The notion of cross-dressing has given us lots of classic works of art,from Aesop's The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing to Some Like It Hot to Victor/Victoria to the superb porn epic Every Woman Has A Fantasy. Now comes (and comes and comes) a nifty shot-on-video XXXer called Bootsie, based on "guess what?"

Here, Jerry Butler plays the struggling actor who dons women's clothing, glasses and inflects a Southern accent in order to land a role in a soap opera. As in its precursors, there are lots of mix-ups with Butler confusing his male personna with his female alter-ego. These predicaments make for both Bootsie's humorous and erotic moments.

Butler, probably the most versatile actor in porn today, holds the proceedings together with a tour-de-force performance —probably the best I've ever seen in a shot-on-video production. He's not just doing a Dustin Hoffman schtick, but creating his own character. In the sexual department, Buck Adams, Sondra Stillman and cutsey Taija Rae excel. Another plus is the original music by Sir Gregg, who gives Stephen Bishop a run for his money with a dandy mixture of poignant and zippy tunes.

Bootsie is a well-mounted erotic effort that proves an idea doesn't have to be totally original in order for it to work as a hot video. Sometimes, good acting and fine production work go a long way.