Naked Fame

Two members of a gay male couple want to leave the adult film industry. One wants to be a singer, the other an actor. You only get to see brief nudity near the start and finish of this film. I guess you have to get their REAL performances to see more. Yes, Glenn the wannabe-singer was/is talented. However, he sings with that George Michael-esque voice that can be common. Such a voice was imitated in the South Park movie back in 1999. Further, he wants to go into dance music which really doesn't bring fame to its makers. Think about what happened to Salma Hayek's character in "54," for example.

This movie confirmed every controlling image of West Hollywood. It's filled with men who are young, muscular, beautiful, and of course full of attitude! They are very fashion-conscious and totally nonchalant toward drug usage. That whole area might as well have a sign saying, "Non-beautiful guys not welcome!"

I guess all that butch behavior in adult features is just acting. These guys have stereotyped accents. They make comments such as "I am so over this!" and "I had to take a pill just like Judy Garland." There's crying, hissy fits, recounting what therapists told them, etc. Homophobes (and of course, I disapprove of such bigotry) will cringe here at what some refer to as "gay accents."

I do think this may be an instructive documentary for people of all sexualities who want to be famous. This guy had to market himself in New York City. He had fights and splits with his manager. His boyfriend is told, "Stay away, because future stars need to look single." The wannabe singer has to take advice (read: criticism) from as many places as he could get it. This taps into the aspects of stardom that people enjoy seeing in the "American Idol" series.

Like documentaries for Ron Jeremy, Annabel Chong, and Seymore B*tts, this documentary showed relatives who are knowledgeable and accepting of their family member's work in the adult business. You only see Glenn's parents briefly at the start and finish of this work. I wish you could have seen more of them. Countless gay works show family members abandoning their gay relatives, but here they are supportive. It would have been great to see how these straight parents learned to accept their son's sexual orientation.

Despite the numerous gym bunnies in this documentary, there were several bears here: Chi Chi LaRue (which I learned is pronounced with a "sh," rather than a harder "ch"), Bruce Vilanch, and a nameless impresario. For those of us who like big guys, it would have been great to see these bears. Why do the thin guys get so show so much flesh and yet, we only get to see a partially unbuttoned shirt on one of the bears?

Glenn's partner reluctantly returns to being a nurse. However, nurses can make a TON of money. This man stated that he only made $30,000 at most in adult features: that's a fraction of what nurses can make, especially nurses that don't have children. He didn't fail by returning to this profession since it's more lucrative. He grows a beard when he does so. I think it's meant to be a sign of respectability, but it makes him look a lot like the gay conservative editorialist Andrew Sullivan.

In many ways, this was just the GWM's version of "Hoop Dreams.

"Naked Fame" is a documentary about porn star Colton Ford's struggles to leave the gay porn world for a new career as a dance music singer. At the start of the film, Ford is living and working in Chi Chi LaRue's "Live And Raw Hotel," from which a live webcam site broadcasts. Ford is first seen from behind, sitting in front of the computer, chatting with webcam-viewing site members. As he swivels around and starts flexing for the camera, the assets that made him a porn star are prominently on display. Handsome, goateed, hairy-chested and muscular, Ford is a fantasy daddy come to life. One side note, though - aside from one brief shot at the beginning, there is no real nudity in the film. Some porn clips are used, but they are edited to remove any explicit action. Ford's brief nude scene does capture the man's allure, however, and he does spend much of the film either shirtless or in tight tank tops, t-shirts and pants which emphasize his assets.

We are then introduced to various people who are important in Ford's life, and his upcoming career shift - his life partner Blake Harper (an aspiring legitimate actor, also looking to leave the porn world), his ultra-supportive mother and father, and various music industry contacts. Porn director Chi Chi LaRue also appears throughout the film (in and out of drag), giving background information on the ups and downs of the porn world, as well as to offer advice and encouragement to Ford as he goes off on his journey. Scenes of Ford and Harper wrapping up their porn careers (their last public appearance at the Bad Boys Pool Party in Palm Springs, moving out of the "Live And Raw Hotel" and searching for their own apartment, etc.) are interspersed with various music industry meetings. Ford gets together with songwriters, producers, other singers, promoters and club owners, each of whom seems to offer a little encouragement with a healthy dose of warnings of caution. As Ford and his co-writer and producer put together his first single and demo recording, it becomes apparent that this is not just a pipe dream. Ford has a fine voice and a good feel for the dance music genre, and during the rehearsal process, he shows that he has the moves to grab the attention of an audience.

As Ford's level of effort to push his new career forward increases, however, so does his level of frustration. Unfortunately, this frustration can begin to rub off onto the viewer - you want Ford to start getting some significant returns for the amount of effort and energy he's expending, but things never really seem to click into gear. In this era of reality television, some in the viewing audience may lose interest in watching yet another talented hopeful get beaten down by an apathetic industry. While Ford does experience some success, there are just too many brick walls and lost opportunities, preventing any real sense of progress and accomplishment. By the end of the film, the two men are living in their own apartment, Harper has returned to working as a nurse, and Ford continues to pursue his dream, releasing two dance singles, including a remake of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," a duet with dance diva Pepper MaShay.

Watching the film, I found myself wishing there had been less focus on Ford's career struggles, and more exploration of the relationship between Ford and Harper. As a couple, their acceptance, caring and total support for each other is evident throughout the film. They are attractive, intelligent, talented, genuinely likeable guys, and it is very easy to root for the couple to reach their goals and find success. Ford's parents are also shown to be very interesting, entertaining people - it would have been great to learn more about them as well. If anyone knows someone at the new Logo cable network, give them a heads up. Logo couldn't find better stars for a reality series than this group. Throw in an occasional drop-by from former porn pals, and you'd likely have a very entertaining show!

The film itself runs 84 minutes, and the DVD extras include a photo gallery, trailers, and bonus footage of a live (singing) performance of Ford's, as well as his video for the dance single "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." I highly recommend this film to fans of either Colton Ford or Blake Harper (fans of both should be ecstatic!) Those who aren't "American Idol"ed or "Apprentice"d out would also do well to give this documentary a look, as they will most likely find some or all of the film insightful, moving and entertaining.

Colton Ford aka as Glenn by his family, friends, and fellow ex-porn star/boyfriend Peter/Blake Harper decides to abandon his successful porn career and launch his music career at the age of 40. Having done just 9 gay porn flicks in a year or so, he was considered to be the hottest and most handsome porn star that would match to other retired or vanished stars like Ryan Idol. Ford certainly is a talented singer and he's kind of a more muscular version of George Michael, and even his voice is similar to him. It's kind of unfortunate that he had done porn and trying to crossover at middle age. Will he be accepted by the straight scene and can he truly let go of his porn past?

Blake Harper is also the star of this captivating documentary despite not being on the cover. He's done 60 gay porn flicks and one was with Ford. He's equally tired of the porn industry and hoped to find work as an actor in mainstream industry. I was surprised that he just made $30,000 the most a year working in the porn industry. He shared his feelings about what it's like to be approached by so many of his fans and sometimes people treated him disrespectfully. In order to survive financially, he had to take a fulltime nursing job while supporting Glenn's pursuit to get a record deal in NYC.

Legendary gay porn directress Chi Chi LaRue appears in several interviews scenes in and out of drag. She/he talks about Ford and Harper and what kind of challenges and rejections they would have to face when they make their crossover. She also talks about anti-drug abuse, safe sex, and her own frustration of working in the gay porn industry.

Glenn's mother appeared briefly in one scene and she spoke about her son's dream of becoming a superstar. His father is very open-minded and supportive.

Ford's manager Kyle who is an ex-porn star clashed with him and eventually got fired. There is just several musical/dance performances from Ford, and he's totally drop dead gorgeous on stage. Unfortunately, the sound and lighting were rather low-budget. I actually enjoyed the scenes of Ford and Harper together. There is nothing pornographic about this film and it's worthwhile if you like documentaries or if you are a fan of either Ford and Harper. On the special feature segment, there's a music video of Ford and Pepper Mashay's duet single entitled "Sealed, Signed, and Delivered."

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