boys call Nick and find him busy tricking with a client (one-namer Shannon, memorable from his jaw-dropping "inflatable dildo" scene in MEN'S ROOM). Returning from the phone, Locke gives Shannon a decent (though totally vanilla) working-over before plunging himself arm-deep into the guy in a sequence that more than makes up for the tedium that came before it.
Back at the house, McBride asks Scotte if he's ever tricked, leading to another flashback where he describes having sex with his cousin to get a loan (kind of a broad definition of tricking, but...). The film wraps up with the two again seducing the pool cleaner, who gives a knowing wink to the camera, indicating he was playing a long-con all along.
Given its essentially plotless nature, the saving grace of the film becomes its digressions into verite, with the casual banter between the two friends (McBride and Scotte) ringing surprisingly believable. In such a tossed-off feature, it's weird to see such lived-in performances, but such is the case with these protagonists, whose rapport is unforced and natural. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they were friends in real life, and improvising the majority of their dialogue from experience.
The rest of the film is less interesting, and while it strives for production value, it also stumbles on what should be some pretty easy steps. Touted in its advertising the first all-male film to feature sex underwater, the movie does technically deliver in part of the pool boy encounter, yet it amounts to little more than some underwater fellatio and genital caressing before the two move to a blanket on the deck. Falling into the usual trap of porno tedium, this first scene takes half the film, and while it features decent sex, the bodies are frequently positioned the wrong way for the sun, causing inopportune shadows that block the best bits of action. One of the film's great ironies is that while performing the stylistic leap of shooting underwater it still can't manage to light a standard sex scene properly, and it turns what could be a decent encounter into pure filler.
The same is mostly true of Shannon and Locke's encounter, which in addition to poor lighting has the live sound fall out during the action, replaced by music and generic moaning. The key exception is during the fisting, when live audio returns and captures some spectacular moaning on the part of Shannon. For how generic the preceding footage is, the fist sequence is anything but, with Locke taking a long time to work his hand in as Shannon slowly tries to coax his sphincter open with multiple hits of poppers. Again, the live-recording makes it clear the young man is enjoying things, and he again proves himself a world-class power-bottom. It's this kind of personal, intimate portrayal of pleasure that the rest of the movie lacks, and which makes the conclusion of this particular scene so erotic. It's a pity more of the film's sex couldn't have achieved this (or at least featured better gaffing), as it would have made this disposable production into something far greater than a historical footnote.
Unfortunately, the film is porn in its basest, most facile incarnation: a largely plotless series of events strung together with little regard for narrative interest. Lounging by the pool one, a couple young gay guys discuss their past sexual conquests and await the arrival of their friend Nick (Locke). When a hunky pool cleaner stops by but rebuffs one of the men's (Jayson McBride) advances, he takes the opportunity to tell his friend Jim (the adorable, bearded Scotty Scotte) that he's already seduced the guy during an earlier encounter. This leads to an extremely long flashback of sex by the pool.
Growing curious as to their friend's whereabouts, the boys call Nick and find him busy tricking with a client (one-namer Shannon, memorable from his jaw-dropping "inflatable dildo" scene in MEN'S ROOM). Returning from the phone, Locke gives Shannon a decent (though totally vanilla) working-over before plunging himself arm-deep into the guy in a sequence that more than makes up for the tedium that came before it.
Back at the house, McBride asks Scotte if he's ever tricked, leading to another flashback where he describes having sex with his cousin to get a loan (kind of a broad definition of tricking, but...). The film wraps up with the two again seducing the pool cleaner, who gives a knowing wink to the camera, indicating he was playing a long-con all along.
Given its essentially plotless nature, the saving grace of the film becomes its digressions into verite, with the casual banter between the two friends (McBride and Scotte) ringing surprisingly believable. In such a tossed-off feature, it's weird to see such lived-in performances, but such is the case with these protagonists, whose rapport is unforced and natural. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they were friends in real life, and improvising the majority of their dialogue from experience.
The rest of the film is less interesting, and while it strives for production value, it also stumbles on what should be some pretty easy steps. Touted in its advertising the first all-male film to feature sex underwater, the movie does technically deliver in part of the pool boy encounter, yet it amounts to little more than some underwater fellatio and genital caressing before the two move to a blanket on the deck. Falling into the usual trap of porno tedium, this first scene takes half the film, and while it features decent sex, the bodies are frequently positioned the wrong way for the sun, causing inopportune shadows that block the best bits of action. One of the film's great ironies is that while performing the stylistic leap of shooting underwater it still can't manage to light a standard sex scene properly, and it turns what could be a decent encounter into pure filler.
The same is mostly true of Shannon and Locke's encounter, which in addition to poor lighting has the live sound fall out during the action, replaced by music and generic moaning. The key exception is during the fisting, when live audio returns and captures some spectacular moaning on the part of Shannon. For how generic the preceding footage is, the fist sequence is anything but, with Locke taking a long time to work his hand in as Shannon slowly tries to coax his sphincter open with multiple hits of poppers. Again, the live-recording makes it clear the young man is enjoying things, and he again proves himself a world-class power-bottom. It's this kind of personal, intimate portrayal of pleasure that the rest of the movie lacks, and which makes the conclusion of this particular scene so erotic. It's a pity more of the film's sex couldn't have achieved this (or at least featured better gaffing), as it would have made this disposable production into something far greater than a historical footnote.