Summer, the First Time

I was a college kid when this gay erotica "movie" came out, and I had not yet come out of my closet. In fact, I still couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that I was gay at the time. I had seen a few hard core (rated XXX) gay porn videos and I was, at the time, sort of put off by them. They were so violent and pushy was what I called them at the time that I just couldn't bring myself to identify with them. I told myself that I wasn't like that, that I couldn't be gay like that, that I don't like rough sex, etc. Still don't care for rough sex. But this "movie" if you can call it that, yes I know it is not much of a movie by traditional standards, but anyways, this "movie" showed me a very tender, loving, and yes, very very erotic view of gay sex. At the time, this rather soft core erotica got me fired up sexually far more than hardcore porn. This fueled my imagination and my dreams far more than hardcore porn. And in turn, this "movie" pushed me over the edge into acceptance of my homosexuality, and eventually I started to fully accept it and embrace it, and fortunately, I found someone who was gentle and tender and loving with me. If only he had looked like Sean Benedict on here. God, that guy was the star of so many of my wet dreams back then. Seeing this again just recently, I'm sure I'll be thinking of Sean again tonight. That face of his, that smile full of teeth, that rugged jawline, OMG! I would be helpless to resist someone like him. Pity. It appears this is all he was ever in. By now, as they say, the bloom would be off the rose for him, as it is for me, too, at this point. Ah, youth, what wonderful time it was, and we always seem to take it for granted until it is gone. But anyways, I wish there were more of these softcore erotica films. I prefer them over hardcore porn any day. The biggest part of sex (at least for me) is the mental part. The erotic thoughts, the foreplay. The actual mechanical part of it is, while essential, just sort of going through the motions without the erotic thoughts behind it.

Catering to gay men's erotic needs in a country whose climate (both meteorological and political) was less than conducive, Brit vid producer and distributor Mike Esser sought to fill the void with tastefully erotic features that could be sold outside of the licensed sex shops that are the only legalized outlets for hardcore material in the United Kingdom. His Pride label built a bridge between the in your face directness of XXX gay porn and the discreet depictions available from art-house Queer Cinema. Although "only" simulated, the carnal couplings were clearly intended to stimulate more than the imagination without any need for apology or "socially redeeming value". Their tapes were huge sellers back in the '90s, not just on the restricted British Isles but also Stateside where the softer stuff was considered a breath of fresh air as there had been little in the way of non-explicit gay erotica since Pat Rocco. So it's a bit strange that Esser who usually helmed the company's features relinquished the reins for what was to be their Magnum Opus of sorts, credited to the anonymous "Xavier" instead.

Almost two decades onwards, SUMMER, THE FIRST TIME hasn't completely survived the test of time. Equal parts corny and cutesy, it fairly demands a complete lack of cynicism on the viewer's part, an attitude alien to most homosexuals. Before you start crying "gross generalization", you have to bear in mind that I am one of "them" to begin with and that a whithering sense of humor has helped me through many a dark hour. But as so often I digress. SUMMER's brand of hearts and flowers romance proves sweet enough to give you cavities but, when approached in the right spirit (preferably under a blanket with a box of Cadbury's Milk Tray), can ultimately prove quite endearing. Just don't expect the blood to go rushing to your sensitive spots as intended ! Hunky but sexually conflicted Ryan (Sean Benedict) has booked a week away in Portugal at the urging of his bossy girlfriend Issy (Rebecca Tremain) who's constantly berating him for being such an unambitious layabout. Unable to sleep, only in part because of the sweltering heat, he goes for a midnight walk, only to be accosted by an assailant and rescued in the nick of time by bronzed beach boy Pavel, portrayed with puppy dog sensitivity by Bel Ami legend Johan Paulik. Seems that prissy Paulik is fed up with his lover Pasha's casual attitude towards marital fidelity and ripe for romance. Brought back bloodied 'n beaten to his hotel room, Ryan can't stop fantasizing about his savior, resorting to any old excuse to have the boy and his tag-along mate (the no less appealing Matthew Anders) over for drinks and whatnot, much to Issy's irritation.

While the narrative thread is slender, it constitutes a leap forward for Esser's company which had until then contented itself by releasing episodic features which would have qualified as lowly "loop carriers" had they been hardcore. Although Tremain gives a fairly compelling performance (in fact by far the flick's best) as the "unwanted" woman in this love triangle, the outcome is never in question. One would find it hard to quibble with the awesome attractiveness exuded by the combination of the boyish Paulik and the more masculine Benedict anyway. Production is silky smooth with picturesque shots of the Portuguese beach and hotel resort, which is all we get to see from the country apart from a brief view of Faro airport, and lovely lilting music lifted wholesale from previous Pride releases. Still, any chance to ogle the statuesque splendor of Paulik, Anders and a few additional Bel Ami boys such as Sebastian Bonnet and Dano Sulik (albeit posing rather than penetrating) represents its own reward, I suppose...