One joyful day as an underage porn aficionado I discovered Colt, the studio with a genius for bringing together a superior photo-grapher and supremely hot men. Jim French, a contemporary of physique photographers Bruce of Los Angeles and Bob Mizer, knew how to shoot his men looking their best while keeping a certain playfulness. What’s funnier than a Crisco logo on a tank top, or shooting a big dick next to a Coke can? Classically posed hypermasculine brute images were often undercut by other, candid shots of the model having a bit of a laugh. The studio’s videos were shot the same way. It was all about charisma. It was sexy.
Alas, those days are gone. Now that John Rutherford, who used to run Falcon Studios, is in control of Colt, the studio doesn’t stand out so much. The men just aren’t the same. You’ll be hard-pressed to find superstars like Steve Kelso, Jake Tanner or Jim Pruitt in today’s Colt stable, though there might be a couple of contenders (hello, Edu Boxer). The photography and videography is pretty run of the mill. Sure, the guys are hot, but their personalities don’t exactly shine through. And what’s with the twinks? I want my Colt men to be men, thanks.
But Rutherford has only been at Colt for a couple of years. He’s developing some keepers: Todd Maxwell, the bearded über-bottom; Dave Angelo, the Québécois hunk with the insane grin; and the aforementioned Edu Boxer. But there are a couple of duds: Tod Parker is cute, but has the onscreen charisma of an Ikea chair – actually, make that Idomo.
What Rutherford is really good at is capturing sex sparks, moments when the guys are getting hot and heavy and are seriously into it. Check out the opening of Hog: The Leather File. Angelo seems genuinely in awe of Maxwell’s rather magnificent ass. Or Boxer spitting in Pierro Sias’s mouth while he fucks him in a pool in Muscle Up!
Then there is 2004’s BuckleRoos, parts 1 and 2: If you can believe it, a full-length Western love story with a magical twist. No matter what your thing is, you’ll probably get off to at least half of the scenes, which is quite a ratio. The love story is actually sweet (sniff, sniff) and the magical bit, a Colt belt buckle that makes you irresistible (a replica is included with the marketing materials and, no, I haven’t tried it yet), keeps the narrative moving. Crazy shit happens, like the seduction by one of the cowboys of two young missionaries – the sex in this scene is not my thing, but the premise is fucking hilarious.
The DVD includes commentary by the directors (Rutherford worked with Jerry Douglas) which includes fun insights into how hard it is to shoot a toy scene, what that liquid is that’s dripping out of Maxwell’s butt while he’s getting fucked with a nightstick and why the dreamy Ty Hudson couldn’t deliver a money shot.
It might take a while, but maybe Colt’s gonna be okay after all. I’m willing to wait. And since the entire back catalogue of the studio’s product is still available, I’m sure I can find something to keep me occupied in the meantime.
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