Steve Pulaski Ron Jeremy is the most iconic porn star who ever lived, with very good reason. The man is still currently active, has starred in over two thousand adult films, and is one of the few straight male performers who has a face and not just a name. For someone who bears the number one spot on AVN's "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time," Jeremy is not exactly what'd you expect. He is a short, hairy, rotund little man, yet he has proved that size matters in the industry, and you're height isn't what it is.Jeremy states in Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy that he began his career during "the golden age of the adult industry," which was from roughly 1975 to 1983 we're told. Other adult film directors, such as Jim Holliday state that during that time, adult films were professionally made and could compete with any B-movie production from Hollywood. They had talent, they had a script, they had direction, and they had solid special effects. They weren't just complete porn, but had some inkling of substance, along the lines of the softcore stuff you get on CineMax after 11:00 PM. Now, we're told, the industry is over-glamorized, fake, lacks any form of substance, and due to performance-enhancing drugs like Viagra (which Jeremy is staunchly against, saying he wants to rely on himself rather than a drug), anyone can be a porn star in the current day and age.Jeremy grew up as "Ron Hyatt," but adopted his middle name as his last name upon entering the industry. His father was a physicist, intelligent and supportive, but his mother was gravely ill with Parkinson's Disease, which led to her death shortly after being institutionalized in a nursing home. Jeremy went on to study acting and used education as a fallback career, obtaining a master's degree teaching special education. All he ever wanted to be was a performer, but an acting job is not a stable career, as we all know, and work in 1970 New York was difficult to come by. He feared that he'd never get the break he rightfully deserved because he'd never get the chance to show people he was a good actor since there was an appalling lack of work.After his girlfriend posted a naked picture of him in the new issue of "Playgirl" magazine, Jeremy seriously considered a career in the adult industry and began his odyssey in the 1970's, going on to star in well over two-thousand adult pictures and several mainstream films directed by the likes of Trey Parker, Adam Rifkin, and Troy Duffy. During the course of the documentary, we speak to people like Rifkin and Duffy, who recall working with "The Hedgehog" himself. Other interviews conducted are with industry stars such as Jenna Jameson and Tabitha Stevens, who recalls Jeremy's sweet personality as something light years more attractive than a bodybuilder's arrogant one.For a man seemingly having the job almost any male would want, Jeremy seems to be a rather undesirable man, chubby, hairy, and always appearing dirty, as we're told. Yet he's sweet, charismatic, always funny, cracking jokes, a good actor, and well-built, which is why he's achieved so much likability over the years and been so reliable. Even Holliday states that if you wanted a person to be a diverse actor in an adult film, you'd be hardpressed to find someone more qualified than Ron Jeremy.Yet this is where Jeremy begins to reflect on his career with sadness and the looming idea of feeling unfulfilled. He has always wanted to be a screen performer, and he has rightfully so been on the set of several films, doing little cameos and whatnot, but due to his profession and history, he is often the subject of much ridicule and joke to the point where many question if he can be taken seriously in a mainstream work. I think in even just his cameos he has proved he can. If Jeremy were to make a film tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to see it.Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, at seventy-four minutes, is a complete documentary, revealing, informative, and oddly enough, charming in its own right, examining a controversial industry and one of the most recognized performers in it. It neglects to provide a strong enough commentary on the industry from Jeremy himself, who briefly responds to the public's long-term idea that it degrades women, but having the title character be the concept of a full-length documentary is nonetheless a substantial one and the result is successful and highly entertaining. This is where I'd end with some sex or pornography pun, but it seems to be too low for such an admirably charming man.Starring: Ron Jeremy, Jim Holliday, Tabitha Stevens, and Jenna Jameson. Directed by: Scott J. Gill.

Peter Hayes Legends: What a great word! Many legends are dead, something I rather like not be! Some legends are middle aged, something I'd rather not be! Some legends are fat, something I'd rather not be! Some legends work in the pits of show-biz, something I'm proud of not doing!Ron Jeremy isn't dead - as I write anyway! - but all the others apply to him. While RJ may have slept with a lot of women - if only by way of work - I believe that the only thing that counts in sex is quality. So no points on my card!I have problems with porn because I am intrigued by it, but quickly become bored by it. Maybe it is my age, maybe it is liberal background, but very little of it doesn't leave me cold. Certainly the humping-in-a-motel-room porn - that is the RJ mainstay - has no interest to me."The business" is just that: A business. Nothing more, nothing less.Certainly the history of porn is interesting as it is the underworld of show-biz. Illegal and therefore dangerous - until more recent times - it formed a intriguing backdrop to the fake tinsel of mainstream Hollywood. The actor/actress that didn't make it and fell in to porn is a cliché, but that doesn't mean it is not the frequent truth. As clichés often are. RJ has seen that history and it is the one pity of this movie that he only makes passing references to it. A witness to (show-biz) history who is not being properly probed. It is hard to know the appeal of the central character. Uni educated, and even a special needs teacher for a while, he wanted to be part of show-biz because most bored people think that is where the drugs, fun and sex are. In this they are right - for a chosen few. Ron wasn't one of the chosen few, but god bless him for flying half way around the world to do two minutes of mainstream film. These show-biz types hang on to their dreams until the very end.The lowering of the porn budget (not extensive to begin with) has destroyed even the slightest pretence of "telling a story" merely quickly linking one sex scene to another. Paradoxically the mainstream has learnt how to respectablise sex through documentary, men in white coats (so called "adult sex education") and daring sex scenes ALA Basic Instinct and Showgirls.So how does RJ fit in to this over ground/underground Hollywood world? Well he doesn't. He performs sex well on cue and tells a lot of second rate jokes but who is he inside?Here we never get down more than one skin of the onion, he is performing all the time. We don't see him at home or expressing his doubts of frustrations to camera - this is done by others. Food and sex are his drug, but what else is there for him?He is single and talks of his past conquests with pride, but there is a little sadness beneath the surface. He talks of marriage to a woman who has yet to appear on the horizon and might never do so.We meet the usual crew of industry names and they give their little bit-to-camera about his large penis, party habits, personal hygiene (fat guys often look smelly even freshly showered), spending habits, but I was not bothered. I doubt anybody is, apart from the college jocks that think along the lines of "the more sex you get the better." Don't worry they will learn the truth later. No one can make a good documentary about Ron Jeremy simply because I am not that interested in Ron Jeremy. He is on the run from the 9-2-5 - something that I am as well incidentally - but eventually it pulls us all back in. He has become institutionalised to porn - something that doesn't happen to female "talent" who usually burnout after about three years - and thinks that this is his natural home.He can't go on forever, but I am sure he will find some niche as a producer, director or even a prop shifter. While I didn't feel sorry for him because he is in the sex business, I feel sorry for him because there is nothing in life that really makes him happy. The best he can come up with is cheap thrills - which are no substitute. This film left me with a giant feeling of "so what." There is too much happening in the big wide world to care about one little man's struggle in his self-chosen little show-biz niche.Ron is not a bad guy and he shows good manners, but he lives in a world where anyone will say or do anything for money - a world where even blonde teenage girls will say that they enjoy having sex with fat, sweaty, middle aged men on camera...

dbborroughs Stumbling upon this late last night on cable I decided to give it a go. This is the life of one of the longest surviving porn actors in the business. Two things that struck me was that Ron seems like he's an extremely nice guy. He's the type of guy that you'd want at your party because he's so interested in having fun. The other thing that struck me was that despite the upbeat demeanor it was all terribly sad. Its not that the life is a bad thing, rather its simply that Ron is trying so hard to be "Ron - Superstar" and to break into mainstream movies that he's completely missed the chance of having anything approaching a what is considered a normal life, there is no girlfriend, wife or family, there is only the drive to be famous. You can sense the sadness in him, in talking about his girlfriends, the desire of kids. I also found it telling when he said that he looked for certain things at a party, and mentioned that food rated higher than women.I liked the film, but was left both liking Ron more than before and being left clueless as to why we should care. Definitely worth seeing7 out of 10

rwint 7 out of 10 It is rare when you can use the words cute, cuddly, and porn in the same sentence and yet this is definitely one of those times. This is one of those films that is very natural and honest and has a real feel good spirit to it. You can't help but like Ron Jeremy a man who has done over a thousand adult films and has had sex with some of the hottest women in the business. He is very self effacing and affable. He seems less like a film subject and more like a chum. He is somebody you could party with and have around as a pal. The filmmakers show no intent at conveying any particular type of message. A wide variety of things are shown. Everything from his background, his childhood, his costars, his hobbies, his family, and of course his many adoring fans are seen. The approach is objective with the porn scene shown in a very matter of fact way. It also takes a look at the stressful side of being a male performer. In particular are the methods they use to gain erections and then sustain them for long periods. This is a film that can be fun even for those who don't like porn. Ron is certainly an original and nothing like what you might expect a porn star to be. He is intelligent, out of shape, and has a very warm relationship with his family. He also takes his job quite seriously and even considers what he does as true acting. He is very opinionated about this. Depending on your point of view you may find this either intriguing or just highly amusing. Some of the best parts are the deleted scenes, which you can find on the DVD version. The part where he hugs a tree that was planted the same day he was born is both goofy and memorable. He is shown to be a very good pianist and also tells of a rather arousing 'Lolita' story. The deleted scenes also shows more of his father who is fun to listen too and has a real nice 'old man' charm. Like the man himself this is fast, funny, and offbeat. It has a very humanistic approach and doesn't stay on anything too sordid. It can be enjoyed equally both by those who like porn and those that don't.