Nica Noelle previously had the audacity and skill to adapt Vladimir Nabokov's classic novel "Lolita" as a boy/boy porn movie titled "Baby Boy". Now she's turned her attention to his "Laughter in the Dark", creating this effective chamber drama for 4 Gay performers.
The best actor in Nica's Icon Male stable Rodney Steele picks up Roman Todd who's thumb tripping, and listens to his sob story about being an ex-con who has lost all his friends and loved ones. He invites him to stay a few days at his New England home, where Roman starts reading Rodney's copy of "Laughter in the Dark".
Given the relative obscurity of this Nabokov opus, Nica provides us with a synopsis recited by Steele, which proves to be the structure of the XXX film we're watching. Rodney turns out to be a chicken hawk who insists on giving Roman a bedtime massage and then starts sexually abusing the big lug after he falls asleep.
Todd wakes up and is p*ssed off, attacking Steele and giving him a dose of his own medicine by raping the old fart. But this being porn Rodney loves it.
Rod goes to his bedroom where his boy toy Alex Chandler is waiting, it turns out a former stray hitchhiker Steele picked up and let stay with him. When Alex starts giving him some lip, Rodney gets mad and gets dominant with him, being the top this time after getting the full bottom treatment from Todd.
Todd has a flashback explaining how he ended up in stir: his partner in crime, young and handsome Shane Omen, has sex with Todd while they're on the run, and Todd later served in prison, protecting Shane from a similar fate.
Finale is worth spoiling, as it turns out that Alex loves abuse, so he gives Roman a number of insults as his potential replacement in the Rodney household, resulting in Roman dishing out rough sex to the fellow, and then they concoct a scheme to rob Rodney silly (his money and jewelry left over from his divorced wife) and hit the road together toward a new life. Picture ends significantly with the paperback of "Laughter in the Dark" in closeup, abandoned on the floor as they exit.
The acting is much better than in previous Nica boy/boy dramas, and since I happen to be a fan of "Laughter in the Dark" (and Tony Richardson's unjustly obscure screen adaptation starring Nicol Williamson) it was fun to see Noelle tackle another major work, providing a brief oasis of quality in the ongoing gonzo crap world that represents nearly the entirety of Gay Cinema.
The best actor in Nica's Icon Male stable Rodney Steele picks up Roman Todd who's thumb tripping, and listens to his sob story about being an ex-con who has lost all his friends and loved ones. He invites him to stay a few days at his New England home, where Roman starts reading Rodney's copy of "Laughter in the Dark".
Given the relative obscurity of this Nabokov opus, Nica provides us with a synopsis recited by Steele, which proves to be the structure of the XXX film we're watching. Rodney turns out to be a chicken hawk who insists on giving Roman a bedtime massage and then starts sexually abusing the big lug after he falls asleep.
Todd wakes up and is p*ssed off, attacking Steele and giving him a dose of his own medicine by raping the old fart. But this being porn Rodney loves it.
Rod goes to his bedroom where his boy toy Alex Chandler is waiting, it turns out a former stray hitchhiker Steele picked up and let stay with him. When Alex starts giving him some lip, Rodney gets mad and gets dominant with him, being the top this time after getting the full bottom treatment from Todd.
Todd has a flashback explaining how he ended up in stir: his partner in crime, young and handsome Shane Omen, has sex with Todd while they're on the run, and Todd later served in prison, protecting Shane from a similar fate.
Finale is worth spoiling, as it turns out that Alex loves abuse, so he gives Roman a number of insults as his potential replacement in the Rodney household, resulting in Roman dishing out rough sex to the fellow, and then they concoct a scheme to rob Rodney silly (his money and jewelry left over from his divorced wife) and hit the road together toward a new life. Picture ends significantly with the paperback of "Laughter in the Dark" in closeup, abandoned on the floor as they exit.
The acting is much better than in previous Nica boy/boy dramas, and since I happen to be a fan of "Laughter in the Dark" (and Tony Richardson's unjustly obscure screen adaptation starring Nicol Williamson) it was fun to see Noelle tackle another major work, providing a brief oasis of quality in the ongoing gonzo crap world that represents nearly the entirety of Gay Cinema.