Beverly Kills

Pride Playhouse is holding auditions for a show called "Balls Out". Basically it involves having young, cute men singing and dancing in the nude. 40ish drag queen Beverly Johnson (Gary Kelley) auditions and is told he is too old. He plots revenge and starts a cult to help him (don't ask). Meanwhile a worker at the theatre--young cute Shane (Rick Sparks)--is dumped by his boyfriend. He meets and falls for young handsome Roy (Matthew Herrmann)--but he can't get over his ex and is afraid to commit.

OK--this is hardly a great film. The plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense (I'm STILL not sure what Johnson's plot was), the tone was changing a lot (it's a comedy, then a drama, THEN a love story!), a lot of the jokes are groaners and Kelley overacts to an extreme that gets embarrassing. Still I did like this film. The whole cast is young and full of energy and, surprisingly, most of them can act! Sparks and Herrmann especially are good. They make a cute couple and their attraction to each other is believable. Also this film has some attractive male nudity including full frontals. The "Balls Out" musical number is just great! So this is no great shakes but a fun, quick (85 minutes) and gay independent film with plenty of energy and a good cast. The biggest problem here is a script that can't decide what it wants to be. I give it a 6.

Beverly Kills is a highly entertaining satire of Hollywood lunatics, fanatical doomsday religious cults, and oversexed gay community theater. This film belongs on anyone's list of top gay independent films. Writer/Director Damion Dietz wrote a brilliant script, which is both humorous and touching. Dietz is a skilled director who knows how to breathe life into his own material. He has a great talent for casting skilled actors who fit the roles. What makes this black comedy unique is that the actors play their parts seriously, allowing the audience to laugh at them. This is critical for a successful black comedy. Gary Kelley as the cross-dressing terrorist Beverly Jackson is a standout. His threats following rejection at a gay theater audition are both chilling and humorous. Another great performance is delivered by Rick Sparks as Shane, a gay man who is down on his luck. The audience will truly sympathize with his plight. All of the other acting in this movie is top notch. This is very refreshing, as most actors in other gay indie films appear to be recent graduates of the Porn Star Acting Academy. In addition to great acting, this film delivers amusing satire. A true highlight targets on-the-cheap gay community theater. Anyone who has sat through a number of these productions is well aware that the key to getting butts in the seats is to show butts on the stage. Full-frontal nudity guarantees full houses. A perfect example of this satirical point is demonstrated in the "Balls Out" song in the play-within-the-film. This number is witty and skillfully performed. It would be impossible to improve on the music, lyrics, and choreography. One wonders how many takes were involved to get the actors to rip off their Dolphin shorts to show the full Monty at the right moment. This is a musical number that should be watched over and over again. Apart from the film, the DVD contains some nice features. For example, the director's commentary track is very entertaining. Dietz follows all of the rules of a good commentary track: (a) keep talking, (b) discuss what's on the screen, (c) share on-the-set mishaps, (d) dish lots of dirt, and (e) don't bore viewers with too many technical details. Dietz will hold your attention for the entire commentary. Most directors fail miserably at this. For additional amusement, show this film to your friends with the subtitles turned on. You and your friends can take turns shouting out all of the obvious subtitle goofs. There are many! For more great surprises, freeze-frame the Cult's CD Multi-media presentation. A few single frames contain some startling images.

Camp. Camp. and more camp. Shane (Rick Sparks) has a job, but doesn't have a place to live, so he's sleeping on a stage in hollywood. Everyone is giving him advice, but he's a wandering soul. He crosses paths with "Beverly" (Gary Kelley), who is starting a cult. and for SOME reason, has it in for Shane. ?? Sound quality through-out is just awful... between poorly placed microphones, and some of the actors rushing or mumbling their lines, it's hard to follow quite a bit of the time. Fun ad on the side of the pay phone when the girl calls her parents! Nudity and so much cussing, so this one is totally not for the faint of heart. Written and directed by Damion Dietz. The story picks up as it goes along.. we finally find out what Beverly's goal is, kind of. and much of the plot includes people dressing up as silly characters and real people, which is PERFECT, since most of the story takes place on Hollywood Boulevard. Ends up being much ado about nothing. silly, campy, but kind of fun if you just go along for the ride. During the end credits, we find out how everyone is doing later in life; which is good, because that's where we find out who some of the characters were... it's fun, on a gay, gritty, level.

First of all, this movie was pretty low-budget like most gay movies that I have seen except Brokeback Mountain. I think it is obvious that the whole thing is supposed to be a big joke and once I decided that was what it was I thought a lot of it was funny especially the balls out song in the beginning. I really liked the gay theater because it was just like what gay theater is, and that's a lot of naked guys singing and dancing. The songs were hilarious and the boys were cute even though a couple of them were not very good actors. I think this movie is a lot like a John Waters movie and if you don't like that kind of humor then you are going to get real sick of it real fast. This is the kind of movie to watch at a party with friends. Like Rocky horror or any other cult movie. It's funny and really out there.

Damion Dietz (Neverland, The Virgin Larry, Fag Hag, Respect My Ass) is a director and writer who obviously has a great time putting together his genre of films. What seems to be over the top, silly, absurdly ridiculous situational comedies have a singular bite. Take the time to listen to the lines and observe the parodies and there is a lot of social comment that deserves some attention.

The plot is loose: Beverly Jackson (Gary Kelley - a buff, masculine guy in obviously absurd drag) is a wannabe actor who is denied a role in an upcoming musical at the Pride Playhouse: this sets off the idea of revenge that is supposed to be the main line of the plot but gets sidetracked by all the other antics. We encounter broken relationships, lonely guys, new relationships, arrivals to Hollywood from all over the country who long to become stars and end up being 'stand-in celebrities' for the tourists along the Hollywood Boulevard. Beverly gathers the guys and gals who have auditioned and plans a terrorist, martyrdom attack at Hollywood and Highland as a means of making a statement about the unstable way of life and irony of the promised land of dreams. Of course it all goes awry, but it does so with some very pretty people and, given the tenor of the script, some impressive introductions of talent.

The quality of acting must be judged on the requirements of the project and these folks play their roles very well indeed. There are some funny musical numbers, the requisite amount of bare skin to keep the eyes entertained, and in the short and long of it BEVERLY KILLS makes no pretense at being anything but what it is - a spoof, waaaaaay over the top independent edgy film, and actually quite a bit of fun. Relax folks, this is like a backyard summer charade. Watch it for what it is and enjoy the numerous quite fine talents, both male and female. Grady Harp, June 06