Girlfriends Films? Homecoming is about a dysfunctional family that transitions into an honest coming together of who they really are as individuals.

The oldest daughter of Tony (Steven St. Croix) and Cora (Zoe Holloway) is getting married. Gloria (Casey Calvert) brings home her beau (Michael Vegas) for the anticipated approval of her parents. Trouble is that gazillionaire Bradley is rude, arrogant, and insensitive. To complicate matters, Gloria is unsure of her sexuality though she secretly knows Bradley is not for her. Admitting her feelings is problematic because pleasing her parents is her obligation, or so she thinks.

Who are the people in this family? The patriarch is Tony, nouveau riche with a secret?an illegitimate daughter. His adopted son is gay and his wife, who confesses she is a slut, has given up on their marriage. Next is Bitty (Jenna J. Ross) the youngest daughter who has no interest in her wimpy voyeuristic husband, Ron (Chris Slater). The nerdy psychologist likes to watch his wife with lovers of either sex. Bitty?s preferences lean toward girls and she reunites with an old high school friend, Norma (Raven Rockette) in a highly charged sexual encounter of the type Girlfriends? fans have come to expect. Then there is Jim (Ralph Long), the real anchor in the family and symbolic of all their dysfunctions. Because he is not of their lineage, the cross-dressing military reject is a breath of fresh air in this sordid tale. A reluctant lover for his sisters, Jim is the only family member who refuses to deceive himself.

The sex scenes are built around the story and each is a reflection the situations the players find themselves in. The first involves Bradley, Gloria, and her friend (Presley Hart). Bradley is brutish, dragging his fianc?e into the bedroom and throwing her on Presley. Gloria gets a ?taste? of same sex love while Bradley satisfies himself nailing her from behind. Nestled between her friend?s legs, tongue in action, Gloria seems not to notice or care what is happening at the other end of her body.

The second scene is between Bitty and Norma. It?s a throwback to their teen years. Bitty tells Norma to sneak over and ?throw rocks at my window.? The sex is top notch because the action drifts back to memories of clandestine, surreptitious bangings that are old schooldays? classics. The girls are carnally authentic (Norma reminds Bitty she?s so wild) and, unlike a lot of lesbian oriented film nowadays, there are no sex toys to distract the viewer.

In a self ?revelation Cora talks of pushing the kids to win trophies at the sacrifice of having fun. All to no avail, of course, because this funky crowd is second place at best. Twice in the film?s opening are second place trophies and medallions spotted by the camera. In a moving performance toward the film?s end, Cora rages about the family?s fragile union and reminds Gloria that her material marriage was to be their savior. ?We?re supposed to be the perfect family,? she tells Gloria with total exasperation. When truth can no longer be avoided, Cora laments to her husband, ?We?re actors in a poorly written play with curtains I?m afraid to close.?

The family lives in a fantasy time warp, as B. Skow subtly reveals. Pay close attention to the music, it offers guideposts throughout the drama. Are we really, after all, watching a television show? Did the Cleavers of Mayfield and the Cunninghams of Milwaukee, fictitiously rooted in the 1950s and 1960s, really shape our values?

And what did ?perfect? mean in those times when anyone who was different was silent?

B. Skow nails his point with Jim and Gloria. Casey Calvert and Ralph Long are the heroes of this drama and both turn in credible acting performances. Ralph is lovable while Casey?s camera presence is a diamond in the rough. She may be known for her hard-hitting on-screen sex, but her range of expression carries the story at crucial moments. Their sex scene, despite Ralph?s wig and eye make-up, is the best of the film. Casey is an oral and anal princess, handling the sometimes dicey ATM as true professional.

The last sexual encounter brings the film full circle. Tony admits to his affair with a local waitress and Cora forgives. Their passion for each other is how this family began. The viewer can only imagine these two working on each other as twenty-somethings, planting the microscopic seeds that begot Gloria, then Bitty. Now their mature sexuality captures the screen, an energizing vanilla that balances the reminder of Bitty and Norma?s illicit exploration. In between we have the fetish notion of Jim?s fantasies and Gloria?s revelation about her desire for girls to precede their bang session. Not to be ignored, the first scene puts the stupid frat boy stamp on Bradley?s garish pounding of Gloria. Like families, sex comes in all varieties.

Homecoming is not so much a gathering as a rebirth with a joyous ending. Real emotions have eluded this sorry lot for years, now is the time for honesty. The sex in the film is forthright and reminds us that a good dose of self-examination is the conduit to happiness. Our sexual kaleidoscope is waiting to be explored when we close the curtain on our culture?s poorly written play of sexual limitations and dishonesty. Homecoming?s cast of characters and their director are willing to show us the way.