In the Flesh

But this film went on for almost 2 hours. The mystery angle and the love story are never integrated very well, as the former stops dead cold while the latter progresses.

Ed Corbin - jaw tightly clenched throughout - plays a 30-something cop investigating drug dealing at a gay hustler bar, and falls for a young male college student in his early 20's who hustles on the side. The young guy has major emotional problems involving a car accident which killed his former partner, and turns tricks as a form of self-punishment and longing for an emotional void. Good basis for a drama, but awkward execution.

The bizarre thing about this film is that it's a love story between the two male leads, but the only sex scene is one between the college student and a girl he works with at a record store (guess he was experimenting on the side). The two guys never even kiss once! Now that's something you'd never see (or not see) in a heterosexual love story. Bizarre.

I read all the negative reviews, and really, they should go make their own movie before trashing this one. I loved it... it was very touching and sensual.. and NOTHING trite about the plot.... in fact, I found it very original. This movie explores the human condition.. it shows us that all of us, from the destitute hustler to the respected cop, are facing weakness of our own. To love someone is to understand him/her, and to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt. IF you want a perfect movie, dont' watch this.. but if you want a touching piece of film treasure, you must buy this title on DVD.

After a very disheartening beginning this story moves quickly (but not quickly enough) towards what it is really all about: trust between men. Ben Taylor chose a stalking killer as a plot device, unfortunately the identity of the killer is not much of a mystery. Nevertheless the main focus really is the two male leads and their coming together is explored in ways you don't often get to see in gay-themed films. High praise to Taylor for making an effort to present us with something a little bit different. The two male leads (Ritter and Corbin) are very good together and their performances are far better than I ever expected them to be. Sometimes the script-director is to be thanked, but very often it seems to be the determination and commitment of the actors who pull the film up by its boot straps. Dane Ritter is rivetting. He seems to hit every mark that the story sets for him. All in all, a film that is well worth seeing ... if you can get past the first several minutes.

This film is by no means perfect: the script is a little loose, some of the performances are uninspired, and some of the characters are a little flat. The cinemetography is barely more than functional. But you don't see a movie like this expecting quick cuts and wacky camera angles, special affects and/or lovingly photographed scenery and people. I'm not a big fan of gritty realism, but this movie was extremely intelligent and sensetive in its handling of potentially ugly people and a potentially vulgar, trashy scenario/storyline: that alone sets it apart from about ninety percent of the "gay" cinema that I have seen. Taylor handles his subjects well, and while this is no groundbreaking work of film, it is consistently and appropriately crafted throughout. Points to the women of the film for turning in excellent performances all around, and to Ed Corbin for the way he deftly handled the moment he asks Oliver if he can just hold him: it was totally believable, and you could see everything this guy had to go through to make such a request. Also, a fantastic, beautiful, haunting soundtrack that I really wish I could find on CD. All in all, a worthy effort, worth checking out.

OK, so everyone has said everything about this film that needs to be said. if ANYONE is curious about the songs written exclusively by Wes Yoakam and Pop Cycle, but could never find those songs, anywhere... here is your answer. Wes had 2 bands; one was called "Catfish Jenkins" which towards the end of their run, had their name changed to "Pop Cycle" This was name of the band that recorded the songs for this movie. The other band is called "Big Atomic" and are still around. strangely enough, the songs from the movie have resurfaced on Big Atomic's "Wrestling the Dragon and the Rat" You can find it on itunes, amazon, etc.