Un seduttore in incognito

It is rare to see gay cinema that is thoughtful, witty, romantic and sexy all at once. Boy Culture is all that. The actors are great! The photography is rich and evocative. The setting (Seattle) is believable and supports the particular urban attitudes embodied by the characters. The story took me into a world different from my own. I laughed and was moved. It resonates in a larger sense with gay life (or male life) in contemporary society: What are the emotional risks needed in order to live a connected life? Our hard-won freedoms bring up questions -- about choice, and how we limit ourselves to guard our emotional wounds... This story is funny (rare in so-called "romantic comedies"!!) as well as touching and good-looking and sexy and smart! I loved it.

As the author of the original novel, I think Q. Allan Brocka did a good job with the film. I have blogged about it extensively at boyculture.typepad.com and I think that my comments there capture my feelings on the subject. The director and writers kept the essence of my novel even while making some intelligent and creative changes. I can't imagine this film not being picked up by a distributor. All that said, it's very hard judging a film adapted from your own work. But I hope people like it and I'm confident that many will. There are a lot of gay movies out there that are not among my favorite films, that's for sure. But while I had feared something ridiculous might come of this adaptation, I can't stress enough that I feel the filmmakers did an excellent job.

I saw Boy Culture yesterday at the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, having seen and enjoyed Q. Allan Brocka's last film, Eating Out. Once again we are in the rarefied atmosphere of the buffed and the beautiful - three pectorally perfect young studs with an apartment from the pages of Wallpaper magazine.

But the surface perfection hides a trio of unhappy people. 'X', the un-named narrator is a high-class rent boy with a select group of only 12 clients - the Disciples. Andrew, his room-mate and object of X's affection is a stunningly handsome boy who wants both love and an open relationship. Completing the triptych is Joey (aka Blowy Joey), a cute-as-a-button twink who plays 'son' to the dysfunctional duo.

X has a problem - not only is he in love with Andrew but his life as a hustler has left him able to have sex only when there is cash involved. Enter the enigmatic Gregory - X's newest Disciple - a reclusive figure who isn't quite what he seems.

Once all the protagonists are in play, Brocka does an efficient job of keeping all the plates of the various story lines spinning in an entertaining and engaging fashion. As X, Derek Magyar is not afraid to present an unsympathetic character, albeit one who asks for no sympathy from the audience. Andrew and Joey are a little too cute to be true, but their snappy dialogue and willingness to disrobe at any opportunity are ample compensation.

Indeed, many of the scenes and much of the dialogue have a saucy snap that puts Boy Culture streets ahead of the sweet but rather formulaic Eating Out - and the supporting characters that our boys encounter (especially Andrew's razor-tongued little sister) all play their parts to perfection.

But for me the film came most alive in the conversations between X and Gregory. Inter-generational gay relationships are the missing link of contemporary gay cinema, and the way in which their friendship develops is handled with great poignancy and charm, helped by an impressive performance from the great Patrick Bauchau.

BOY CULTURE looks like it might be trash, but it really is a treasure. The saga of a male prostitute dubbed X and his falling into love with his roomie. First off, the film looks terrific. This is a smart and classy movie. Second, the writing and performances are really quite good. Even the supporting cast is terrific - I only wish there were more time for them in the story. I loved the lesbian waitress and the entire family of the roomie. The story could have easily been trite and the dialogue cliché, but it neatly avoids that most of the time. It reminded me of an upscale episode of QUEER AS FOLK (before it devolved into soap opera hysterics). All in all, this is well worth a look see - gay or straight.

There being only one other comment leads me to make my contribution. At no point could I see this film as being dark or depressing, unless of course once wished to 'make' any form of minority life negative in aspects. The premise is hardly romantic and uses a fact of gay behaviour: escorting and 'tricks'.I saw this film as part of the local Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and liked it very much. I believe one error is to make it factual or to align it to real life, as with most celluloid productions. I 'read' the metaphors in the film and saw perspectives that were either enhanced or exaggerated to make a story, e.g lifestyles. At the end of the day it's a romance almost. I won't go into more analysis as to do so starts to remove the simple enjoyment. Is ' Queer as folk" dark and depressing? Well it can be if one uses those elements to apply to the entire series. It only uses a premise to explore relationships and situations. I found it entertaining and enjoyable and wish it were available on DVD.