April 1999 Cover
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By
Giacomo Tramontagna
Shiftin' Gears
Rating: 2 Stars
Produced by John Coletti. Edited and directed by William Hunter. Written by Stan Ward. Videography by William Hunter and Tempest. Starring Duncan Starr, Michael Brawn, Sean Davis, Ethan Michael Ayers, Sam Crockett, Mike Lamas, Wolfe, Daryl Brock, Phil Bradley, Shawn Justin, Tanner Reeves, Kyle Hunter, and Shelby Stevens.
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This picaresque tale from William Hunter and Stan Ward follows the adventures of Nordic demigod Duncan Starr, an empty-faced, yellow-haired stud with a
limited sexual repertoire, as wanderlust leads him around the Southwest. It begins promisingly on a desert road where a sluttish blond in chunky shoes (Shelby
Stevens), stranded by a flat tire, pulls a gun out of her handbag and fires a round at her car. Starr soon gives her a lift and discovers that she's on the run, having just shot
and wounded her brother (Michael Brawn) after catching him
in medias res with her boyfriend (Sean Davis). In flashback, we see Brawn and Davis putting lots
of exuberance into making things go bang.
Dumping the blonde, Starr stops at a garage long enough to peep at a mechanics' three-way, then repairs to an isolated spot to beat off. Next he happens on
Daryl Brock sitting by the side of the road clutching an old stuffed monkey. Brock's story, which cues another flashback, is that he was robbed of everything but "this
fuckin' monkey" by a hustler (Wolfe) with whom he had volcanic sex. Then a cop-and-prisoners scenario is dragged in from left field. Finally, near his campsite, Starr has
a disappointing sexual encounter with old acquaintance Kyle Hunter, in which it's made clear that Starr is a tiresome non-reciprocating top.
Shiftin' Gears has a professional gloss that raises it a cut above some of William Hunter's previous efforts (like
Bone Alone), and the sex, efficiently edited and
shot, is sometimes hot. But the promise of something fresh and outrageous fades with the opening sequence, briefly revives in the monkey scene, and then dies.
There's nothing here you haven't seen before. For his wooden, attitudinous performance, the inaccessible Duncan Starr should be sentenced to 24 hours in Tijuana with Chi
Chi LaRue. Then we'd find out if there's life behind that perfect facade.
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