Hand of Fate (1998) Online

Directed with efficiency but little in the way of inspiration by Studio 2000's resident camera man Ross Cannon (a/k/a "Derek Kent", who made an unlikely masterpiece with his cop fetish video CUFFED !), HAND OF FATE boasts an attractive cast and an unusually involving Tom Walsh screenplay.Fortunately, Cannon's crystal-clear photography is up to his usual lofty standards, displaying the skill and ingenuity that his directorial achievement doesn't. It may be a sign of old age (I have just turned 40 as of this writing !) but I certainly prefer Rock Hard's softly lilting New Age soundtrack to the thumping techno beats that accompany much of the stuff that rivaling homo hardcore companies are flooding the market with. In the final assessment, this is a marginally above average "meat 'n' potatoes" type porno video with a cute premise and ditto cast, okay sex, nothing you haven't seen before but generally performed with pleasure, making this a painless way of killing time.

Basically another reworking of the Cinderella story, this time with a Hollywood setting, it tells the tale of Raymond (ravishing Richie Fine, star of Kevin Clarke's PLEASURE PRINCIPLE, which was early '70s gay industry giant Jaguar's big comeback movie), a starry-eyed kid who put his career goal on hold when he met, fell in love and came to live with big shot casting agent Darren (hunky Chris Rock, unforgettable in Barry Knight's THE APPRENTICE). When the latter brings home a new contract starlet (ultimate white trash Rod Barry who proved he could act as well as fornicate in Mike Donner's thoughtful A LESSON LEARNED) and prepares to have him take his longtime lover's place, Ray is demoted to cleaning house and picking up after the little home wrecker. His friends can no longer bear to watch him suffer and take him to a TV psychic (hot older guy Troy Ryder, also in John Rutherford's California KINGS) who lays out the Tarot cards and tells him that a change is in order if he is to find true love and happiness. A farm boy (succulent Sandy Sloane from Chi Chi La Rue's BEACH BUNS) whose car breaks down in front of the mansion and needs to make a call for a tow may just provide the answer.

The downside to a porn narrative that actually has a beginning, a middle and a proper ending is that it requires a modicum of thespian prowess from the performers. Rock is easily the most talented actor on display here and Barry makes for a convincing bitch, but unfortunately that's about it. There's one scene in particular, at the psychic's lair that has Fine, Michael Rivera and Aaron Wilde stumbling over their lines that reminded me of the 3 Stooges trying their hand at Shakespeare ! Like small children in days of yore, Fine should be seen and not heard, his slight speech impediment making one wonder just what perverse mind was responsible for giving him veritable reams of dialog ! He does bring a touching sincerity to the part however, most effective in his tender bookend sex scenes with Rock and Sloane, hands down the best of just four encounters. Barry's carnal potential gets wasted in a throwaway number with the flick's least appealing stud, toothsome Casey Morgan, whose rough 'n' ready demeanor was better exploited in John Travis' military themed WHATEVER YOU SAY, SIR ! A foursome involving the psychic, his butler (the always welcome Drew Andrews, more memorable in Cannon's A BODY TO DIE FOR) and Ray's helpful friends has flickers of heat but fails to sustain. It makes the cardinal mistake of slighting beautiful Brazilian Rivera - formerly Carlos Velasquez from Kristen Bjorn's GANGSTERS AT LARGE - who has a most photogenic way of practically inhaling man meat, in favor of generic blond Wilde, a dim bulb also in La Rue's fluffy NEW COACH.