Search - Sex - Life in L.A. Part 2: Cycles of Porn on DVD

A Glimpse Into The World Of Porn

JC | New York | 01/23/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"
Sex/Life in L.A. 2: Cycles of Porn is a fascinating look into the world of porn that is a follow up to Jochen Hick's 1998 Sex/Life in L.A. Hick revisits Kevin Kramer, Cole Tucker, Matt Bradshaw, and finds some new porn stars, or at least wannabes along the way. Although I found it to be quite intriguing it really only touches the surface and it left me wanting more. The film begins with a look behind the scenes at Chi Chi LaRue's "Live and Raw Hotel", a hotel filled with webcams and host to a bevy of boys, filming every moment for the world to see. Focusing on the trials and tribulations of the boys we follow their ups and downs, dreams and desires. More seasoned veterans like Matt Bradshaw, Cole Tucker, and Kevin Kramer are featured and we get a glimpse into where they are now. Surprisingly Cole Tucker is not like his onscreen persona and it was nice to see what a down to earth guy he was, much like the rest of them. A controversial subject is touched upon with the director of bareback videos and his search across country via a motor home in the search of new stars. Sex parties, drugs, and more sex round out the film that just begins to scrape the surface but is worth a look nonetheless. Hopefully Hick won't let so much time go by before he revisits this industry and let's hope he digs a bit deeper.

"

Hard Candy Christmas in the City of Angels

B. Wells | Florida | 10/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Revisiting a subject he first documented seven years earlier, German director Jochen Hick approaches the real-life characters of his "Sex - Life in L.A. 2" unobtrusively, and with a certain amount of respect and compassion. Beginning with the young, male occupants of a Chi Chi LaRue-sponsored, Big Brother-style hotel, the documentary wastes no time in introducing us to a mixed bag of (current and former) gay sex workers, all of whom are affiliated with the porn industry. The "hotel", which serves as a home, of sorts, for young gay men willing to engage in internet sex acts for avid, interactive fan boys is, I thought, especially disheartening. The more intelligent of these young men (Johnny Law, and the aspiring writer whose name eludes me) seem particularly sad because even when they're espousing their hopes and dreams for a different future, they don't seem to really believe that they'll get it; they're barely legal yet they've already developed a cynicism that belies their youth.

The ugliest and least appetizing portion of the film depicted one of the young men from the "hotel" going to a sex party with a group of older men who were sucking on pipefulls of crystal meth like it was their last gasp for oxygen. I am loathe to be judgemental of people's lifestyle choices, but I found this part of the film to be very disturbing, especially in light of the fact that one of the young participants from the earlier film had died from a combination of crystal meth and heroin.

Walking a fine line between pathos and humor, the older porn stars first chronicled in Hick's initial film, emerge as older, somewhat different people than they were seven years earlier. Cole Tucker shows up as a stable businessman involved in a long-term relationship, appreciative of his experiences in the porn industry, but mature enough to accept the need to move on. Living with his sister in bible-thumping Baton Rouge, La., Matt Bradshaw seems resigned to his current circumstances, to the point of being almost evasive about much of his experience as a performer in porn movies. I wanted to know more about him, and why he chose (apparently unwillingly) to leave L.A. There was a lot left unsaid, although I suppose Hick was bound to whatever constrictions of privacy were demanded by Bradshaw. The most touching of all these men, I thought, was Kevin Kramer, very funny but with a look in his eye suggesting that he has known more than his share of heartaches and disappointments in the City of Angels. His moments with his open-minded mother (along with those of Bradshaw and his generous-spirited sister) were, perhaps, the most poignant in the film.

Then, there was the bareback production team from Hot Desert Knights, a specialty film company operating out of Palm Springs. These men, in the same age bracket as Cole Tucker, seemed happy and contented with their lives, despite the fact that even some members of the adult film community consider their projects to be controversial. All admittedly HIV positive, these men projected a confidence and maturity that had no tinge of the bitterness and cynicism of their younger counterparts, and I found that fascinating.

One note of warning: there are scenes (albeit brief) of hardcore sex, so if anyone is predisposed to queasiness at the sight of men engaging in such activities, you might want to rethink purchasing this movie.

After watching the film, I tried to find references to some of the actors online, just to determine whether or not some of them were, indeed, still alive. I was particularly concerned about Kramer (because he seemed to be harboring a genuine fragility beneath the wisecracking exterior) and Bradshaw. This, I think, says a lot for the director's ability to draw out his subjects and elicit honest--or at least, serviceable--responses that actually make them rather endearing."