From the people who brought you what might be considered the twink breakthrough movie, "The American Way," here is a flick, which not only tops that one, but also does it in a way that even some jaded viewers would not expect. Six brand-new faces, four of whom could very well be destined for very strong roles as they get older, and two of whom are potential superstars. Coming from this observer, that is a mouthful, and lots of full mouths and anal cavities are what you'll see in this movie with a pretentious theme and truly "aw, jeez, cut it out!" voiceover devices. But the guys and the sex all make up for it in the end, and then some.
"The Heartland" is set on a farm somewhere. Nice farm, nice scenery, nice animals. Problem is, an animal (a horse, mind you), does all the talking, which amounts to this: "Brendan Sterling is leaving today and who will take care of us -- just because his lover, Christian Taylor, left him, is that any excuse for him to leave us?" Well, don't feel sorry for the animals because there are plenty of guys around the place to feed them. They spend a lot of time feeding each other, too, and that's good for the viewer.
And, in what is a wonderful departure from all those bad music backgrounds and phony "yeah, baby, fuck me!" grunts, this movie's musical score is right in sync with the sex, and it is subservient to the sounds of sex -- you hear the lips slurping on cocks, and you can sometimes hear the kisses on nipples, and squish of the condom through the ass. Pay attention -- it makes all the difference.
This reviewer is not madly in love with the current fashion statements made in most twink movies, wherein the boys are not only anemic looking, but also festooned with more metal than Old Ironsides. That's what makes "The Heartland" so special. Although most of the boys look like they would have a tongue spike at the ready, for the most part there's no metal around, and this makes for a lot better sex, especially in some of the close-ups.
Brendan Sterling, a tall, lanky dude with a bright-yellow topping on his naturally dirty-blond hair, is moping over Christian Taylor's departure. Sterling is pleasant looking as is Taylor (who lit up the screen in "The American Way" with his couplings, first with Ashton Ryan, then with the woefully under-utilized Austin Nichols).
First sex scene finds Sterling pitching hay into a wheelbarrow while Taylor watches him, they get horny, go feed the animals, then pad off to a paddock where a blanket conveniently awaits them. The sex is pleasant and Taylor once again shows that he is one of the better oralists of his age. There is mutual oral satisfaction here, with a nice flip-flop, and then Taylor disappears from the movie.
Next scene is an oddity, and actually gave rise to a fear in me that this movie was going to be a series of bad unconnected loops. Chase Carter is driving down a road (presumably on the farm) and passes an American-Asian geek named Austin Martin, which, if anyone remembers the sexy British auto of the same name gives rise to an "oh, jeez" reaction when Carter stops and says, "Want a lift?" They drive off, stop by a bridge over a stream, look at the scenery and get down to sex. Martin sucks Carter and Carter fucks Martin. He's cute, and he sucks a good cock. Carter, who is a nicely compact, younger and smaller version of Sam Dixon with a little Tom Chase grin thrown in. Fortunately, director Kevin Clarke has more of this one in store for us later, and he is worth every frame he is in, and more.
Next we see Enrique Rivera and Ashton Ryan, walking from a barn to a field, feeling and kissing along the way. Rivera is a natural Latin beauty with a stylish look, and he is quite a lover as well as he completely dominates the more experienced, taller, and usually more dominant Ryan in a scene on a blanket in a field (déjà vu all over again). You can tell these boys are not meeting for the first time; this is a lovely, romantic and ultimately very hot little scene.
But not as lovely, romantic and hot as the next, which is the highlight of the flick for this reviewer. The same scenario occurs, two fellows heading off through the fields with a blanket to fuck. This time, Chase Carter returns with someone you are bound to remember for a long time: Bryce Crisler, a tall, lanky, absolutely gorgeous farm-boy type (which he very well may be), with a romantic streak, a hot ass, a big cock, and one of the best cocksucking techniques you'll see in a guy his age. More than that, he is a dead-ringer for Ken Ryker 10 years and 50 pounds ago. This is one of the more astonishing movie debuts, and one of the best twink love scenes, I've seen in years. Chase Carter simply sizzles in the way he starts to devour Bryce's chest and takes his cock through his boxers. Their kissing and caressing leads to excellent blowjobs, a nice 69, and then a sustained topping by Carter of Crisler.
This ends with Carter coaxing the cum out of Crisler's cock with his mouth (he just misses grabbing it in on his tongue), and ends with Carter shooting his load in Crisler's face -- you can tell that Crisler wants to lick it all up. This scene is far too short for me, though it runs a reasonable length of time. The editing cuts could have been better, but these guys are doing things as they come naturally to young men exploring sex, and it's a great scene with two potential superstars.
The last scene is a group orgy in the barn featuring everyone in the cast except Christian Taylor and Austin Martin, and it begins with the premise that Michael Dillon, who is a swarthy black Irish, horse hung dude, can show up at the barn, pull out a huge dildo, and pleasure himself. I am not into dildo scenes, but fortunately, first Brendan Sterling, then Blake and Enrique, and finally Chase and Bryce show up, and it's a six-way. I am also not a big fan of group scenes, especially with twink types. But -- this is one hot scene in which everyone does everyone else with Dillon the center of attention. It's even got a quick shot of Enrique putting the cap back on a jar of poppers (or at least it looks as though that's what he's doing), so the viewer knows that these guys were flying and enjoying. In fact, in a movie with virtually no dialogue at all (except from the horse), it's a shock when Dillon all of a sudden blurts out to Enrique, who is pounding his ass, "Man, you're a jackrabbit!" How apropos for a farm-boy.
"The Heartland" is, on the whole, a very good video even if you're not necessarily into 18-to-21-year-olds. It will be very interesting in a couple of years when they're buffed up and in other milieus to have remembered their debuts.
Special DVD features: Hardcore slide-show gallery, stereo sound, full-motion chapter index, a directors' commentary (which is a behind-the-scenes discussion on the making of "The Heartland" with director Kevin Clarke, the commentary can be easily turned on or off and is synchronized as a sound overlay throughout the film, but be sure to take the time to listen to it at least once) and behind-the-scenes outtakes.
A DVD Review by Bo Champion
My, oh, my. If these boys were any younger looking, I'd be embarrassed to even watch them. Picking up where The American Way left off, this is the saga of Brenden Sterling leaving the farm for the big city. He has mixed feelings about the transition, so he gobbles copious quantities of cock to ease his pain. The farm backdrop is a refreshing change of pace from the usual L.A. venue, providing an innocent charm as lovely as the farmboys that grace it. If you're a chicken hawk, your collection will be surely lacking without this one.
The festivities get under way as Sterling and the too-cute-for-words Christian Taylor lounge on a blanket in a bucolic meadow. One thing leads to another, and somehow Taylor's bib overalls come off. There's the standard fare of sucks, but not a rim job to be found. Taylor looks like he could use a good rim job, so someone was asleep at the switch on the directing here. We watch from behind his curvy, beefy ass as he grinds and gyrates his tool into Sterling. The scene would have been a bit steamier if the roles were reversed, but the two pair well, regardless of position.
The scenes that follow take us to various locations around the farm-stead, with the pairings showcasing this youthful collection perfectly. The action is somewhat formulaic, with trading of sucks leading to someone getting fucked. The players are hot to be sure, but somewhat short of inventive in their adventures.
Michael Dillon performs solo with "Kevin" the dildo, only to be caught in the act by the rest of the cast, which leads to an over-the-top orgy. Soon the screen becomes a writhing wall of nubile flesh, with everyone getting busy. Newcomer Enrique Rivera begins laughing uncontrollably at one point, and we are left wondering what the problem is. Then it becomes apparent: One of the horses in the stable is nuzzling him from behind and chewing on his hair. Apparently, the horse has good taste; Rivera is indeed a good candidate for nuzzling. Like the others, he exudes that charming quality reserved for the very young.
The upshot of this feature is youthful innocents, served up in a series of pretty backdrops. If this is your cup of tea, you'll love it to pieces. If you crave the tattooed, pierced, steroid street types, you'd do better to look elsewhere. The only major gripe is the total lack of ass-play, especially since these butts are the ones with which we'd all just love to play. Maybe, as the saga undoubtedly continues, the boys can learn to eat some ass? We'll be sure to let you know.
- Burny Edmonds