After having most of them disrobe, documentarians Meema Spadola and Thom Powers sat a diverse group of American men down in front of a camera to talk about their penises. And while there's far more exposed male flesh onscreen here than all but the most hardcore porn viewers will be accustomed to, what's shocking and refreshing is not the nudity but rather the conversational frankness from these regular guys who discuss everything from attitudes about size and shape to thoughts on masturbation and lovemaking (there's even the unique perspectives from a male-to-female transsexual who no longer possesses a penis, and a female-to-male transsexual who suddenly understands how testosterone can take over and imbue the organ with the proverbial mind of its own). The bracing, plainspoken honesty is undercut, however, by one interviewee, who was outed after the film aired on HBO in 1999 as a “professional hoaxer”—media critic Alan Abel, who responded to the filmmakers' appeal for subjects in an attempt to balance what he thought would be a preponderance of macho males bragging about their sexual conquests (as viewers will learn in the DVD's bonus short—although this is not evident in the film itself, which retains the segments with Abel's notably clothed character “Bruce” talking about the trials and triumphs of having a very tiny penis; unfortunately, Abel's valid points about the mistake men make in tying confidence to member size are somewhat diminished through his own dishonesty). Recommended. [Note: the companion film Breasts: A Documentary is also newly available on DVD.] Aud: C, P. (M. Johanson)
Private Dicks: Men Exposed
(1999) 55 min. DVD: $19.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 21, Issue 3
Private Dicks: Men Exposed
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