Porn director and producer Edward James brings us this candid look at what some porn stars are up to during the Covid-19 pandemic. The talking-heads interviews (thanks to Zoom) focus on primarily those who perform in gay porn exclusively. Whether or not there will be a follow-up called The Gals, I would guess is contingent on the success of this first effort.

Each of its five segments consists of a homemade video diary of an actor showing how he is living during the quarantine, followed by a video chat session with Alex Lacomte and Alter Sin, two men who have worked multiple behind-the-scenes jobs in the industry, as well as Jack Loft, a young man just starting his career in adult films. A final segment brings all of the pornstars together on screen to catch up with them and see how they are doing. Filming started only four weeks into the lockdown across the United States, but the documentary already feels like a relic since porn studios located in reopened areas such as Atlanta have been back in production and pumping out new content under strict guidelines since June.

A smart choice by the filmmakers is to feature well-known stars at the peaks of their careers while also bringing two rookies into the mix. Three of the top performers today, Dante Colle, DeAngelo Jackson, and Pierce Paris, have all been in the industry a long time, whereas Loft and Elijah Wilde are just starting out—Loft had only shot one scene before the quarantine began. Loft and Wilde have an opportunity to learn from the veterans, while viewers get a sense of the drive these three superstars have that got them where they are today.

Colle especially has a stringent routine. He spends what seems like three-quarters of his day working out. To maintain his slender (but not-too-sculpted) physique, he does yoga, an online CrossFit class, pull-ups and leg lifts on a bar attached to the back of his trailer, besides running a couple miles a day while wearing a weighted vest. Jackson, Paris, and Wilde each have daily workouts of varying intensity, but one thing that rings clear is that to become a big name in porn, you have to take great care of your body.

While a casual viewer may have a tendency to cast pornstars and other sex workers as unskilled laborers who fell into the industry as a last resort, these video diaries demonstrate that, like any other kind of celebrity, success today requires meticulous concentration on curating one’s brand, not only on the job, but on social media and in one’s lifestyle, practically 24/7.

But how do they make their living in quarantine? They mostly spend time on fan sites every day and put on cam shows. For their fans, Colle mostly jerks off, while Jackson does things around the house in a G-string, and Paris works out naked.

I’ll be frank: you’re only going to watch this if you are interested in porn and happen to know some of these performers and want to peek into their worlds. This is by no means a heady film, but I don’t mind recommending it as a way to pass two hours if you’re in one of those moods where nothing looks good on any of the streaming services. It does run too long, but it seems almost designed to have on in the background while multitasking. I’ll also suggest it to anyone interested in a career in porn to get an idea of what that lifestyle and the business is really like. It gives some insight to the fans too, and I would not balk at the idea of watching more installments.