Nica Noelle is a XXX innovator, first with her "real sex" series of innumerable lesbian and boy- girl features, then a couple of transsexual movies stressing sympathetic portrayals rather than gonzo action, and more recently a foray into Gay cinema. FORGIVE ME FATHER (I prefer the shooting title of SINFUL CONFESSIONS seen here on a Behind the Scenes clapper-board) is a mixed bag, not successful but promising.
After daring to mix XXX with Catholicism in her MOTHER SUPERIOR series for the Girl Candy label, she brings that subject to Gay stories for Mile High's new Icon Male banner, having straight man (no pun intended, for the moment) Francisco de la Vega as Father Francisco, methodically hearing the "I had gay sex" confessions of four parishioners in four separate vignettes, and after flashbacks depicting the trysts, absolving them all - and that's all she wrote. I would have preferred one of Nica's integrated storyline features instead of this repetitive, what's the point? approach (there is no ending, just Kubrickian "one more time" structure).
Not being a Boy/Boy video fan or follower, the talent was new to me, and not all that talented. Whereas in her lesbian videos and especially in her ground-breaking "real orgasms" Sweet Sinner mainstream porn, Noelle is careful to select talented actors of both sexes, rather than opting merely for a pretty face who can go through the hardcore motions. I didn't get that impression with the casting here.
Best example of this is finale featuring diminutive Armond Rizzo, who could easily be cast on screen as a jockey if in fact he can ride a horse well, ridden here by stud Nick Capra as a teacher who got a bit too chummy with his student. Rizzo's few previous credits include ENLIST YOUR FIST so he's clearly a gonzo grad.
Best segment I thought was muscular Trenton Ducati falling for his handsome young brother- in-law Seth Santoro after latter (out of work) moves in with him and wifey (not shown - I think Nica erred in having only males on screen as opposed to previous more integrated though specialized projects). This particular segment has more heart and even a wistful ending compared to the other wham bam thank you sir vignettes.
Both these segments (presented as last and penultimate on the video) jarringly contradict Nica's Prime Directive: real lovemaking, real orgasms plus a packaging proviso "no dissolves". I've seen plenty of major films with a thousand or two cuts between shots and no dissolves, so this porno-speak term is meaningless. What we get in Segments 2 and 3 is the "magically appearing/disappearing rubber", which is applied or vanishes during a reverse shot cut or switch from Camera 1 to Camera 2 -footage missing in between. This destroys Nica's vaunted "real time" sex illusion and is not utilized in the bareback Vignettes 1 & 2, so it's structurally unsound (and very, very obvious to the naked eye).
Opening scene has Lance Hart as a former candidate for the priesthood (who knows Father Francisco from before and breaks protocol by identifying himself you-remember-me style while seated in the confessional) until he fell in love with Tommy Defendi. Per Noelle's favored open-ended approach there's hope after his tell- all that he may go back and study to be a priest once more.
Other vignette is pretty standard porn with little set-up, as ex-soldier Ty Roderick can't keep his hands off "pretty boy" Casey Tanner, who one assumes from his lack of other credits and well-learned poses in the DVD's slide show is auditioning for a sub to some stud's dom career.
Noelle stresses ritual (and repetition) but I found the affair curiously uninvolving, and far less controversial than her naughty nuns exercises. But of course I applaud Nica's willingness to break new ground in porn - a term unfortunately reserved nowadays for the latest "I'm dirtier than Max Hardcore ever was" gonzo arms race.
After daring to mix XXX with Catholicism in her MOTHER SUPERIOR series for the Girl Candy label, she brings that subject to Gay stories for Mile High's new Icon Male banner, having straight man (no pun intended, for the moment) Francisco de la Vega as Father Francisco, methodically hearing the "I had gay sex" confessions of four parishioners in four separate vignettes, and after flashbacks depicting the trysts, absolving them all - and that's all she wrote. I would have preferred one of Nica's integrated storyline features instead of this repetitive, what's the point? approach (there is no ending, just Kubrickian "one more time" structure).
Not being a Boy/Boy video fan or follower, the talent was new to me, and not all that talented. Whereas in her lesbian videos and especially in her ground-breaking "real orgasms" Sweet Sinner mainstream porn, Noelle is careful to select talented actors of both sexes, rather than opting merely for a pretty face who can go through the hardcore motions. I didn't get that impression with the casting here.
Best example of this is finale featuring diminutive Armond Rizzo, who could easily be cast on screen as a jockey if in fact he can ride a horse well, ridden here by stud Nick Capra as a teacher who got a bit too chummy with his student. Rizzo's few previous credits include ENLIST YOUR FIST so he's clearly a gonzo grad.
Best segment I thought was muscular Trenton Ducati falling for his handsome young brother- in-law Seth Santoro after latter (out of work) moves in with him and wifey (not shown - I think Nica erred in having only males on screen as opposed to previous more integrated though specialized projects). This particular segment has more heart and even a wistful ending compared to the other wham bam thank you sir vignettes.
Both these segments (presented as last and penultimate on the video) jarringly contradict Nica's Prime Directive: real lovemaking, real orgasms plus a packaging proviso "no dissolves". I've seen plenty of major films with a thousand or two cuts between shots and no dissolves, so this porno-speak term is meaningless. What we get in Segments 2 and 3 is the "magically appearing/disappearing rubber", which is applied or vanishes during a reverse shot cut or switch from Camera 1 to Camera 2 -footage missing in between. This destroys Nica's vaunted "real time" sex illusion and is not utilized in the bareback Vignettes 1 & 2, so it's structurally unsound (and very, very obvious to the naked eye).
Opening scene has Lance Hart as a former candidate for the priesthood (who knows Father Francisco from before and breaks protocol by identifying himself you-remember-me style while seated in the confessional) until he fell in love with Tommy Defendi. Per Noelle's favored open-ended approach there's hope after his tell- all that he may go back and study to be a priest once more.
Other vignette is pretty standard porn with little set-up, as ex-soldier Ty Roderick can't keep his hands off "pretty boy" Casey Tanner, who one assumes from his lack of other credits and well-learned poses in the DVD's slide show is auditioning for a sub to some stud's dom career.
Noelle stresses ritual (and repetition) but I found the affair curiously uninvolving, and far less controversial than her naughty nuns exercises. But of course I applaud Nica's willingness to break new ground in porn - a term unfortunately reserved nowadays for the latest "I'm dirtier than Max Hardcore ever was" gonzo arms race.