Review

In Michael Lucas’ most accomplished work yet, nine men show why even at the height of summer's blistering heat, "I’ll take Manhattan!" For many if not most gay New Yorkers, including Michael Lucas, summer means one thing - escape to Fire Island. To date Lucas has taken us on six “cruises” to Sodom by the Sea, and there are more to come, but this one time he missed the ferry and decided to stay home - and we’re the lucky ones. He’s gathered together sizzling stars (who all pack mega-heat) for a scorcher that shows just how much fun “summertime in the city” really can be.

The opening deserves special mention: It’s a great montage of New York street scenes in the summer, but what will really catch your eye - and ear - is the music credit. Yep, the rumors are true - the music for Manhattan Heat is by the one and only Boy George, aka The Twin (his electro-pop alter ego). The camera enters the apartment of first-time performer Erik Grant, an adorably lean, goateed twink, who’s on the phone with his co-star (and recent Lucas find), sex-pig Wilfried Knight. Wilfried can’t handle the heat, but Erik loves it; he says heat makes any man horny.

As proof, UPS-man (and blazing porn newcomer) Fredrick Ford arrives with a delivery, yet he’s more interested in Grant’s package. Grant seizes the moment - and Ford’s brown shorts - to get access to a cock that’s made headlines. He can’t take the whole thing in his mouth, so he works the shaft with his hand.

They dive into each other’s crotches for an extended 69. Ford is an expert and loquacious cock-sucker, talking dirty when he isn’t eating dick, and he has lots to dine on. Grant’s member is also long and meaty, with a thick vein running along the top of the shaft. Ford pushes Grant’s legs back over his head, so the youngster can nibble on his own dickhead while he eats the boy’s ass.

He then stretches Grant out, straddles his hips and lowers himself on Grant’s stiff rod. These may be two city boys, but this is one bronco-busting fuck, as cock and ass pummel each other. Grant then flips Ford on his back - with his cock still firmly in place - for the home stretch, and Ford cums mid-fuck, pausing just long enough to lick it off his hands. Grant pulls out and shoots a load so far it hits Ford in the face, which yanks back in amazement. Ah, the power of youth.

In another apartment, Michael Lucas is enjoying a siesta. His bed companion, the French hottie Gabriel Sinclair, however is wide awake and starts sipping on everyone’s favorite White Russian; there’s no better way to wake up from a nap! Lucas joins in for another 69. (After years of disuse, we should all thank him for bringing back to porn this perpetual-motion position.) They start eating each other’s ass, though as is too often the case, we only see Sinclair’s hole; Lucas has always been strangely shy about showing his sphincter.

Sinclair then lies on his stomach, so Lucas can climb on top and ram him hard from behind in gloriously graphic detail. Serious anal acrobatics follow, as Lucas flips Sinclair into various positions. Foot lovers will rejoice as Michael sucks Gabriel’s toes when the Frenchman’s feet rest on his shoulders. Again the bottom shoots between thrusts; Michael wipes the cum off Gabriel’s abs with his finger and sticks it in Gabriel’s mouth. Lucas’ load takes some coaxing, but it finally arrives, thick and creamy.

In a New York summer, there is nothing worse than a broken air conditioner and nothing harder to find than a repairman. But when Matt Hyland’s AC conks out, workingman Asoka is right at his door (proving that porn truly is a fantasy). This scene is also a study of contrasts: Hyland is young, smooth-skinned, lean, with a heavily veined cut cock, and a consummate bottom. Cuban-born Asoka is older, beefy, hairy, goateed and covered in tattoos. He also has a never-ending foreskin; it completely covers his dickhead with plenty more to spare.

Asoka is a mega-top and can’t keep his mind off Matt’s ass - or his hands, fingers, tongue or spit. Even their 69 session quickly degenerates into sweet ass-torture, though Asoka does take a break to eat Hyland’s toes, too. Matt then grabs both their cocks and jerks them off a bit. Considering the rates these guys must charge, talk about a fistful of dollars!

Finally the fuck comes, and it’s the roughest of the whole show. They begin in missionary position, but then Asoka lies back, pulling Hyland up until he’s impaled on the Cuban’s cigar. It’s a long, furious ride, with long shots and little editing. Hyland shoots his load mid-ride, and the repairman pulls out for an awfully noisy climax. They both collapse in satisfied exhaustion - and you will too.

Knight and Grant are outside discussing Erik’s theory that heat turns up men’s libidos. Knight scoffs, so Grant grabs two strangers - Lucas and well-chiseled newcomer J. (yep, just J.) - for a fourgy. Lucas always has orgies in his videos, but keeping it small here is a really nice change. The sex is much more concentrated, especially since all four men share the same couch. There’s one wonderful moment where Lucas is sucking Grant while he’s fucking J, who’s sucking Knight, who’s kissing Grant. Forget Disney, this is a real “circle of life.”

The action starts with Lucas-Grant and Knight-J. pairings, but it quickly becomes a free-for-all. Everybody blows everybody - well almost. Oddly, J. never actually gets sucked, but he does get fucked - and how! First by Knight, then Lucas, then Grant. It’s a mini-gang-bang that’s a Lucas orgy trademark. They pair off for one final fuck, Lucas topping J. and Grant topping Knight, before everyone happily climaxes.

Back home, Knight meets married neighbor Arpad Miklos in the hall. Miklos’ AC is broken down (Asoka must have been busy) and the wife’s away, so the good neighbor invites him in for a beer. As he puts the make on the hetero Hungarian, so begins Manhattan Heat’s final, incredibly intense scene. Miklos is a massive marvel of a man, with huge muscles, hairy chest, heavy stubble and eager sexuality, and Knight is basically a slightly smaller and younger version of the same.

You wanna know how much these guys get into each other? In this entire scene there are maybe ten edits. Lucas turns the camera on them as they turn on each other. It begins with a single ten-minute long shot (a porn record?) of a textbook straight-man seduction, down to the “you must work out a lot.” The acting is first-rate from both of them, especially Miklos, who shows just enough reticence to be pitch-perfect. But of course, Miklos’ inhibitions melt and his giant cock ends in Knight’s mouth for a four-minute-long, single-shot blow-job. Wow! He then rims Miklos’ perfectly puckered hole, before the married man, again with just enough hesitation to be believable, starts feasting on Knight’s asshole.

Then comes the fuck. The editing starts traditionally, with a close-up of Miklos’ entry into Knight and some tight shots of from-behind penetration, but it ends with another incredibly long shot (3 minutes, at least) of the two in missionary position. This ain’t acting; it’s a fuck as heartfelt as you will ever see. It is an incredible way to end an incredible achievement.

There’s so much about Manhattan Heat that makes it so good. Yes, there’s Boy George’s music between scenes, but there’s no music during the sex itself; what can possibly compare with the sound of hips slapping against butt cheeks? Likewise the lighting is entirely natural, and the editing shows not models doing their business but men having real sex (we even see them putting on condoms and lubing up). Indeed, across the board, this is Lucas’ most technically proficient work, especially considering it’s over two hours long. The performances are all flawless; how many videos have every bottom cum while still being fucked? The cast is terrifically diverse with various degrees of hairiness and muscle tone, and a great range of ages. And with Americans, French, Cubans, Hungarians and Russians, this must have been shot on the East Side near the UN.

So is there anything wrong with Manhattan Heat? Well, it's minor - the use of Boy George. Now, some might be thrilled by this MTV-meets-gay fuck flick moment, but frankly, it makes this reviewer nervous. If straight porn wants to go mainstream, fine, let ‘em. But don’t we want to keep gay porn our own dirty secret, just for ourselves? Erotica can go on the coffee table if it wants, but I’m stashing my gay porn under the bed with old gym socks and stiff Kleenex, where it belongs.

Just ask a gay elder about the old Continental Baths. It was a wonderfully sleazy place where you could fuck morning, noon and night - from one end to the other. But then they hired a singer named Bette Midler to entertain, and all of a sudden it became the hotspot for hip, straight Manhattanites and you couldn’t find a hard cock anywhere.

Others may disagree, but do you really want to see Katie Couric interviewing Matthew Rush, “The View” welcoming Chi Chi LaRue, or Mary Hart announcing Michael Brandon’s birthday? Do we really want their respectability rubbing off on our sex? Gag me! (Preferably with Michael Brandon, though Arpad Miklos will certainly do.)

Thus endeth the sermon for the day. Now, go and sin “ever” more!

Lucas Entertainment DVDs always come chock-full (or is that cock-full?) of goodies, and this one is no exception. The Director’s Cut Expanded Edit of Manhattan Heat is a two disc set. There are no additional sex scenes (trust me, after watching the film you won’t need any) but there are some terrific bonus features: full motion chapter selection; bios on all cast members; photo galleries of all cast members; a full cumshot review; the original trailer; behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes; interviews with Asoka, Miklos, Grant, J. and Knight; Website links; and hardcore previews - tons of them.

 -- Jameson Rodgers

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