Lucas Entertainment's "La Dolce Vita"

It's not easy reviewing Lucas Entertainment's opus of the year, La Dolce Vita. Is it a stunning piece of film work? Yes. Should it win awards as best gay porn of the year? Probably not.

No one can deny that directors Michael Lucas and Tony DiMarco have put together one of the most extravagant, big budgeted and thoroughly polished gay pornos of all time. In fact, in terms of looking like a mainstream film, there is nothing in gay porn that has ever come close to La Dolce Vita. Period. And for that, Michael Lucas should be a proud poppa. While last year's stunner, Chi Chi LaRue's Wrong Side of the Tracks, looked like it could have been an indie film minus its sex scenes, Michael Lucas's La Dolce Vita does a "one up" looking like it should have been distributed by Universal. It is at times self-indulgent in this, namely at the beginning of both disc one and two, where extensive montages take place that, while beautiful, are not sexual or necessary to the plot itself.

Michael Lucas should be a shoe-in for Best Actor though, as he gives a natural delivery of an incredibly complex character. And if Best Actor is to be awarded for performance merit over acting (I don't know if anyone's ever been able to quite decipher that!), Lucas should snag that one too. His sex scenes in the movie are the only ones with true chemistry. Especially with him in the driver's seat of his scene opposite Jason Ridge and Derrick Hanson (they both bottom for him, of course), the action goes down seamlessly. Lucas fitting both cocks into his mouth at once too is one of the hottest shots in the flick.

The other piece of noteworthy acting comes from Pete Ross who is nearly unrecognizable from being so in character for his few lines. Ross proves with an understated flair in his few moments on screen that he is a character actor and should be utilized as such in future roles. His sex scene with the mega-lipped and bubble-butted Jonathan Vargas is also a highlight in the flick.

There's plenty more sex: Jack Bond and Wilson Vasquez behind closed doors at a party, Ray Star and Brad Star in the strip club, Spencer Quest and Jamie Donovan in a walk-in closet, Cole Ryan and Chad Hunt again behind closed doors at a party, Michael Lucas and Justin Christopher in a sex club. But the sex itself throughout most of these scenes just isn't all that hot. While beautiful to look at, most of the anal action is softcore with little to no insertion shots or close-up hardcore fucking. One of the hottest of the above mentioned, Ray Star and Brad Star's scene, after a heart attack inducing build up in oral action falls flat with only seconds of anal. And like Lucas's predecessor, Dangerous Liasons, what hardcore there is, is often darkly lit and difficult to see.

Now, this is not at all the case for the Bonus Scenes featured on the three-disc Director's Cut of La Dolce Vita. These gems of raw footage are actually the three hottest scenes of all! It doesn't get much more hardcore than Michael Lucas making Spencer Quest gape his hole open before pissing in him or Chad Hunt making Rod Barry cry in what may be the ultimate bottoming performance in Barry's entire career. It seems that when not concerned with making a spectacle of the whole thing, Lucas can churn out some of the hottest sex we've seen all year.

Now if he could combine the two at the same time, he might just take over the industry.

But with awe inspiring production value, fantastic acting, lavish locations and mediocre sex, ultimately one is left wondering why Michael Lucas is making porn at all when he could be making mainstream movies. And as irony would have it in life imitating art, that's just what La Dolce Vita happens to be about.

BUY IT NOW!: Lucas Entertainment's La Dolce Vita: Director's Edition 3-Disc Set is now available on DVD at 50% OFF! in the Curious Corner Store.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 35 PHOTO BONUS GALLERY!