Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story

Quick, compact documentary from writer-director Michael Stabile and Breaking Glass Pictures introduces many of us to Chuck Holmes, a gay young man from Indiana who relocated to San Francisco in 1972 to achieve his dream of working in the world of gay pornography--but not as a performer, as a producer. Holmes' Falcon Productions changed the face of gay porno by ditching the black-and-white 8mm loops and putting his actors in exotic and colorful locations (a ski chalet, a palatial estate, etc.). By scrubbing the models clean, shaving off their chest hair (a must in the early-'80s) and dyeing their locks blonde, Holmes made a fortune out of eschewing the previous decade's idea of machismo and giving the gay scene a sleek new look: trim, muscular 18-year-olds who all looked like they came out of the same jar. That was fine with Holmes, a purveyor of the fantasy. A volatile man, Holmes enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle with his partner, but who was also guarded about his homosexuality and unable to escape an inner loneliness. Falcon Productions was, naturally, affected by the looming AIDS crisis, which is touched on here rather than tackled head-on--even with its founder contracting HIV. Interviews with loved ones, employees, and politicians who benefited from Holmes' late-in-life philanthropic nature are personable and moving, and yet the film really isn't slanted towards a tear-jerking conclusion. It's aim, I believe, is to be titillating for its target audience while teaching us something about the man behind the scenes. It gets the job done. **1/2 from ****