''Dream Team'' is a 1999 gay pornographic film, written and directed by

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...

, starring Tony Donovan, Rick Chase and Kurt Young, and produced by Studio 2000. This movie tells the

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

stories of a group of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

players who come to terms with their sexualities at a young age in 1957, and later in a 1962 reunion.

Plot synopsis

NOTE: This film has character names. However, names of real-life performers are used in this article. The story is set in Herbert Hoover High School in Heartland Heights, Iowa. It features seven former high school basketball players, part of the class of 1957, and it then shows their five-year reunion in 1962. The movie switches scenes between high school and the reunion. In 1962, Rick Chase is now an actor in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Aaron Lawrence becomes a reverend primarily to repress his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and his love for Chase. Tony Donovan is unhappily married with a wife and children, and Kurt Young cruises around with men and women. Scott Lyons has turned to drink. Kristian Brooks and Lucas James are secret lovers. In one scene, Chase and Lyons perform

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may ...

on each other in 1957 and

anal penetration Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. Ot ...

in 1962. In another, sexually frustrated married men Donovan and Young make love to each other in both years in the same basement, filled with pictures of naked women (In 1962, they are blindfolded though). In another scene, lovers Brooks and James engage in a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

with Lawrence, who later leaves the two alone to let them penetrate each other. In another, after the basketball team loses often, the coach (Preston Richie) "locks up seven players in the locker room", where they create an

orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swing ...

. Later, they win the basketball game. In the final scene, set in 1962, best friends Chase and Lawrence admit their feelings for each other and then have sex.

Production

The movie was inspired by writer and director Jerry Douglas's own childhood in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in the 1950s. It was produced by Scott Masters. The basement sex scene filled with naked pictures of women was inspired by Douglas's real-life sexual fantasies and his basement room that was filled with pictures of

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

s, including actors

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

Farley Granger Farley Earle Granger Jr. (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his two collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock: ''Rope'' in 1948 and '' Strangers on a Train'' in 1951. Granger was first noticed in a small ...

and

Montgomery Clift Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''. He is best remembered ...

who sparked those fantasies.

Reception

A reviewer from the ''Frisky Fans'' website praised the story, the acting and the directing with four and a half stars out of five. Keeneye Reeves from ''

TLA Video TLA Releasing is a US film distribution and production company owned by TLA Entertainment Group. In March 2011, a new LLC was formed for the operation. Its primary output is LGBT-related films from all over the world under the "TLA Releasing" lab ...

'' called its story "incredibly hot and romantic" with all four stars. Frank Lee from ''Rad Video'' praised the performances, the writing and the story setting with five stars. Giacomo Tramontagna from ''The Guide'' found the sex scenes "beautifully orchestrated", the movie an "instant classic" and "the best story-driven gay video in years" with four stars. Tramontagna said that Rick Chase in this video appears to resemble actor

. Moreover, he found Chase's story with Scott Lyons more convincing than with Aaron Lawrence as "best friends". Butch Harris from ''ManNet'' praised the movie with its coming-of-age tales as an "excellent

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

". Jeremy Spencer from ''GayVideoDad'' (part of the defunct ''

Gay Chicago ''Gay Chicago'' is a defunct LGBT online news organization in Chicago, Illinois, which ceased publishing in print form on September 21, 2011. ''Gay Chicago'' replaced ''Gay Chicago Magazine'' which was founded in 1976 by Ralph Paul Gernhardt an ...

Magazine'') called it the "best" and praised its acting, sexual performances, story and directing. Jeffrey Escoffier from his book ''Bigger Than Life'' called it "a historical

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

illustrating the significance of

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...

." Escoffier compared the misery of

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...

ness among small-town boys in the 1950s and "sexual happiness" among them at their reunion in the 1960s.Escoffier 2009
p. 285
Retrieved July 30, 2012, at ''

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

''. In 2000, this film won

GayVN Awards The GayVN Awards are film awards presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornographic industry. The awards were sponsored by '' AVN Magazine'', the parent publication of ''GAYVN Magazine'', and continue the recognition for gay pornograp ...

for Best Gay Video and Best Director (Jerry Douglas). It also won

Grabby Awards Grabby Awards (better known as The Grabbys) are presented annually in Chicago to honor work done in the gay adult erotic video industry. The awards are sponsored by ''GRAB Magazine.'' The Grabby Awards and ''GRAB Magazine'' are owned and operate ...

for Best Romance Video and Best Romance Screenplay (Douglas). It also won

Gay Erotic Video Awards The following are awards for gay pornography including ones that are no longer given. The list is organized by award and by year for each award. GayVN Awards The GAYVN Awards are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography i ...

for Best Gay Video, Best Screenplay (Douglas), Best Director (Douglas) and Best Non-Sexual Role (Preston Richie).

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0315520, Dream Team
''Dream Team'' at IAFD
Gay pornographic films LGBT-related coming-of-age films 1990s pornographic films 1999 LGBT-related films 1999 films