Sissy-Boy Slap-Party

This is one funny little short directed by the contemporary Canadian auteur Guy Maddin. I found it on my copy of the DVD for "The Saddest Music in the World", along with a couple of other shorts, also both very funny. There is a joking homoerotic undercurrent in this vignette concerning a bizarre ritual between a group of super-hunky young men. There's not much more to tell, as this doesn't really tell a "story". It's just a sort of joke, meant partially as a promotion for "Saddest Music". If you get a chance to see this, I'd recommend it. Another bizarre in-joke for fans of early cinema, avant-garde films, and stupid humor from Maddin.

My experience was the opposite of the previous reviewer. I also saw Sissy Boy Slap Party as part of a festival of gay short films, and giggled and laughed through the whole thing at the giddy silliness of it. It was well received by the audience. You can't take it too seriously, obviously. But the combination of the music, the silent-film style, and the vision of a bunch of hunky guys naughtily having a slap party (nobody looks like they get hurt) when their mysterious overseer leaves them unsupervised with explicit "no slapping" instructions, is strangely irresistible. If you need something literal or "meaningful," this one's probably not for you. But if you're able to get into the spirit of something creative and goofy, this can be a great laugh tonic.

Madman Guy Maddin made this bizzaro four minute short...and it, frankly, defies description. It's practically a must see if you're into Guy Maddin's work as he certainly utilizes his style in a unique and totally "Maddin-esque" way, and it makes for some fascinating watching. Any real analysis or discussion of the film is almost pointless; it't almost TOO weird for that...it's...it's...it's really hard to describe with words unless one were a poet, but even if one were a poet their descriptions of what insanity bursts in every corner in every frame of this film would likely be extremely difficult reading, and something the average reader would have a difficult time processing. All I can say is that this is, no doubt, an experimental and wild ride that is saved by Maddin's signature stylistic liberties and sense of absurdist humor.

This movie is a little slice of choreographic genius.

Shot in Guy Maddin's black and white faux early-film style, it's a six-minute dance of, well, sissy boys slapping each other. They slap, they cry, they giggle, and you laugh. It's set up, timed, and concluded flawlessly. There are jungle rhythms, beautiful boys, builds and climaxes, and one-of-a-kind cinematography. If you appreciate Guy Maddin at all, if you like camp, or if you think the title "Sissy Boy Slap Party" is funny, there's no reason not to own this and stick in your DVD player whenever you need a quick pick-me-up. Sofa guests seem to love it, too.

"You all better go back to the gym, you look like you're gaining weight. I gotta go to the store and buy some condoms." A pause. "And remember, NO SLAPPING." says the old man to his dozen or so protégés, handsome and shirtless young sailors in some tropical surroundings, as a dreamy 30s sort of romantic melody plays. As soon as the old man and his bike are out of sight though, a homoerotic Three Stooges slap-party starts, with percussive steel-drum (played by more shirtless guys) and a droning deep string section (unseen). It's the Stooges meet Kenneth Anger on a Hope/Crosby "Road to..." set. For a second, one of the guys in close-up looks just like Curly! Manic, crazy, hilarious.