R U Invited? (2006)

Five friends receive invitations to an underground sex party. However, to qualify for attendance each one must submit revealing photos as there is a "screening process". For the voyeurs among us, this affords the opportunity of having the quintet of hopefuls strip down, pose and titillate the camera and the crowd. As the party draws near issues of monogamy, weight, appearance, discrimination, drug use, and promiscuity arise. Friendships are tested and pushed to their boundaries, personalities collide, sexual histories are revealed, and relationship survival is in question.

First is Ben (John de los Santos), the kept boy toy of Anderson (Phil Harrington), a wealthy businessman who is wise in the ways of the world. "All you can do is live yourself," he advises the group-sex newbie, Jason (David Matherly). Jason is at first reluctant to get naked for Ben's digital lens with Mondo (Gabriel Praddo), his boyfriend of 6 months looking on. Worse still, when finally nude his nervous pecker beats a retreat until Ben heroically acquiesces to Mondo’s suggestion to "make him a little more showy." That attention soon brings about the required rise, yet is the first of several character-muddying actions that prevent the film from being a great movie.

Charlie’s (Christopher Jones) jewels are already so widely known that he can skip the audition. The happy whore is married to makeup artist Helen Bedd (Chase Wade). She's a pent-up drag queen who gets wind of her "if you didn’t see it, it didn’t happen" mate then storms over to the pre-party staging ground where she thrashes her man with a sharp tongue before slashing his face with a hanger and kneeing him in the groin. The probable outcast of the buff boys is the naive and somewhat overweight Gordy (Oscar Contreras). He boldly bares his cleavage for his friends in a fit of revenge rage. As the lads wait for the results of their nude screening pics, there's ample opportunity to chat about drugs, communication strategies, and position preference. The actual party is brief with the screen flooded with red-tinted flesh and a few puzzled looks.

The first quarter of the film is a bit slow to start and each character seems stereotypical. But then as the story unfolds and their real selves come out, it is quite endearing. Dallas-based filmmaker Israel Luna tackles the subject matter with irreverent bite in this comedy about five gay friends who receive an invitation to an orgy and find themselves resorting to petty infighting while preparing for the rigorous "screening" process. Israel Luna composed the original music, edited the film, wrote the screenplay, and directed.

Pantasya (2007)

Five previously unconnected people find their lives intertwining in erotic ways in this gay-themed Filipino movie. It has five episodes that all deal with gay soft-core fantasies involving men in uniform. It starts with "Biyahe" about a jilted taxi driver and his jealous passenger who find comfort in each other's arms. (Arthur Estrella and Rov Roxas) The second episode is "Linya", about a lonely homeowner whose phone conks out. Two handsome repairmen arrive and they end up engaging in a sexy threesome. (Mark Dionisio, Harold Montano, and Kiko Montenegro)

Next is "Laro", about four basketball players who are taking a shower in the locker room after an intense game. A shy guy takes a peek at them and later joins in the fun. (Kervin Castillo, Dexter Castro, Brent Lorenzo, Nicco Taberna, and Kyle Zenorio) "Bilis" is about a hunky delivery boy in a hurry who delivers pizza to a bored yuppie who is working overtime in his office. They are instantly attracted to each other. (Justin De Leon and Trent Allan) The last episode is "Bantay", about a horny security guard on the graveyard shift. He sees two lovers quarrel and go their separate ways. Rhyme Rodriguez dumps Jon Eric, and Jon finds comfort in the arms of Kyro Baldemor, the easy going guard who allows Jon to cry on his shoulder.

Tasteful and erotic, this sexy Filipino film is filled with naked guys, hot scenes, and is lots of fun. Dreams come true in amazing reality and detail. We get a beautiful show of Asian male skin and a great deal of imagination. Viewers opinions are mixed. One wrote, "Somewhat disappointed in the movie. Stories were low key and not enough frontage showing which in my opinion makes a gay movie. Sorry I was not enthusiastic enough about the movie but the way the synopsis sounded it was really hot. More like tepid." Another wrote, "Very well done, was disappointed with the lack of nudity that was advertised but stories were well done." Marissa Cadiz composed the original music, Boots Agbayani Pastor wrote the screenplay, and Brillante Mendoza directed. In Tagalog with English subtitles.