The following review, and the above time and ratings, are for the VHS version of this movie and may vary in this DVD version.
It's time to throw out your worn out old copies of Catalina's award winning, pre-condom classic Powertool so you can upgrade to this special 20th Anniversary Edition. Actually it's been more than two decades since Powertool made its landmark debut. This is the movie that introduced four foot cum squirter Johnny Davenport to gay porno fans and launched Jeff Stryker's career into the stratosphere. Digitally re-mastered with an updated musical score, it looks better and sounds better than previous copies. It also has more cumshots than the original, but the plot is still intact.
Jeff Stryker is sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. He has attitude to spare even during a scene that should've been degrading. He's strip searched by a horny guard with a lascivious grin, played by the late Tony Bravo. "Wanna kiss it for me?" Jeff asks when he's made to spread open his butt cheeks. This being a gay porno, we already know the answer.
I always got the feeling Jeff Stryker wanted to be Elvis when he grew up. Well, in Powertool he gets to do the jailhouse cock.
On his first night in the slammer, Jeff watches two inmates in another cell, played by John Davenport and Michael Gere. Davenport reads a letter from his girlfriend and learns that she's decided to leave him for another man. John takes out his sexual frustrations on Gere, the "jailhouse fairy." He forces Gere to suck his dick, then he gives Gere a good, hard ass pounding as the submissive bottom whimpers in agony. Jeff beats off while he watches the duo, stroking his cock through the bars of his cell to a gushing orgasm. In this scene and all the others the guys get off more than one load. This was commonplace in '80s porn.
Later on, Jeff shares a joint with rugged bottom Jeff Converse in a storage closet. Converse makes a grab for Jeff's cock, but Stryker makes him promise to give up two cartons of cigarettes before he'll let him suck it. He fucks Converse's face before sitting on it, then he fucks his tight ass.
Tony Marino, Gary Owen and Tom Mitchell have the obligatory prison shower scene. It includes a double penetration shot of Owen.
Then Tony Bravo returns to harass Jeff some more. He threatens to make Jeff's jail sentence a living hell if he doesn't get what he wants, and what he wants is to get fucked by the Hung One's big, fat cock. I love the way Tony lifts up his shirt and wiggles his firm, round butt in front of Jeff as he waits to get reamed. Jeff gives him a bed-creaking butt fuck on the bottom bunk in this anal only scene.
After Jeff is released from jail, he comes home and finds his boyfriend Danny Russo in bed with boyish Brian Estevez. This scene has the hottest cum shot. Danny sucks Brian to orgasm, and Brian's juicy load drips down the side of Danny's face while he munches on Brian's balls. Jeff packs up his things and storms out of the house. Brian and Danny are too busy fucking and don't even realize Jeff was there.
Mike Henson makes an appearance in a non-sexual cameo. Out on the street, he cruises Jeff. The video ends with a freeze frame as Jeff approaches Mike. A side note: Powertool 2 picks up where this one left off. Mike Henson returns (with a different haircut, but wearing the same outfit). Trick editing allows Lex Baldwin to intercept Mike before he can hook up with Jeff, who had left Catalina by the time the sequel was made.
In keeping with the mainstream custom of adding bonus footage to special edition releases, the original trailer precedes the feature presentation. And 30 minutes of additional footage follows. This includes highlights from Jeff's Catalina videos, including (gasp!) footage of Jeff fucking women. There's also a Jeff Stryker screen test, some illusion shattering out takes from Powertool, and a full jerk off sequence inspired by Tom Cruise's underwear scene from Risky Business.
Definitely worthwhile if you're one of the uninitiated. But if you already own an older copy of Powertool, the new material and spruced up original makes this 20th-year special edition worth a buy.
Digitally remastered for DVD, bonus trailers, bonus scenes, soft and hardcore photo galleries.
DVD Extras: chapters, trailers, scene select, photo galleries, contact information
