Prends-moi

While I liked the movie, I didn't really like the beginning. It has a documentary feel with facts about gays and the state of Texas...and then all of a sudden we're in L.A. So that was confusing. The eye-candy in this film is pretty good. Some of it is predictable and some is just really not believable as far as I'm concerned. I hated the ending tho. I thought the ending scene could have been written much better. I thought the main character, India, was really cute but Spencer really got on my nerves and I kinda wish he'd have been ditched at some point. And I usually can't stand drag queens, but Destiny was actually a pretty cool character. All in all tho I gave the movie a 7.

Had a free movie rental coupon, was in a hurry, and picked this movie out. Sounded like a good story and, over all, it was. But it took soooo much to get through this movie because of the acting.

The two key characters, India and Destiny, were the strongest performances and thats not saying a whole lot. When India first meets Destiny I thought I was watching "Jackie Brown" or "Christie Love", come to someone's rescue. It was so retro and amateurish, something, I feel, a few more takes could have solved. Clearly, from watching other scenes, these actors were able to deliver convincing performances, but for whatever reason the director settled.

The same can be said for the sex scenes. Some were great while others were mediocre at best. Yes, there was a good deal of flesh and as someone else commented the guys looked like your everyday "joe" hot guy and not some groomed, tanned, perfectly figured porn guy. This gave the movie a reality feel, which also kept me watching. I felt like these were people I could relate to, touch, walk with (be apart of my life).

But the thing that held me the most was the message of the movie. Now, of course, I can't tell you what that is, but suffice it to say that as the movie unfolds the message, like a painting out of a cylinder container, is layed out. Even though its done in an idealist, and somewhat corny, way.

In a nutshell, worthy material, with some good, and some bad scenes. Good amount of nudity, if you're into that.

I'll keep an eye out for future movies by this director/writer. Hopefully with a bigger budget and maybe more time another good story, with better performances, will go to theatre.

I found FAQS by chance at my local Blockbuster. I'd already seen Luster which was also directed by Everett Lewis, and although I didn't like Luster I decided to give this one a chance. The movie paints gays and straights into very strict categories which works for the message of the film.

The opening credits almost turned me off - as though I was going to be watching some political piece, but instead turns into a believably realistic look at the prejudice that gays in general are often subjected to and manage to overcome.

Without giving anything away, I can tell you there is some acceptable eye candy - but presented realistically - the average gay guy vs some tweaked out gym bunnies.

Overall very satisfying and recommendable even as a date movie.

Everett Lewis is a writer/director who continues to look at the various aspects of gay life and the way it is influencing young people. His work is a bit raw and unpolished as yet, but his sentiments are strong and translate well in the films he has created thus far.FAQS is a strong conceptual film and one with a new take on gay activism.

India (a talented natural actor Joe Lia) is a young runaway from Colorado who has come to Hollywood where he can be the gay person he accepts he is. Living homeless under a bridge he is obliged to make his living as a hustler, and as we meet him he is participating in a demeaning pornography film at the smarmy hands of a cheating pornographer. After the shoot he is ambushed by two gay bashers and is saved only by the intervention of a tall, flamboyant black drag queen Destiny (Allan Louis) who gains India's respect and is invited to live with Destiny in her small apartment, a place she shares with other gay people in need such as the lesbian cross dresser Lester (Minerva Vier). Destiny sets down rules of the house: no drugs, be careful of straights, spend two hours a day naked in respect for your body, always use condoms, etc. and India settles in, feeling 'home' for the first time. Soon he meets another hustler Spencer (Lance Lee Davis) who is bent on killing his bigoted parents (just as India is bent on revenge for his pornography adventure), but who falls for India's loving attention and the two become lovers.

At the time of India's encounter with the gay bashers Destiny takes the coat of one of them for India's warmth, a coat which bears the basher's name Guy (Adam Larson) and address. India and Spencer decide to find them and take retribution, but when they confront Guy, India senses Guy's sexual proclivities and the three return to Destiny's ever growing 'family'. The manner in which the other basher intervenes and the changes that occur among the tenants of Destiny's home supply the predictable but satisfying end.

So why with all this praise does this film only rate 3 stars? There are production problems that prevent a higher rating: the sound is poor, the dialogue is often buried in ambient noise, the editing is choppy, etc. But the actors are surprisingly good given the fact that most are inexperienced. Allan Louis as Destiny gives a bravura performance, one of the finest roles of a drag queen ever filmed. There are some well managed sexual encounters and some frontal nudity (but only with Joe Lia and that is so in character that it works well): the chemistry between India and Spencer is palpable and credible.

But despite these minor flaws (each of which is imminently forgivable) this is a well-made film that shows the power of 'extended family' in the lives of gay youths at risk in a homophobic society. There is tenderness, there is comedy, and there is a solid amount of political statement! Recommended. Grady Harp

Knowing that director Everett Lewis equated his characters with gay superheros goes a long way toward enjoying this quirky but extremely well-done film. Even when the acting is awkward, there is an honesty about the portrayals that is extremely watchable. Allan Louis is terrific as Destiny, the drag queen "avenger" who is part mother, part Dirty Harry. The cinematography is surprisingly good and the guys look terrific obeying Desiny's '2 hours of nudity a day' rule. Last minute cast substitution Minerva Vier seems incredulous at first as a tough street dyke, but her spunky reality won me over quickly. I cracked up at Destiny's line "Child, I feel just like Mrs. Brady. So white. So suburban. I'm gonna have to get me a pert blonde wig, honey. 'Cause I just feel pert. Pert, pert, pert." Classic. There are some lapses of credibility in the plot, but this is a superhero world, not real life, so go with it and you'll enjoy getting the FAQ's.