Daddy Issues

One of Nica Noelle's better features for Icon Male, "Daddy Issues" rises above the cliche to fashion a moving chamber drama, well-acted by the often-mired-in-gonzo studs.

Max Sargent stars as Bill Dalton, renting a room in his "empty nest" home to young Lance Taylor, his son having flown the coop to get married. Nica sets and maintains a serious tone, with the first XXX scene carefully set up as Max lies in bed thinking of his handsome new tenant and masturbating, the shot seamelessly progressing to an erotic fantasy of Lance in bed with him.

Lance asks if a friend of his Alex (soulfully played by Troy Accola) can visit, as the lad has had a troubled life, his dad having left early on. Alex frequently crashes there subsequently, and is seduced by the handyman living in the guesthouse Paul (well-played as a seductive presence by Nica regular Roman Todd.

Story becomes dramatic when Alex discovers through a website his dad's present whereabouts in New Hampshire, a four-hour drive away. (Nica's boy/boy porn for Icon Male is shot in New England, an unusual Adult Cinema location.)

Bill agrees to drive Alex there, but the off-screen meeting of father and son (Nica does not show it to us) turns sour, as the old man reported rejects his offspring outright, preferring to leave the past in the past.

Bill and Alex stay the night at a nearby inn, with the boy literally crying on Bill's shoulder, leading to an empathetic scene of older/younger sex. Meanwhile back home, Paul seduced Lance, and Nica manages to round out the show with a wry ending.

This little feature with its four strong characters is something of a gem, singularly pointing to a romantic, storytelling potential for Gay Cinema that has been absent since the glory days of Hand in Hand releases back in the 1970s.