Luster

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.

This is was on a list of gay films I wanted to see and wouldn't you know it. I came upon it on Saturday night - just like that. I thought it was a fun movie. I think a lot of people won't like it because it obviously didn't have a high budget and didn't have all the Hollywood pizazz that you get from a Hollywood blockbuster.

I thought the title character finally learned his lesson at the end, because of the end. That's all I will say. The nudity of course didn't bother me. But I thought the final nude scene was fantastic. This guy didn't look like he had a nice body with his cloths on (you know skater boy body), but when he took off his clothes and did the 360 view of his body. My goodness. Got me hot!!!!!!!! Trust me, you will love this movie. Rent it. Buy it. Or wait - it will be on cable again this week.

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

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..

Fun movie about alternative life in LA.

Sean Thibodeau as Derek gives it an interesting twist and gives a poignant performance.

His character gives the movie its heart and sole.

Shows an interesting side to LA and people trying to find there way.

Some of the characters seem a bit extreme, but does add to the theme of the movie.

Jackson makes for an interesting protagonist: watching his evolution makes the movie interesting.

He and Derek make for an unusual pair but that makes it even more intriguing.

For a low budget movie it really does an excellent job.

Worth your time to watch.

The transition between Jackson and Derek makes the movie.