Won’t You Step Into My “Speakeasy”

In "Nostalgia," Courtney Trouble gazed back at the Golden Era of porn, reimagining classics like "Deep Throat" through a queer lens. In her newest film, "Speakeasy," she steps even further back—all the way to the roaring '20s.

Of course, the '20s of "Speakeasy" aren't like the ones we remember from the history books: the dapper dans and gangsters are now transmen and butches, and the flirtations in this speakeasy have a decidedly queer (and kinky) bent. And public sex wasn't the norm in the '20s we remember...but maybe we've just been reading the wrong history books.

Though it's not heavy on plot, "Speakeasy" has enough storyline to carry things along: detective Billy Castro descends into the queer underground to investigate the titular speakeasy, and finds himself submerged in a world of porn noir. Lorelei Lee and Tomcat fuck in the bathroom, Jiz Lee and Dallas Fivestar perform amazing acts of suspension and gushing, bartenders Cyd and Mustache Malone go at it as only two transmen can, and—in the final scene—Billy himself gets the girl, wresting Lorelei from the arms of Tomcat (and getting a punch in the face in the process). And through it all, the speakeasy queers play cards, arm wrestle, and dance with each other to a wonderfully old timey soundtrack.

With the help of videographer Morty Diamond, Trouble's created a wonderful looking film: the footage alternates between black and white and color, with the storyline progressing in old-timey greyscale, only to bloom into full color when the sex scenes begin. The sex scenes themselves are also wonderful to watch—artistic in the best possible sense, with some of the most heated moments arising from the fact that we can't see every inch of flesh in all its clinical glory.

At just under an hour and a half, "Speakeasy" bucks the trend of trying to cram as much action as possible into one small DVD—and its a decision we applaud. In contrast to some of bloated 4 hour compilations we've experienced, "Speakeasy" is a tight, well choreographed production: every moment matters, and the production leaves us just satisfied enough—full, but not stuffed (which is just the way we like it).

· Buy "Speakeasy" (goodreleasing.com)