In the Flesh

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.

I knew nothing about this movie other than the blurb I read at Netflix. I was intrigued by the promise of a relationship between a cop and a hustler. I must say that, overall, the film delivered.

In brief, a police department thinks that there might be some drug sales going on at a boy bar. While this premise is not enough to get excited about, when Philip (Ed Corbin) is sent as an undercover cop to discover what's really going on, he has to fight his attraction to one of the bar's boys, Oliver (Dane Ritter).

The suggestion of an intense sexual relationship between the two, that may or may not ever be consummated, keeps the excitement level high. That, with a murder, a heavy-duty alibi, a semi-tragic subplot and a left-hook-to-the-jaw surprise towards the end were enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

There were a couple of cliché moments, a couple of unbelievable moments (when Oliver opens his front door without looking through the peephole) and for some reason the writer/director felt compelled to throw in a few humorous bits/lines, especially in the beginning, which really didn't work. But overall, I thought this movie was really worth watching. The two leads looked more like father and son, and it did take a while to get used to their relationship, but the beauty of it is that it seemed that it could have been real.

I applaud the producers for taking a chance on this film without big Hollywood stars and for really piecing together a story about a sad, tragic world which seems like it can only destroy all who inhabit it.

The acting was good, especially the police chief, the sister and the girlfriend. I enjoyed the fact that the gay theme wasn't over powering. It was a love story that happened to be about two men. I would have liked to see more of the two other police, they seem to disappear for long periods of time. I loved the bar scenes with all the boys, they made you want to know more about them and their lives. All in all a good film worth seeing.

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.

I thought In the Flesh had great promise.

The story (surprisingly?) is excellent, and there is even some character development happening. But altogether it was very slow going. Not just in the plot though ... even the actors movements seemed to be painfully plodding.

I would have liked to see more of the heroin dependent sister and the "slow" boy playing his Nintendo. These seemed to add a really human touch to the rent boy.

More action (or even sex) scenes would have given it a nice boost along.

I gave it a 6 out of 10 mainly for the story.