Party boys

I went to the premier of "Circuit" at Outfest 2001 and left the theater feeling somewhat overwhelmed, which is a good thing. The story is about a smart, handsome gay cop from a small closed minded town who moves to Los Angeles to live an openly gay life. After his first party in the Hollywood Hills, he becomes friends with a gay male escort and falls into the circuit party scene which slowly tears him apart. He becomes obsessed with muscles, drugs, parties, and the fast gay West Hollywood night life which eventually ruins his personality and spiritual growth. This film has a special kind of honesty that is both good and bad. Good because it can serve as an awakening towards certain gay men that live to abuse themselves in the party world and bad because it may encourage the circuit lifestyle as cool or glamorous, which in reality can become the complete opposite and ruin peoples lives. The ending left me feeling angry and sad about the circuit scene, and I hope it will for others too. The story line has the ability to leave an important message to certain people that desperately need it.

A small town gay man move to big city for his inside dream. plot and story is not really important in this film. But Andre Khabazzi as Hector did great acting. He is only one character who can make this film worthy to see. But yes, if you want to see gay film, you can find this interesting. And some other characters just come and go and even unimportant scene we can see in this film. But I enjoy to see this film again, to see Andre Khabazzi or Hector play his role.

Director Dirk Shafer does his low-budget best to capture the vibe of cruising the California Gay Circuit. The rather bland soap opera device used to connect the party sequences is unaffecting. A much more prurient approach to the sex and drug culture here would have probably worked better. Needless to say, the acting is amateurish, but, for the most part, acceptable. The editing is fairly refined for an indie project, but the film is not as good as Shafer's MAN OF THE YEAR. The unrated DVD is the way to go for those interested, even though the soundtrack is rather poorly rendered for a film filled with pulsating rave tracks.

I guess you had to be there, and I was. Most people will not have enough or the wrong kind of baggage to understand this movie. Its a chronicle of a lifestyle, and if you are on the outside looking in half of it will zoom right over your head. Go see it for yourself and try not to listen to others. The music alone is worth the six bucks and Tony Moran doesn't let a minute pass without some bumper music. A visual feast - thats entertainment !!!

I'm glad I waited for the Director's Cut DVD to see "Circuit". From reading all the flames I've seen on the posts here, I dreaded seeing the movie. However, the "Director's Cut" is even longer with nearly 30 deleted scenes and very frankly, I could have watched another hour. I suppose the Circuit scene is all in the perspective of how you view it. To me, Dirk Shafer captured a true and accurate account of the entire Circuit. The acting is not all that bad. There are many notable performances. One scene in the deleted segments SHOULD have been left in...that of Hector taking an eyebrow pencil and marking the places on his face that he would like to have refurbished by plastic surgery to refurbish his youth. At this point he has a nervous breakdown. I think that would have helped explain a lot that was left out in the edited theatrical version. For those who have prurient interests, male frontal nudity and more explicit sex are also included. Locally, in my home town, Ft. Lauderdale, the drug scene in the Circuit is rampant. Maybe that's why we register more cases of HIV than any other city in the nation. The film can be brutal to watch. It's not preachy but there's a great lesson to learn and observe in this film if you're open-minded enough to accept the subjects at face value. I would suggest that that are too few good gay films being made and when one such as this is produced, "queens" (who are the most critical audience in the world) often deter new and better gay films by their over zealous comments. Give the uncut DVD a screening and make your own mind up! Don't be quick to excuse it by a few nasty comments. You might be as I, and find the film rewarding and enjoyable. As for Andre Khabbazi, this guy could make it big in movies. The character of the aging, AIDS infected, former porn star, played by Paul Lekakis, is one of the most honest portrayals I've ever seen. Kudos to William Katt, Jim Bullock, and Nancy Allen for offering their professional talents in helping to make this film first rate. Don't let me or other critics who have posted ruin you prospect of missing a good movie. See the Director's Cut on DVD and make up your own mind. I'm glad I did!