Is Mighty Falcon Studios Losing Its Sexual Magic?

Once upon a time, porn fans would hungrily await Falcon's next Video Pack, knowing they'd see a film hot enough to blow up the VCR. After watching their latest DVD, "What Goes Around...," and finding it only lukewarm, we're wondering, is the studio giant losing its libido?

Sure, one iffy film in a studio that churns them out regularly is no crime, but their last three flicks have felt sexual uninspired, even with the hottest names in porn today. "Office Affairs" played like a Michael Lucas Men in Suits rip-off. "Fleet Week 2" had all the zombie passion of a soldier mindlessly marching through the motions. "The Other Side of Aspen VI" proved a big disappointment, considering that title's vaulted pedigree. "What Goes Around...", a porn variation of "La Ronde," doesn't raise the heat index higher, with paint-by-numbers scenes you can see done better on any site from Corbin Fisher to Men at Play.

Falcon's certainly keeping their quality on par with other studios, but Falcon used to always do it considerably better. A big reason was that the studio branded itself with a particularly fresh point of view. Back in the mid-80s, the studio flourished by highlighting the sexual adventures of the sunkissed California preppy kid—the polo wearing, sweater around the neck upper middle class boy popular in mainstream culture, from "Porky's" to the beaches of Malibu. The men only wore the then fancy-schmancy white Calvin Klein briefs, causing those undies to be a staple of gay men's drawers. Falcon made unknowns into stars by tapping into that affluent boy-next-door fantasy.

Then came the era of the director. In the late '80s early '90s, Steven Scarborough directed several Falcon titles with a distinct forbidden eroticism. To the secret sexual hijinks in "Behind Closed Doors," to the creative kink of "The Abduction" series, Scarborough came up with fantasy scenarios far beyond fucking on a sofa or bed on a standard porn set.

During the '90s, director John Rutherford's unique style of quick camera movements and talent for finding the hottest young unknowns around (Jeremy Penn, anyone?) kept the Falcon movies the top of the Must Watch list. Who can forget films like "Flashpoint," "The Freshmen," and the coup of bringing legend Kevin Williams back onto the scene?

"What Goes Around..." is indicative of Falcon today. Instead of discovering the hottest new talent, Falcon takes already discovered talent and places them in the same scenarios we've seen time and again—the Crate and Barrel bedroom and living room. This film's main claim to fame is the premiere of Erik Rhodes' newly cut cock and one of the last gay scenes with Jeremy Bilding, who is moving to exclusively straight porn. Certainly the production values and beauty index are as jaw-dropping as we'd expect, but the sexual creativity is lacking. The fantasy is relegated to the physical hot factor the performers, rather than the eroticism of the situations.

Every company goes through a slump. Hopefully Falcon—which was sold into the Raging Stallion/Naked Sword gay porn behemoth late last year—once again finds its foothold to make groundbreaking pornography. As for now, we find ourselves dutifully watching their most current releases, but turning back to the '80s and '90s classics for when we really want to get off in style.

· "What Goes Around..." (falconstudios.com)