Ultimate Boys Trip (Reality Show)

There's this trend I keep noticing where a handful of gay porn performers are trying to break into reality TV. I've watched a couple of these shows now and credit where it's due, these guys are clearly stepping outside their comfort zone. Whether the shows themselves are actually good is a totally separate question though. OutTV is one of the pioneers in this space, and after watching this one my first reaction was that it's heavily scripted. There's just no way this counts as reality, and that becomes painfully obvious the second the police show up and arrest one of the cast members. Producers will clearly do whatever it takes to get a reaction out of viewers. That said, I'm sure there's an audience that genuinely enjoys this kind of thing, and just because it's not for me doesn't mean I get to judge it outright. Six episodes here, about twenty minutes each.

The show is set in Miami where Boomer Banks is putting together some kind of residency, a word he repeats constantly like twice an episode just to remind everyone, at a gay hotel where he's set to DJ and produce a show. He brings in his friends Max Konnor and Joey Mills, who've apparently worked together on other shows before. Boomer is loved up and mostly focused on throwing a great party, but he also can't resist stirring up drama, so he secretly brings in a fourth guy, Drake Von, an up and coming twink clearly positioned to clash with the slightly more established Joey Mills. A few other characters drift in and out along the way. Max meets a cute twink type and goes on a date to see if there's anything real there. Boomer brings in a well known drag queen to perform at the show, and she actually ends up giving him some genuinely solid advice throughout. There's also Max's personal assistant, who happens to be close friends with Joey. But most of the actual focus stays on Joey and Drake Von going back and forth, the rivalry and jealousy building between them. It all comes to a head when the two of them team up to sabotage Boomer's party, which is the moment Boomer realizes he needs to take a step back and look at himself.

Like I said, whether this counts as reality is pretty questionable, but there's no shortage of drama between everyone involved. There's tension, there's chemistry, and there's that slightly messy energy you get from two guys who clearly know each other really well and aren't holding much back. Joey is honestly the one bringing the most drama and he was probably cast specifically for that, and he's good at it even though it's clearly performance. Drake Von doesn't add a whole lot to the show in my opinion. Boomer and Max are both fine, each running their own little storyline, one organizing the party, the other chasing some romance. The side characters do bring some extra energy that a show like this needs to keep moving. There's probably an audience out there for this kind of show but it just wasn't for me. At a few points I genuinely questioned why I was even still watching. I think I'm just trying to consume as much gay content as exists out there at this point. I just need to make better choices going forward, given there is so much out there to watch and consume. From the makers' angle though, I get what they're going for, this isn't meant to just be a bunch of hot guys on a trip together, it's about what happens when egos and attraction and history all collide in front of a camera, and whether what you're watching is actual entertainment or something a little closer to real. That's really up to you to decide. You know going in that none of this is real, but then again, what reality show ever really is. (4/10)