[John C. Holmes]

I'm currently watching "Porn King: The Trials of Al Goldstein" right now and I'm blown away by this guy. He's particularly detestable but somehow likeable. The inside look at the last gasps of SCREW magazine is simply an eye opener of how old school porning was done. It's also a good cautionary tale of what can happen to you if you stop caring just when the rest of the world is passing you by.

Highlights:

Larry Flynt's very insightful views on Al's psychie and their friendship. (Anyone who thought Larry was a fruitcake at this point in his life is WRONG.)

The insider's look at what was left of Screw Magazine.

GRANDPA AL LEWIS: CHARACTER WITNESS

All the great Midnight Blue footage. Ah to have been a New Yorker with no life in the late 70's...

Ron Jeremy's thoughts and stories. (One of MANY reasons why I can never hate the guy no matter how unattractive he is.)

Lowlights:

Good God Al is HARD to like. There were a lot of occasions where I thought 'karma's a bitch' when he fell on VERY hard times. Having said that I couldn't help but feel sorry for a guy who's mental problems have never been properly addressed.

ANY segment devoted to Al's estranged son were your cue to press the fast forward button.

Al's grip on reality in dealing with the judicial system was non existant. He was fighting first ammendment issues in the wrong venue for a crime he wasn't even being prosecuted for. This was borderline mental illness theater if he wasn't clearly doing this to sell copies of Screw.

Where Al is now. (Painful to sit through but I must to remind myself of what could happen to me.)

All in all it's a movie any fan of old school porn should see. Great documentary and lots of vintage clips and stories!