Luster

Jackson, he tell us, fall in love with at least 20 people every day, or kind of i can say. Jackson (Justin Herwick), the center of "Luster", is a poet who works in a friend's record store. He lives writing, drinking, fallen in love and having sex in some orgies. His cousin came to his house and then Jackson questioned about incest. There is a writer as a friend, a funny photographer, she is lesbian, Jackson is gay. There's a stores customer who sees Jackson, and then he questioned about love at first sight. Jackson what to see a boy from the last night orgy. Jackson write for a strange famous artist, maybe he have a chance of work with he. And all of this only in a Friday morning. "Luster" going to tell us what happen to Jackson and how might he change finally at the Sunday morning.

From director Everett Lewis, comes this drama about the love, the young and the old. I can see that "Luster" is some criticized, for bad. The fact that a films is about gay people doesn't mean that an heterosexual cant enjoy it, no deal with that, but there's exist homophobia in the public yet, so some critics just critic for good, doesn't matter if they give it a 10 or a 1. Some gay films can be so builds so selfish that it makes it feel that the film itself is just for a gay public, and that means that is bad because movies is not something exclusive. At least i can that "Luster" don't commit that error, actually, in spite of some technical issues, i found it very clever, fun sometimes, not funny at totally but very poetic in its totality.

"Luster" is an analyse to love developed in Jackson, who grown up at the end of the film. Is too a very nice and pleasant look to a lifestyle, where other wants drugs and others love bad treats. There's people who love feel pain in their flesh just. Maybe they feel it miserable, or just they love to turn on in that way? Jackson lives in that world at Friday morning, but when he really asks about if he really in loved, if he is really loved at a traumatic Sunday morning, he grown up. He realizes what life want to live.

"Luster" is about the conflict between love and desire in men, obviously demonstrated in the orgies that Jackson have, in the secrets of her friend. The man here, is Jackson. He think he was sure about the life he want it when the famous artist give him the job, but then he realizes of some things about the same art, the flesh and the man who going to give him the job.

But, in spite that Jackson is the center, the other characters, being or not involved with he, front that growing up to, questioned about it. More noted for the characters of Sam and Alyssa, this last a very funny woman who have a good definition of love and its chemical relation. All in "Luster" wonder things, have different lifestyles, ones want pleasures, others just love. But no all grown up, don't find the true. Others do it, others "don't butter" about it, don't cares it about it, other don't do it and lose the battle.

Its a pity that "Luster" have some technical problems, of course, it's not about it technical ways, the problem, no in its totality, is how was used it. Of course one can say that can be understand it taking on count that is a independent film, but i think that could be some more work in that, specially in sound, the camera work was good. The performances was great, by everyone, but i really feel it weird about the performances when Derek told Jackson that he is in love with him. That kiss was so technical, so i don't see it human, i feel it like plastic, inhuman, like if these two were machines. That was my unique complain, but, just for take the thing right, i love both performances, being honest and truly, specially from Herwick, maybe, with Gidley, the best of all movie.

I find "Luster", like i said, very poetic. I think that, actually, is Jackson who write this movie as his poetry work. Telling us his experience in love and how we, in some way, fall in love with him too.

*Sorry for the mistakes ... well, if there any.

I knew this was going to be a `cool' flick from the opening credits that just list the first names of the cast and crew, but it isn't without its flaws as well. Namely some campy acting, a customer in a record store squealing for Madonna, to numerous subplots that tend to bring down the film as well as audio that tends to be muffled in spots. But overall the more it went on the more I accepted and enjoyed these vagabonds and the flaws found within.

The story centers around a punky, skateboard, party goer, poet, named Jackson (Justin Herwick), who works at a record shop called, how appropriate, `No Life'. After waking up from the aftermath of an orgy he inquires about a boy who was there, Billy (Jonah Blechman) with whom he develops an infatuation for and decides to track down. Who wouldn't! He's a cutey but he he too has some flaws. Needless to say Billy is the boy toy of a record mogel played by Willie Garson (Sarah Jessica Parker's gay friend Stanford on Sex and the City) who gets off on getting beat up. It does get a bit ugly and some people might not like the S&M. Throw in Jackson's hunky cousin Jed(Barry Wyatt), a clean cut collegiate type customer at the store (Sean Thibodeau) who's in love with Jackson, a lesbian friend named Alyssa (Pamela Gidley) who screws around with Jed and is later found out by her lover, and you get a smorgasboard of a soap opera. The one character I really wish had been more developed and with whom I felt something towards was Jackson's supposedly straight boss and friend at the record shop, Sam (Shane Powers). He gives a real emotional performance at the end and his story only scratched the surface. The other performances are hit and miss. Sometimes they're great and then at other times it seems campy and silly. It's a real mixed bag along with the storylines. Take it for what it's worth though and you'll have fun with these characters, their loves, lusts, and losses. The DVD is stereo and the transfer is a bit grainy but it only adds to the seediness of the tale. I didn't expect much more from a low budget `indie' and it also includes a short documentary with the director and a film commentary and trailers for other TLA releases.

Note: plenty of full frontal nudity From TLA Releasing

I admire Everett Lewis greatly - there are too few auteurs like him making heartfelt realistically emotionally painful queer movies. LUSTER clearly warns us that in our lives (love) and everything that glitters is not gold".

The low budget nature of the film only reinforces the aesthetics. The cast is good and touching, the direction solid and the dialogue pacy and whilst it might sound corny in places - we've all thought or said the same lines.

That Everett keeps making films, keeps trying to challenge our lives should be commended.....were the studios more bold to drop big cash into his pocket I have no doubt that he could make and dazzle us all with a film as successful as MILK....thank god for queer film makers like EL....more please.

LUSTER is a winsome, engaging look back at a time in the early 1990s when queer nonchalance began to overtake gay pride for the first time.

Something like an early Gregg Araki film (although less angry and more light-hearted), LUSTER is a funny, sexy, and a generally fast-moving look at the early Nineties from the not-too-distant perspective of the early Twenty-first century. It's hardly a classic, and hardly the kind of film that will stay with a person as the years go by, but the film's entirely adorable actors and characters help make this sweet and sexy film very much a worthwhile experience. At least it seems that way for a gay audience looking for something beyond the usual post-Queer milquetoast like IN AND OUT or WILL AND GRACE..

Luster is a coming of age story about a group of 20 & 30 somethings in L.A. in the midst of an odyssey into their teens. And they are soooo cool & punk rock. They've got that really rebellious "I'm REAL punk rock & I'm not a poseur & you ARE & the rest of the world sux" thing from high school still going pretty strong.

Everyone in LA is infatuated with the lead character Jackson, even the "guy next door" who stalks him at work. I'm not sure why, since I was eventually hoping someone would smack Jackson upside the head & shut him up.

Amongst the film's problems are too many story lines & subplots fighting for attention, none of which seem to blend or create a sense of relevance to Jackson's life or a cohesive central theme. The worst of these is an S & M subplot that seems terribly contrived, misplaced, & rings totally false with the rest of the film's "realism."

There are a couple of funny moments, like the photographer & the interaction with her "subject."

And of course there are a couple of full frontals from a really good looking guy, which help this situation along slightly.

But worse of all, I never felt for a minute why Jackson was lusting for these guys & guys were lusting for him. There's no sexual chemistry in this movie between anyone. NADA. Just a bunch of obnoxious & pretentious brats pretending to deal with "real life" & "art." Yuck.

Plenty of better queer films out there.

See it if you must.