Boy Culture

BOY CULTURE is a very fine little film and were it being evaluated solely within the confines of gay films, it would easily rate 10 stars. It is well written, well directed, well acted and has messages that cover a fairly broad territory (racism, homophobia, hustler life style, relationships, coming out tales and tales from the closet, etc). There are some technical flaws with the film and some unresolved character problems that prevent it from being what it comes close to being, but finally here is a gay themed film that is wise, entertaining, and user-friendly for a larger population than the community for which it was made.

The story is biographical in nature: "X" (Derek Magyar) is a male hustler who lives off the income from a limited clientèle of regulars, who occupies a living space with two gay roommates - Andrew (Darryl Stephens) and Joey (Jonathon Trent) - and who has what he thinks it takes to make him happy. The missing element is love, and in several ways he comes into proximity with that missing thread: his newest client is Gregory (Patrick Bauchau in a richly nuanced performance as a elderly closeted loner) who introduces X to the finer things in life, including introspection and looking for what is missing in his world. Andrew is a conflicted African American man who still misses the caring he had with a girlfriend whose wedding he is to attend. Joey has just turned 18 and looks to X and Andrew as father figures. The problem is that X and Andrew have deeper feelings of attraction and commitment to each other than either wants to admit, and the story (as narrated by X) is about how this mutual challenging need is resolved.

Q. Allan Brocka directed and co-wrote the film with Philip Pierce and the dialog is snappy at times and gently tender at others. The cast is quite fine: the young lads are top notch eye candy while bringing solid acting skills to their roles, and the older actors bring a since of resilience to the story that keeps it grounded in style. This is a very good little film that deserves a wider audience, one that needs to see this aspect of the population once considered merely peripheral. Movies like this help understanding interpersonal relationships, and everyone needs to address that. Grady Harp

X, as we are told to think of the narrator of this gay love story, is a hustler. He has only a few clients, but they each pay him well. He lives in luxurious digs in Seattle. He has a couple of roommates and they give us most of the plot. X is cynical and clever, his friends are more romantic and maybe not so sophisticated. It all turns out more or less as you will probably suspect from very early on, but you just might have a good time watching it. I did.

The performances are spotty but all are at least adequate. There are a few sex scenes, but much more is hinted at than shown. I didn't notice a rating, but in a sane world this one could be PG.

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.

As more or more gay themed movies are released, it seems that the percentage of bad films has risen dramatically. That is why it was such a joy to discover this smart, funny, and wise movie that I can recommend to my straight friends as much as to my gay friends.

"Boy Culture" is not a good gay movie, but a very good movie period. It sports a terrific cast of three-dimensional characters and it is hot and sexy to boot. I have not seen their previous work, but if this is an indication of their output, I look forward to seeing everything they've done.

Kudos to everyone involved!

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.