Ghost of A Chance, A, 104 min

Classic porn from the Seventies will inevitably seem dated; 16mm film is no longer the medium of choice, the actors are often hairy or at least have shaggy haircuts, and even though the sex is pre-condom, the tangling often portrays tenderness rare today. A Ghost of a Chance is a shining example of all of the above, a true masterpiece from the "old days" with its flawless cinematography, a well-written and acted story, great special effects, and beautiful sex. After viewing this film, dated doesn't seem like such a bad thing, particularly in light of the film's dinosaur politics. Scenes include: young guys, sixty-nine, pre-condom sex/no condoms. Redheaded boy/man Glenn Brock stars as Jerry, a guy who just can't seem to shake off the death of his lover Cass, played by prettier-than-Leif Garret Roy Clark. One night Jerry is making love to his new boyfriend, stud for all seasons, Jimmy Hughes when he thinks he sees Cass over by the dresser. He brushes off his suspicions and returns to giving Hughes some head. Hughes mounts Brock and fucks him with rockin' rhythm, kissing him the entire time. They both jack themselves to climax; their glubby orgasms are captured in rapturous slow motion. Across town, Toby Willis, a brunette beauty with a Monkees hairstyle, has a serious conversation with his mother. She tells him that she wants to get married to her new boyfriend. Willis doesn't like the guy so he storms out of the house. He decides to cut school and go to the beach. He rides his bike in the pouring rain to the deserted beach where he explores the rocks. He sees a man who he thinks is his old friend and unrequited object of desire, Cass. He follows the man into a cave. They make sweet love on the wet, sandy ground. They hold each other and kiss cautiously; they have sex the way one would imagine two nervous teenagers would. The intense red lighting and moody music add incredible atmosphere to the already effective proceedings. After they cum, Willis learns that his new friend's name is Jim, but gosh darnit! if he doesn't look exactly like Cass. On the other side of town Jerry sees Cass in a clothing store. Jerry freaks out and curses his "ethereal voyeur", but Cass soon explains why he's on earth in spectral form and Jerry becomes quite happy with his presence. They go to a bar where Cass, naked and invisible to everyone except for Jerry, describes all of the things he's learned since he died. He offers his theories on why men should have sex with whomever they want, even if they're in monogamous relationships. You see, Jerry has learned that life is too short to deny one's self pleasure. He fantasizes about two mustachioed men at the bar. He tells us that they both have boyfriends but shouldn't have to give up on their needs. They fuck and suck in a white room, all gauzy and romantic-like. This lofty proselytizing speaks to the need for liberatory ideas about sexuality in the wake of Stonewall. Freedom is a common theme in Seventies porn, that is, when freedom is equated with sexual abandon. Such a notion makes sense, what could be more liberating than the assertion of one's sexual autonomy? Gay sex as a radical act... Well, but then there's today, where we can almost draw a straight line from this kind of thinking to the arrival of AIDS and its attendant homophobia (that seems too polite a term). I don't want shake my finger at older generations and scold them, that would be ahistorical and preachy. But there is something to be said about watching men have unprotected sex (a term that didn't even exist when A Ghost of a Chance was made) and hearing "everyone should do it, all the time." People are saying that today, what with the terms "barebacking" and "bug chasing" already part of the queer lexicon. I guess anyone can figure out that the film slips a little towards the end, otherwise I would've continued to writ