Gerontophilia

The subject matter may be intimidating to some (a love story between a young man with a fetish for geriatrics, and an 83 year-old man) but this is a heartwarming treat. The dialogue is a little clunky at times but otherwise this is one of the finest road movies, of sorts, I have seen for many's the year. Bruce la Bruce, the fearless doyen of Queer Cinema, veers towards the mainstream in this and doesn't miss a beat. The performances are great, particularly Walter Borden, and the soundtrack is glorious.

All in all a fantastic film for all the family, once your family is not upset by the regular sight of young boy on old man action, that is.

Despite its subject matter, 'Gerontophilia' could mark Bruce La Bruce's entry into polite film-making society: in contrast to his earlier works such as 'Raspberry Reich' and 'Skin Gang' it is possibly his most accessible work to date.

Lake (no really), a young man in his late teens/early twenties, gets a job in an old people's home. This is close to being all his Christmases rolled into one, because Lake is turned on by the elderly. He becomes especially close - in more ways than one - to 81 year-old Melvyn (when a nurse describes Melvyn as being 'a very sick man' one might think as this is a La Bruce film that's to be expected, but she actually means he is very ill. I think.) Melvyn wants to see the Pacific Ocean one last time before he dies, and Lake tries to make his dream come true. But how will Melvyn fare outside the controlled environment of the home?

In terms of storyline, this is an interesting film, told in a linear, non-confusing fashion. And the acting is acceptable: if Pier-Gabriel Lajoie, as Lake, is a little stilted when speaking in English he's a lot more natural in his (I assume native) French; and Walter Borden, as the elderly homosexual, keeps the queeniness on a subtle, unembarrassing level. But let's be honest: what attracts a lot of people to La Bruce films is the promise of nudity: although a lot of it is cinema of the grotesque, there'll usually be some young, firm flesh on display. But there's precious little of it in this film: the very handsome Lajoie provides just one quick shot of his bare backside (and it seems unlikely the full-frontal shots of Borden will excite anyone except, y'know, gerontophiles). So while this may bring La Bruce to the attention of a whole new audience, his old fans may miss the chaotic nature of his previous films, as well as the flesh.

There are precious few good gay films. It's just a fact. Usually the few good ones are foreign so this is disappointing because it was Canadian but that is almost American so there you go. Dialogue is stilted and script is formulaic. Actors try but plod along with material inferior that they attempt to embroider with a lifted brow here and there or a sad eye. The male star is pretty so he's a diversion but after the first swimming pool scene, you're ready to switch to reruns of 'Dark Shadows' TV show. Is it really believable that a very handsome young gay man would be smitten and erotically motivated by sagging flesh, wrinkles, fallen posteriors and pot bellies? I know it might exist (just like chubby chasers) but I find it difficult to swallow. It is very nice to fantasize about by someone like myself who am 65 and counting now and would like to justify still going to the gym, but...

Bruce LaBruce's 'Gerontophilia' exists on one level as a bold and thoughtful exposé of the shocking treatment of geriatrics in some care homes, whereby they pass their days under heavy sedation so as to make them less of a problem to handle. Though well-scripted and acted, this theme is hardly novel, having been seen in many earlier films, including Henry Koster's delightful mixture of the tragic and comic in 'Mr Belvedere Rings The Bell'. What makes 'Gerontophilia' unique is its other level - an unusual account of the developing relationship between the octogenarian Mr Peabody (Walter Borden in a complex and completely convincing performance) and a youthful student, Lake, who decides to intervene and improve Peabody's quality of life. This decision is not, however, completely altruistic since Lake is one of that minority of young males who are turned on sexually by old men. It is to LaBruce's great credit that he treats this controversial subject with just the right amount of restraint, avoiding the lurid, but not being afraid to call a spade a spade. There are no actual lovemaking scenes in bed, but sufficient moments where Lake's attraction to old flesh is made manifest, at the film's ending through the medium of humour, earlier in a poignant scene where Lake sketches Peabody with, as one might say, no holds barred. The film of course has its flaws: Pier-Gabriel Lajoie as Lake is just too impossibly good-looking, though this is to some extent offset by the charisma of his performance and his unerring sense of fun. Also there's the suggestion, inferred rather than stated, that his curious sexual preferences stem from his relationship with his drunken mother, but this comes over as a trite rather than illuminating idea. These, however, are small matters. This movie is a charming and unpredictable insight into a sub-world which is not just French-Canadian but universal, and will be a welcome addition to the programmes of those art cinemas brave enough to show it.

Bruce LaBruce has a special fantasy. Here it is: a disarmingly beautiful 18-year old boy falls passionately in love with him NOT because he promises to put the kid in a movie but because he's old and ugly. BECAUSE he's old and ugly, not in spite of the fact that he's old and ugly.

Now, I'm neither young nor gorgeous myself, and I (and every other old gay man) may have a fantasy just like that tucked away inside of me. The difference is that I didn't make a move about mine. Despite what LaBruce thinks, watching an old man's erotic fantasy acted out on screen is not entertaining to other people.

On top of that basic flaw, this movie's screenplay is very, very, very stupid. As a comedy it's never funny; as a romance it's completely absurd; and as an erotic fantasy it's just embarrassing. The basic story, of a young man falling in love with a much older man, could be made into a really wonderful movie, but not in Bruce LaBruce's talentless, narcissistic ham fists.

Pier-Gabriel Lajoie is breathtakingly beautiful, but he can't act. Looking at him, with the sound off, and skipping every single scene in which he does not appear alone, is all that could make this turkey watchable. That movie would be about five minutes long.