As mainstream gay as a trans video can get, this docu-diva-mentary about Karen Dior is well-acted and well-written; almost voyeuristically so. It's a seemingly real version of what a drag performer's life and struggles must be like, told through the stunningly handsome boy-next-door type, Jason Pride.

Then, of course, Dior meets up with Jason and the rest is love history. Interspersed are truly great songs from in the (yes, that's really his/her voice in falsetto) and Sharon Kane inthe club and a reprise of the Fabulous Phyllis' "Special Delivery" taken from another video. The j.o. scene between Dallas and Jason flows into a super sex sequence, and Casey Jordan is always a pleasure to watch.

Most real in A Real Man, is the heart-felt realistic dialogue from Dios discussing a crystal addiction, HIV status and boyfriend breakups all leading to a spiritualepiphanyy that keeps him going today. "When I found out I was HIV-positive, nothing better could have happened to me; the sunshine seemed brighter and my friends meant more to me," Dior muses. Words to live by.