Review: Disorienting Dick

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Disorienting Dick
Directed by Richard Griffin
Reasonable Moving Picture Company; Scorpio Film Releasing
88 minutes, 2022
https://www.facebook.com/ScorpioFilmReleasing

Historically, director Richard Griffin likes to reuse cast members in phases. For a while it was actors like Sarah Nicklin, Michael Thurber, and Michael Reed, for example. Then, overlappingly, it was those such as Elyssa Baldassarri , Jamie Dufault, Johnny Sederquist (aka Ninny Nothin), and Anna Rizzo, and lately it’s been Samantha Acampora, Sarah Reed, and especially Graham Stokes. The last two also appear in his latest opus, the strongly LGBQT(etc.) themed Disorienting Dick. Stokes full frontal nudity in the first shot gives the viewer a – er – taste of things to come.

Graham Stokes

This is also a very sharp political commentary as we meet Dick’s mom, the appropriately named Maureen Whiteman (Leslie Racine Vazquez), a Qanon, conspiracy-focused, money and power-hungry politician running for Mayor in a city in Rhode Island (where this is filmed), who is reminiscent of Sarah Palin, Lauren Boebert or Marjorie Greene (though Maureen is intelligent, unlike those others). The mock political ad at her introduction is both ridiculously over the top, and yet quite scary as it is also reflective of a certain level of Republican “values” as they stand today; it is also a theme that permeates the whole film. The subtle Ayn Rand reference by Dick is also telling.

Leslie Racine Vazquez

Dick, in the meanwhile, has a fiancée, Pat (Sarah Reed), who wears a Jesus sweatshirt, but it’s pretty obvious that it isn’t going to last as Dick becomes, in the words of the film, “oriented” (rather than converted). You just know it’s going to conflict with his mom. I am enjoying the political aspects of the story so far, rather than it being more of a gay romp like Griffin’s previous (short), Gay as the Sun (2020; reviewed HERE), which also starred Stokes.

Sarah Reed

While Dick is in the closet and having wild, softcore fantasies about men, his mother finds out his desires, and has him taken to the “Clinic for the Terminally Dandy,” an evil right wing conversion therapy organization (conversion therapy, by the way, is now banned by our neighbors to the north, in Canada; in the United States, only Washington DC has barred the practice on adults). It is run by the evil doctor Hyde Hippocampus (Terry Shea), dressed in black with a black eye patch on his right eye and his Nurse Rached-type nurse assistant, DeFarge (Amy Thompson). Advanced treatment includes the “Lindsey Graham Initiative.” Sorry to give some of the jokes away, but it’s just a smidge of them, and I am trying to clarify that this is a smart film as well as smutty (meant in a good way). 

But that’s not the whole story, as Dick keeps getting kidnapped back and forth between the conversion therapy and a competing “Clinic for the Fabulously Dandy” run by the twin of the other doctor, Jekyll Hippocampus (also Terry Shea) but with bright red clothes and a red eye patch on the other eye, and a non-binary nasty also Nurse Rached type, Atari 2600 (Albert Lin). Therapy includes such things as “Jungian Interpretive Dance.” At the latter institute, they try to get Dick out of the closet. Between the two, no wonder he is so disoriented.

Amy Thompson, Vazquez, Terry Shea, Stokes

The set designs and clothing in the second, positive clinic, by Margaret Wolf and Angela Shulman, are bright pastel colors, which reminded me of the original “Star Trek” series. In the conversion one, the color theme is muted and white, with no pizazz. The director once told me that the comparison of the gay sex in his film The Sins of Dracula (2014; reviewed HERE) was hanging of the chandelier type, whereas the straight couple sex was missionary and boring. This is a similar idea here.

Perhaps I am reading too much into the story, but it almost seems like the percentages are flipped, where 90 percent of the characters are some shade or degree of gay or bi, and 10 percent are straight. It is an interesting concept. In all, this is a morality play on what is right and wrong, with the philosophically metaphorical devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, with one leaning toward straight and one towards being gay, but in this case, which is on which side? In fact, Jesus and the Devil appear in the film momentarily as that inner battle is in play (having those two in a Griffin release(ing) is nothing new (in fact Michael Reed has played both in different films of his, but I digress…).

Albert Lin, Shea

While some of the acting is appropriately over-emoted, there are a lot of really brave performances, by the likes of Victoria Paradis, Vazquez, and especially Stokes. The writing is especially sharp with both political and social commentary that does not drag the story down in any way, and at times quite biting (no pun intended); and the sex and nudity is all male on male and sometimes quite explicit, though not as much as, say, Shortbus (2006). The single lesbian scene is, not surprisingly, unseen. DD has a definitive direction in which it is going, and it follows true to its path, and I respect that, a lot.

There are a lot of elements going into this basic story, including sock puppets (you read that correctly), but deep down, it has a single theme. The last line of the film sums up the philosophy of Disorienting Dick in one sentence quite well (I will not give it away). You should definitely find out for yourself. Maybe the viewer might even learn something about themselves.

IMBD Listing HERE

Review: Gay as the Sun – A Documentary

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

 

Gay as the Sun – A Documentary
Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Film Releasing / Nova Film Productions
32 minutes, 2020
www.scorpiofilmreleasing.com

The tagline for this film may sound familiar: “From the beginning of time to the end of the Universe… Is Billy.” This should not be confused with the infamous opening of Kurt Vonnegut’s brilliant novel, Slaughterhouse Five: “Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.” But this is a comedy spoof, so why not?

The subtitle of the film is a bit of comedy, but this is also a sci-fi release in the form of a documentary, but it goes so much deeper than that. The tone it takes is in the form of those pseudo-documentaries they used to do about nudist colonies in the late 1950s and early ‘60s that was used as a framework that was acceptable (somewhat) to what had become of the Hays Office. Essentially, the documentary format was a legal way to show nude bodies without it being considered “smut.” Auteurs like Doris Wishman (d. 2002) and Hershell Gordon Lewis (in his pre-gore mode; d. 2016) were pioneers in this field, with most of their films coming out of southern Florida. This one is from Rhode Island.

We are presented with the first chapter through the introduction of Adam (Rick Irizarry) and Steve (Nolan Burke) in the Garden of Eden – that’s right – narrated with gentility over a very sanitized melody that actually sounds like it came from one of those early films. Hmm, I wonder who did their ink? Anyway, if you remember the Eden story, it was not clothing optional, it was sans mode. Oh, if you haven’t guessed by the title, this is going to be a wiener fest like nobody’s biz.

 

Sarah Reed

But three minutes in, the film takes a turn one might not expect, and I won’t give it away. In a brilliant move (with a tone of social commentary) we meet Eve (Sarah Reed), equally bare, before both are tempted by a drag queen snake (Ninny Nothin, aka Johnny Sederquist) to take that forbidden bite of the apple.

 Okay, I have to stop here for a sec. It’s 5 minutes into the film, and I have been laughing nearly non-stop, between the narration and the action on the screen. This is so well written and thought out, that I’m looking forward to hitting the play button again. This is irreverent as all get out, so if you’re bothered by Adam and Steve, you are going to love the conclusion of this chapter, which is essentially a history of body shaming (Wait, the Bible? Genesis? Chapter 1? Shaming? Yeah, that sounds about right).

 It’s in chapter 2, which is now narrated by the less somber sounding Terry Shea, where we meet our pal Billy (Graham Stokes). Poor Billy suffers from said self-body loathing, so as therapy, he goes to a nudist colony called, yep, “Gay as the Sun.” We get to follow a mostly silent Billy (perhaps a nod to Lewis’ 1961 infamous release, The Adventures of Lucky Pierre?), as the narrator “joins along.” Billy explores the camp and meets strange characters like a shirt bandit (Ronald Martin) who steals, well, it ain’t lupins, and Gay Dracula (a fun turn by Robert Kersey).

 

Graham Stokes

The film stops at times for interviews with some of the characters, such as the bandit and Billy’s nutball parents, often with a subtle sarcastic tone that, again, shows some really good writing by director Griffin and Robyn Guilford. One of my fave moments is when we meet a “Karen” named Karen (Erin Haas) – VP of the Eric Trump Fan Club – who angrily takes the whole film to task in a Monty Python’s Colonel splash. I was beside myself.

With the multitude of male nudity (and some female as well), and the profane tone, there may be some hesitation of some viewers, but if you’re an open spirit and love a really smartly written comedy with balls to the wall laughs, I recommend this, as I chortled all through it. Some of that came from the references, but even beyond if that’s not your thing, it’s a good hoot.

 

Gay Dracula

And how does this gay romp fit into the motif of this blog? It has a science fiction backbone to it that was also reminiscent of the old ‘50s sci-fi glut of low budget films. That’s good enough for me.

Will Billy find balance with his own skin? Perhaps find love? There is an abundance of choices at the camp, with lots of men with bodies exposed doing things that the old Wishman/Lewis employed to express nudity in action, such as montages of washing (stand-up showers, of course), sun bathing (front and back), volleyball, and hula-hoops. Maybe someday there will be a version that comes out in 3D called Gay as the Sun 3D – A DUCK!-umentary. I said what I said.

See the trailer and/or rent the film HERE

Review: Undercover Vice: Strapped for Danger Part 2

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Undercover Vice: Strapped for Danger Part 2

Directed by Richard Griffin

Scorpio Releasing / The Reasonable Moving Picture Company

88 minutes, 2020

www.scorpiofilmrising.com/

In the words of the director, “Enjoy in good health and bad taste!”

Just judging by the original Strapped for Danger, which came out in 2017, this may be “bad taste,” but it is great fun. The humor flies fast and furious, and usually hits below the belt.

In a switch in direction, whereas the original focused on the exploits of some Ocean’s Eleven-type twosome robbers/male strippers with the coppers on their trail, this one looks from the other perspective, namely that of the men in blue (and pink without their uniforms). With the same writer – er – in hand, Duncan Pflaster, Griffin continues his stream-of-gayousness kooky cool comedies.

Chris Fisher, Sean Brown

The focal characters are two straight and bumbling police detectives: Republican Kevin (Chris Fisher) and soon-to-be-engaged and very buff Andy (Sean Brown). After screwing up a screwball screw toy caper, they are assigned to go “deep undercover” as gay porn stars. Apparently, there is a threesome of these actors who like to blackmail Republican politicians (ripped from the headlines!!) for cash; our heroes are told to infiltrate the gay film scene, join the gang, and get the goods on them.

The three not-so-bad guys are Jazon (Alec Farquharson), Clem (Ricky Irizarry, who was so good in Griffin’s earlier film this year, Before the Night is Over, reviewed HERE), and ringleader, Thoby (Anthony Rainville).

Ricky Irizarry, Anthony Rainville, Alec Farquharson

It’s barely 8 minutes in before we are introduced to nude male tushies, and another minute before other naughty bits come into play, as it were. So, what are two straight cops supposed to do in a situation where not only are they expected to go over the bridge to Pimpleton, but to do it on camera? And for those to whom it matters, yes, there is also some female nudity supplied by the lovely and multiply pierced Zooey (Sarah Reed), Thoby’s girlfriend (it is explained in the film).

Who are the good guys and who are the bad is the central zeitgeist of the picture. Are the porn stars wrong for their actions? Is the political force behind the police correct in their methods (a valid question all things considered with what is going on beyond my doors these days)? While the humor is foot loose but not dildo free, it also makes a poignant point on the politics and hypocrisy behind the conservative wave that is hopefully starting to ebb a bit.

The sets are simple and look great thanks to Production Designer Margaret Wolf, from the police station to the St. Agnes Home for the Nearly Deceased. In addition, John Mosetich’s photography is also simple, and yet has quite a distinctive look to it, e.g., he loves medium shots; rather than the usual primary color lighting scheme (yellow filter! red filter! blue filter!), here it is more straightforward and realistic, giving the film a stark, bare-bottom (see what I did there?) feel to the action.

Ninny Nothin

The acting is quite decent, but the porno director, Piñata Debri (drag queen Ninny Nothin aka Johnny Sederquist) – named I'm sure as a tribute to The Producers (1968) – steals every scene she's in. She's also eminently quotable, with lines like "I promised myself I wouldn't fake cry, but it's happening." Everything she says feels like it should be followed by multiple exclamation points. 

I realize this review is a bit all over the place, but there is so much to digest (pun not intended), and it just about never stops through the entire picture. I mean there’s even a The Music Man (1962) reference, during a restaurant scene there is a Justin Trudeau full size cutout that was also used in the coda of Code Name: Dynastud (2018), a hysterically misleading false perspective scene in police station, and a Bollywood nod that had me in stiches. Even the dialogue, if you pay attention, will set your mind on fire, with lines like “Did you just call me a pussy for not wanting to get fucked by two dudes?!” One of my faves is a suggestion during a porn shoot to “…just think of Christine Baranski” (who I once saw on Broadway, and was fabulous, by the way).

Sarah Reed

It should come as no surprise that along with the comedy and the political underlining, it is both a story of sexual awakening (the real agenda for the film) and somewhat of a love story, some of which you may not see coming (watch the credits at the end).

Back in the 1970s, when films from Sweden flooded the market with sex romps, this would have been known as softcore. Nothing is erect – though I’m glad this wasn’t in 3D – but there is a lot of sex of various styles, be it gay, straight, and multiple partners of both sexes.

There are several (yet not preachy) less-than-subtle digs at the Republican anti-LGBTQ+(etc.) mindsets (I use that term loosely), especially involving a Republican Senator Hanson (Jay Walker), who hilariously breaks the fourth wall at one point to say what we’re all thinking. One subtle (or possibly not so much) line is by the real villains (yes, Republicans) who exclaim, “It’s our job, as police, to protect and support the government,” not the people… sound familiar?

Story-wise, in some ways its sensical to figure out where some of it is going, and there are plot points that ain’t gonna happen in real life, but who cares? The narrative flows, the comedy works, everyone’s (male and female) bodies are spectacular, and it’s just a plain old good time to be had by the viewer, unless you’re the self-deluded conservative macho type who needs three guns to go grocery shopping (yes, that’s real).

Just sit back and enjoy it.

Review: Before the Night is Over

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

Before the Night is Over

Directed by Richard Griffin

Scorpio Film Releasing / The Reasonable Moving Picture Company

74 minutes, 2020

www.facebook.com/NightIsOver/

When I talk to fellow genre reviewers, one name consistently comes up on the top of the directors’ list, and that’s Richard Griffin. His large body of work https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1075618/?ref_=tt_ov_dr covers a large swath of styles and genre categories, which seem to come in waves. There was a horror phase followed by one of broad sexual/sensual comedies. After a couple of years, he has headed back into making a thriller, and I find it hard to control myself getting ready to watch it.

Samatha Acampora, Victoria Paradis, Bruce Church

If I were to break this film down into its most primal descriptors, they would have to be “languid” and “gothic.” Remember when Southern-focused releases like Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) and, well, Frogs (1972) were more common, with big mansions, accents that make y’all wanna hush yo mouth, sugah, and evil doings were hidden by “the scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh / Then the sudden smell of burning flesh” (quote from Abel Meeropol’s 1939 song, “Strange Fruit”).

Like a Bob Fosse dance number, every shot and move made by the cast seems nearly choreographed, with hands and faces in the forefront. This is quite effective for the “languid” part. It also makes for fascinating watching of the actors as they move around the screen, or even if they are sitting still, there is still the precise motion that is almost hypnotic, which works for the “gothic” intonation.

Atmospheric

As for the basic set-up of the story, listen here chile: when we are introduced to petite Samantha Pearl (Samantha Acampora, who is also known as a spirited Rocky Horror Picture Show reenactor), her parents have recently passed on, and she’s been taken in by her aunt, Blanche DeWolfe (Lee Rush), who owns this here bordello that is filled with men, and also caters to men. Similarly in charge is the “prickly” Ms. Olivia (Victoria Paradis, reminding me of the Miss Hardbroom character from the British “The Worst Witch” programme). These are the only three women in the film. Also helping to run the bordello is the intense and towering Ambrose (Bruce Church, who just keeps getting better every time I see him).

Samantha also is having visions that are silent, fuzzy and in slow-mo (again, “languid”), where she can see violent events that have occurred in the house recently. Oh, and did I mention that there is also someone in a cloak and cowl running around hitting customers on the noggin’ with various instruments until they’re on the rainbow bridge with Jeebus? And what’s in her mother’s diary that the aunt is keeping from her, and what’s with the mysterious locked room she’s not allowed to enter? It’s a mystery that’s bound to get ramped up and involve Samantha (again, “gothic”). Well that’s why y’all are here, ain’ it?

Much like Cinderella, Samantha’s role in the “house” is to be the maid. Of course, this gives her access to everything and everyone there, so like the nanny in The Innocents (1961), as we follow her around, we get to learn as she does just what is going on up in here.

Like Griffin’s earlier film, Long Night in a Dead City (2017), the atmosphere and structures around the story are part of it, even the incredibly accurate, stylized and yet ugly wallpaper. There is a persistent mood that runs throughout, giving the actions of the characters more gravitas. There also deserves a nod to John Mosetich’s excellent cinematography and Margaret Wolf production design for the way this is all displayed to us.

This film is a fine summation of a few of Griffin’s earlier works, combining the supernatural (though technically he is not a “horror” director), homages to some of the Masters (see below), and the abundance of the male form in various shapes and sizes. There is a lot of nudity in here in a coin flip of the usual all-women-and-no-men. Penii abound, and yet the story warrants it. If you’re a Neanderthal who is indoctrinated in not being used to this, get the fuck over it. This film is too beautiful to miss.

There is a bit of violence here, but relatively mild with little blood; however, the tension is definitely there as murders are committed and a mysterious presence overhangs the bordello that Samantha tries to get to the source.

It’s easy to see the influences and reflections of earlier classics that I could list, but I don't want to give too much of the story away.

My only complaint is that it’s a relatively short feature. There is much more I would have liked to be flushed out a bit, though I don’t feel cheated at all. Honestly, this is true of most Griffin films; I just want them to keep going. That says a lot about this release, as well.

Review: Code Name: Dynastud

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018
Images from the Internet

Code Name: Dynastud
Directed and edited by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Film Releasing / Reasonable Moving Picture Company Productions
95 minutes, 2018
www.facebook.com/dynastud/

First, as a disclaimer, I feel compelled to state that I watch this film as a straight man but who is an ally. Working across the street from the Stonewall in my youth opened my eyes to a lot of unintentional internal prejudices I didn’t realize I had, and have worked on since. Anyway, here we go.

If I may be so presumptuous, there seems to be three great arches in director Richard Griffin’s filmmaking career. The first was the early learning curve where he got his feet wet, with releases such as Raving Maniacs and Seepage! (aka Creature From the Hillbilly Lagoon; both 2005). The second arch began around the time of Beyond the Dunwich Horror and Nun of That (both 2008), where Griffin developed into a solid and prolific director that specialized mostly in making films that reflected / honored a bunch of different styles (giallo, ‘80s Eurotrash, Christian films, etc.), most of which were comedies, but mixed in were some amazing serious ones as well (such as Exhumed in 2011 and Normal in 2013). During this period he came to the attention and gained the respect of numerous film critics and bloggers such as myself. It was here that he developed a loose group of regular actors that helped support his output.

Recently, Richard began his third (so far) arch starting with Strapped for Danger (2017), which is catering to gay, raunchy comedies. Again, this is supported by some new regulars, such as Anthony Gaudette and Michael Varrati (also an amazing screenwriter). Honestly, even before watching this sci-fi tinged “gay romp” (as Mel Brooks may have put it), I have been looking forward to giving it a viewing. Pressing start now…

Since Ronald Reagan first let in the Religious Right to the political arena, there has been an increasing amount of “Bible over Constitution” on the GOP side. And in a post-Trump presidency world of 2024 when this film takes place, that religious power madness has reached its pinnacle, outlawing homosexuality. At the present time, this hardly seems like a far-fetched idea when considering our closeted Vice President and at least one Senator Graham Cracker (both allegedly).



Derek Lauendeau, Anthony Gaudette, Mark Garner

While our titular alien-induced super-powered character of Dynastud (Gaudette) is introduced through a near perfect James Bond-ish opening and credits that had me in stitches, the story proper seems to revolve more around the pure of heart and noble Bart (Derek Laurendeau), who finds himself in a pickle when forced to marry Patty (Candace Sampson, the only female main character who ironically steals some scenes away from the dudes) by her father, the murderous and gay-hating Senator Hightower (played with glee by Bruce Church, who looks like he’s having a blast in the role).

That being said, there are, again, three arcs to this story: in no particular order there is the Bart and Patty conundrum, a buddy travel theme (think Trains, Planes and Automobiles), and an overlapping grand quest (such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy). At this point, I am not including the underlying political messaging throughout, which I will get to later.



Candace Sampson

Also worth mentioning are two secondary characters who are sort of the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the story, Vargas (Aaron Andrade) and Sam (Dan Mauro), two police officers resurrected from Griffin’s earlier Seven Dorms of Death, who are ordered to find our intrepid heroes Bart and Dynastud. What they find instead are cameos by Griffin regulars and some revelations that of course I will not divulge. I may have said too much already…

There are a lot of subtle nuances throughout the film, such as quotes from the notoriously camp Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and The Blues Brothers (1978) – and I’m supposing there are also some I missed.

Of course, there is full frontal male shots (though less than I expected; I seem to remember more in Griffin’s last film, Strapped For Danger) and a lot of sex, focused natch on M-M. One scene recognizes the female side of the equation, though more in a stereotypical but hopefully non-offensive way (plaid shirts, ultra-Liberal, etc.). The same stereotyping could be said about Canada and especially Canadians in later scenes, that is non-offensive and, honestly, really funny, eh?



Bruce Church

Griffin being Griffin, he also hysterically has the whole film overdubbed like those kung fu flicks in ways that are both obvious – such as Vargas’ British lilt and two that I particularly liked, “drag queen” Lee Van Queef (Jordan Pacheco) and a Canadian hostess (Samantha Acampora); others less noticeable.

At a time like the present where NAFTA is scrapped in favor of a tariff war by the government, it seems appropriate to have a whole Canadian/maple syrup sub-plot – okay, perhaps it doesn’t make sense, but it works in the story – as the last act of the film is bat-shit WTF sci-fi as we are introduced to the kung fu master Bruce Li (Mark Andrew Garner) to kinda tie everything together and perhaps lead to a film sequel.

While not as over-the-top as Seven Dorms of Death (a fave of mine), this is a film that is silly, but far from stoopid [sic]. The cannon fire over the bow is both subtle and not as much so (such as Li’s fight with the Mecha-Trump robot that looks like it came out of a 1940s serial like The Monster and the Ape).

More than a hypocritical “War on Christmas” (which doesn’t exist except as a distraction, of course), there truly is a War on LGBTQ(etc.) Rights, and this film pushes that button. I’m a firm believer that one can get more notice using humor than fear, and Griffin raises a rally cry that there truly is danger afoot with an ultra-“religious” (most would say Christian, but I find it to be true across all the ultra-orthodox of beliefs) base. Griffin switches from “a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat” subtle to a sledgehammer to bring his points around, and they all work into the story, mostly without being preachy (pun intended).

Meanwhile, be sure to watch beyond the credits, and pay attention to the Justin Trudeau life-sized cut-out in the background. Gay or straight, as an audience member, there is a lot to see, a lot to think about, and most importantly, plenty of good laughs.

 

Review: Strapped for Danger

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

Strapped for Danger

Directed and edited by Richard Griffin

Scorpio Films Releasing

73 minutes, 2017

www.facebook.com/strappedfordanger/

So, here’s the thing: I have some film reviews to catch up on, and am even in the middle of one I am enjoying, but I was just given the opportunity to see this newest Richard Griffin film, and my writing world fucking came to a halt. Despite Griffin’s tendency to be extremely prolific by averaging two to three films a year up to this point, for those of us who revel in indies, this is an event to be taken seriously, no matter how ludicrous the premise of the film. As far as the ridiculousness level goes, well, check out the trailer below. Needless to say, I am chomping at the bit, as it were, in a non-S&M innuendo way.

Playwright Duncan Pflaster has come up with a script that sort of crosses a host of genres such as Ocean’s 11 (et al.) and Thelma and Louise (1991) group crime dramady, male stripper and drag queen love stories like Magic Mike (2012) and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995), in addition to the wild frat houses of Animal House (1978), and then tossed the whole thing over the rainbow of any sense of sanity. But does it all work? Let you know when I’m done…

The basic premise is as follows: Some male strippers rob the club in which they dance, kidnap a copper, and hide out in an accomplice’s ex-fraternity, which happens to be during pledge hell week. While this takes place in Boston, it could be any college as in that city you can just about throw a Trojan and hit one.

Anthony Gaudette

We meet non-exclusive strippers and lovers Joey (Anthony Gaudette) who is the ringleader, and Matt (Diego Guevara), and their pan-sexual-yet-semi-closeted always-in-sunglasses friend Chuck (Dan Mauro) at the Bigg Club, where they work. And apparently where they rob, when they take off with the joint’s money, the customer’s clothes and wallets, and a kidnapped police officer named – of course – Rod (C. Gerlad Murdy).

With Rod’s partner Elaine (Anna Rizzo) in hot (in more ways than one) pursuit, you know it’s all circling around to a confrontation of a possible South-of-the-Border-named-stand-off (see the film to get the joke).

Unlike, say, Magic Mike, the love focus of the story is not boy-meets-girl, but boys-screw-boys, and there are a lot of male genitalia on display. Luckily, I don’t have that cultural thing that many straight guys have where they are put off by others’ peni because they are under the belief it will make others think they are gay. Body parts are body parts, and there’s always Sarah Reed’s nudity in the film to keep anyone else hopefully contented. But the male nipples and naughty bits, as it were, far outnumber the female. 

Diego Guevara

Which brings me to a point that I find quite interesting: as I mentioned Thelma and Louise above, this film is sort of the reverse side of it (and many other “chick flicks” – a term I’m not always comfortable with, by the way), where it’s the men who are the dashing anti-heroes, and the women are those who are obnoxious and overbearing. Please note that I find the idea of this quite amusing. This is the flip of a much more common thread of women good/men bad motif. 

There is a nice mixture of insane love, real love, and just rubbing against each other to cause sparks. As he has done in previous films such as The Sins of Dracula (2014), Griffin shows straight sex as boring and missionary, but male-with-male as much more exciting. But what makes this all work, honestly, is the level of humor employed. Pflaster’s writing is sharp as a tack, and I found myself laughing often. There’s no great Dickensian comeuppance, though I’m sure they could figure out a way to make that into a suitable innuendo as they do often in the story. However, there are many revelations and a few surprises in store. And my favorite line may actually be an ad lib, spoken by Rizzo, who demands, “What in the raging shits is this?” in a kind of updated Dorothy Parker query.

Speaking of which, let me discuss the cast a bit. Anthony Gaudette can be seen as the – err – straight man, as it were, as he is the one in charge, and he feeds the comic lines to others more than he takes them on himself. In the ‘60s, his character would probably have a name like Colt Steele. With dashing good looks in a pre-chub Ben Affleck kind of way, his has a good handle on who his character is about. Guevara, on the other hand, looks like a cute puppy with a biting wit and some killer dance moves. He makes Matt loveable, yet sharp, and Guevara has the ability to play to both sides well. The chemistry between the two is a large part of what makes this film work so well.

Sarah Reed and Dan Mauro

As for the two main female characters, Rizzo plays a classically hard-boiled, tabacca-chewin’ police officer who feels the unrequited nth degree for her abducted partner. She plays it a bit over the top, which is actually nice to see because she usually plays her parts very subtly and nuanced. As I’ve seen her do some quite serious and heavy roles, it’s nice to see her take a comic, anger-fueled character that if the genders were reversed, might be played by someone like Jack Nicolson or (and this is a stretch) Edgar Kennedy. The lead villain is the hyper-sexualized (i.e., the frat slut) Beverly, handled well by Sarah Reed. With a snort to punctuate the end of each sentence and a Lawng Eyeland-ish accent reminiscent of the Lina Lamont character from 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain and a personality reminiscent of Nancy Spungen, it’s hard to like her (which is the point, of course), yet you can certainly understand what the Chuck character sees in her, as she can be cute beneath the sneer.

Another funny side character is the person running a WonderSpa in one scene, played with gusto by Lee Rush, who only has a few lines and makes the most of it. During that one set piece, Samantha Accampora does a wonderful and silent Sam Peckinpaw-ish slow motion bit. The most sympathetic female character is a lonely quickie mart worker Carol, portrayed by Hannah Heckman-McKenna. I wanted to give her a reassuring hug after her scene.

Anna Rizzo and Johnny Sederquist

But the title of Scene Goniff Supreme by far is Johnny Sederquist’s turn as drag queen Piñata Debris, who makes every scene she is in his own. Even with enough face paint to make Lucille Ball seem bald and the exquisite Lady Bunny possibly blush, Sederquist makes Debris seem both ridiculous and a bit sympatric in a balls-out bitchy way (pun intended). He nails the drag queen persona, I am assuming in part because he actually does drag from time to time. Yeah, I’m a Sederquist fan.

There are the occasional weird moments, like a college student at the frat house calling the library the “lie-berry,” but it’s also part of the film’s charm, actually. But I want to make sure to make a comment on John Mosetich’s cinematography. Some of the shots are stunningly beautiful, such as one of a close-up of Guevara staring at the camera as flower petals fall in slow motion. That was just one of the moments where I verbally said, “wow.”

I haven’t delved much into the story because I don’t want to prejudice the viewer. There is so much that can be discussed that would give away too much of the story, and more importantly the fun. It really is a hysterically funny film going to places that most viewers rarely see. While taking wide swaths with its story direction, it’s actually a very tight film with few locations (as is common with indies). I can’t wait to hear the commentary track once it comes out on DVD. And fans of Griffin films are bound to enjoy a particular cameo that I am sworn to secrecy about. While I’m at it, be sure to watch after the credits.

Compared to most films that deal with the male-on-male milieu, this makes The Rocky Horror Picture Show look like Patton. If it’s not too much of an oxymoron, you might say that this film is a gay comedy that has very broad humor. But you don’t need to be either one to enjoy it, just be glad it’s not in 3D, sit back, and prepare to laugh.