Studio: Catalina / Laguna Pacific
Directed by: William Higgins
Year of Production / Release: 1983
Country of Production: U.S.A.
Cory Adams
Buster as poker player
Rick Donovan as pool cleaner
Leo Ford
Aaron Gage
Bill Henson as Ranger Dan
Matt
Dave Sommers
Brian Thompson as sailor/MP
Will
Doug McCall [Steve Wright]
DVD Re-Release only:
Doug McCall [Steve Wright]
Jeff Boote
Uncredited performance:
Tony Kidd
Tony Roberts
Channel 1 Members can view this online.
Re-Mastered and Re-Released to DVD: 2009
The matter of sexual orientation and its denial becomes central in this film. Even though he is clearly turned on when catching Bill who’s jerking off naked in the wilderness, Brian is in complete denial. When talking with his friends Leo and Dave on the deck, he only refers to girls, and when he wakes up in front of the fireplace to Leo blowing Dave’s massive hardon, he uses the most typical homophobic words, calling them faggots. This leads to his forceful initiation to man-on-man sex, which results in his seducing next a very willing Bill Henson. But even then, things are far from simple: when talking with Buster on the phone, the mention of strip poker only suggests the word “girls”. Ironically, Tony Roberts’ attitude when telling Brian and Aron he was awake while they were doing their “fag shit” is a clear echo of Brian’s own response earlier. And it leads to the same results, as Tony who claimed he’d only go for getting his dick sucked is quickly fucked by Aron. Even in the final scene, both Cory and Brian claim they have “never done this before” (Bill said the same thing too): as Brian is effortlessly deepthroating his very big cock, Cory says with wonderful delivery, “I find that hard to believe”. This brings to mind a remark by Mike Henson in his MANSHOTS (?) interview at the time MORE OF A MAN was being released. He said his role in that film was his first time playing a gay character. (Indeed the film ends inside a float at a Gay Pride parade, no less.) And I guess that’s very literally true, his character with Higgins was something else, quite close to what Brian ends up being here.
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