From what I assume is the deepest down the vault at Catalina goes arrives "Jocks: 25th Anniversary Edition," a William Higgins movie starring one of gay porn's all-time superstars, Jack Wrangler, though he only performs in solo scenes here. I have to admit, I find Wrangler a hit-or-miss performer. During sex, he was the pin-up boy of 1970s culture, but he also did things like "act," that often got in the way of the performing. However, this treasure from 1983 is well-worth a look, and it does help show why Jack Wrangler was an ideal. His solo scenes were standard-setters, and he certainly knew how to work the camera for maximum value.
The movie stars with some of that "acting." Jack does a howlingly funny monologue about why the outdoors get him so heated, something about dirt, sweat and every body part that gets turned on by nature. Looking at him, Jack looks flawless. By 1983, he was past his prime, but he was still a hunky blond Adonis with a muscular body.
From somewhere in the forests of Van Nuys, Jack is all alone, stripping off his plaid shirt to reveal a somewhat hairy body and jeans so tight they aren't hiding what's to come. Finally unwrapped, his cock is mammoth, a true stunner that he pumps valiantly with true expertise (and using both hands). Holding onto a tree (remember, the theme is nature), with his belt buckled acting as a cockring, Jack works his cock ferociously until shooting, the editing going all haywire to capture the intensity.
Next up, Jack is in short-shorts that are smaller than most G-strings, now rhapsodizing about the hunky guys on TV. He only has a TV for background visuals since he doesn't like what's on there. However, he has a friend who comes over to watch. This thin long-haired pup fantasizes about a reedy blond with equally-flowing tresses. Fantasizer and fantasy come together for some eager kissing as they undress and then the fantasizer starts blowing his fantasy in time for … Jack to return to HIS fantasies. Now he's getting himself all hot and bothered about the experience of showering. Yeah, thanks Jack. Not now!
Back in the hardcore scene, the brunet fantasizer looks to be gobbling cock skillfully (interrupted by Jack showering, but we'll leave that until later). These two undernourished twinks seem quite into each other, spending more time in grope and adoration than actual sex. The fantasizer has a giant long cock that the fantasy sucks as well as can be expected, so back and forth they go sucking, with hefty drum beats galloping behind them. The fantasizer blows his fantasy into a cum-shot and then gets himself off.
The above scene was interrupted at its best moments by Jack in the shower, beating off with soap and grunts enough to wake the neighbors. Impressive yes, and he works hard for a cum blast, but it does blunt the hardcore scene going on between the two pre-pube-shaving youths.
It's 1983, and that means guys jogged in very tight shorts and socks creeping up to their knees. Two such cutie runners, "locker room partners in Phys Ed" class, are introduced in another goony monologue about what it meant to be in Phys Ed with other guys. There's a whole fantasy going on in Jack's talk, played over the two guys merely talking in a lovely green field. Once Jack shuts up, a Vaselined lens and a commercial-ready chorus pick up the guys as they start to kiss. It's incredibly sweet and seems very real. Outdoor filming means shadows, so it's hard to see the blowjobs at times, but the writhing tells the story. This scene finally introduces fucking to the movie, the top pounding his bottom flat on the grass with urgent peppy rhythm. The top pulls out in enough time to cum and sweetly fingers his pal until he can finish.
"Visual images. You can hold them in your hand." Jack says, as if he's narrating a health-class documentary about masturbation. For Jack, magazines aren't enough, so he introduces us to a screen and projector he keeps handy. Another one of his friends, a big-eyed mustached brunet, apparently gets to use the gear. The projections have him very turned on, so he lets out his impressive cock and jacks it toward the camera sitting at his crotch. It's a very lubed solo, also expert, but one of the images becomes a real man, a mop-topped guy who races to the viewer's cock and sucks ardently. The viewer delivers an excellent blowjob, and a 69 results in copious cum, including a spectacular shooter from the image come-to-life. The viewer sucks down any remaining cum drops and then fucks his image right there on the thick shag rug. This is a more imposing penetrating fuck than the last, and its alternation between regular speed and slow-motion has the image come-to-life cumming again being fucked rather quickly. It was all a fantasy, but that doesn't stop the viewer from unloading a big shot himself.
Jack wraps the proceedings up with a moral. Well, why not? By 1983, porn was no longer as innocent as "Jocks" would have you believe, but this is a nice appetizer from the era, an efficient quick title that gets to show off its star, not pushing him to work too hard. And, who knows, maybe there is something to his belief in the routines of nature, showers, exercise, etc. (NOTE: I'm writing this review in 2008 and had the chance to see Jack Wrangler in a restaurant not too long ago. He still looks pretty damn good, so maybe it was all this chattering that keeps him in shape after all!)
DVD features: Chapters; cum-shots chapter; bonus scene (William Higgins' "Boys of San Francisco" a scene with Steve York and Ben Barker); PSA ("Wrap It Up"); and no regional coding (playable worldwide).
A DVD Review by Brent Blue