I'd better start off by saying that I like Larry Flynt. While I don't always agree with his politics, I have enormous respect for the man. He sticks by fir First Amendment right to free speech and is stalwart in his defense of this. He got shot for it.

Hustler, Flynt's now infamous, controversial men's magazine, is something that I read infrequently but enjoy mostly for the tasteless humor. The various nude centerfolds range from stunning to downright whorish-looking. One month, they'll feature a beauty and the next, someone whom I wouldn't let my dog hump. One thing is for sure, though. Many of these women move swiftly from the technicolor pages of Hustler to appearances in hardcore porn movies. Some have become successful.

So, naturally, it's only fitting that Hustler uses these future starlets in their own hardcore video production. And in Hustler Volume 1, we get a taste of what may well be an important new force in adult video.

The first volume proves to be more erotic than other adult magazines of this type. Lesbian sex dominates, much like the Electric Blue series. But these women go at it in hardcore fashion —and the scene between the two Italian sisters (featured in Alex DeRenzy's new Girlfriends) left me aching. Lovely Bridgette Monet appears in a steamy locker-room scene with Bunny Bleau that is interrupted by a male stud who alternates entries.

Lots of slow-motion action and double-penetration dominate a menage-a-trois scene featuring Ron Jeremy in the video version of "Kinky Korner," a popular Hustler Magazine feature. There's several other hardcore segments that are exciting, but they seem to go on a bit too long.

Brandy, Hustler Video's first centerfold, is cute enough to take up five minutes of tape, yet she's not good enough to warrant the 15 minute solo she gets right at the outset. But if you wade through the beginning, you'll find an enticing interview with Kay Parker, some adult movie reviews (not as incisive as the ones in Adult Video News), a somewhat humorous "Bit and Pieces" feature (with good cuts to Jerry Falwell and Frank Sinatra) and a great "Mail Order Feedback" video segment with a colorfully dressed host named Johnny Graves who's both energetic and funny.

In this auspicious debut, Hustler has made a slight mark on the adult video industry. It lacks the slickness of Playboy Video (the same comparison can be made with the magazines) and the morbid humor (that's a real surprise) of some of the Electric Blue series. I suggest that they shorten the hardcore scenes and sprinkle in more of the raunchy humor and political features that populate the pages of Hustler Magazine. I'd love to see an animated edition of Chester the Molester and a real live "Beaver Hunt."

What this all has to do with my respect for Flynt may seem nebulous right now. But because of his involvement, I'll wait for each new Hustler videocassette with growing anticipation. The Hustler voice, as decadent and "sick" as some might feel it is, should be respected and deemed important.