Boy Culture

The DVD release of Boy Culture has got me thinking about Q. Allen Brocka's work. I like it. While most of it is almost-direct-to-video gay niche filmmaking, there's a charm and guerrilla aspect that comes perhaps from (what feels like) 5-day shoots. Boy Culture tries to take that up a notch. It's a more serious film, with stronger production values and a greater focus.

X (Derek Magyar) is a hustler who's only able to have meaningless sex when he's compensated. Sex without money must be accompanied by love, and he struggles to commit. He's clearly in love (romantically) with his roommate Andrew (Darryl Stephens) and (paternally) with his other roommate Joey (Jonathan Trent).

Brocka pulls out a host of cliche's: X can only open up to one of his tricks, an older queen who only wants to talk--at least until X wants him for more than his money. X narrates the film with the patter of a film noir detective. X struggles with a gay culture in which sex is meaningless.

But along the journey, the film develops a point of view that makes the conclusion, not only satisfying, but inevitable and real. You feel for the characters. Their journeys, however cliche they might be, seem real, because they are so familiar.

Does Boy Culture work for a non-gay audience? I'm not so sure it will. It still screams niche, not universality but there are keen insights and the pathos might speak to a broader audience. For the gay crowd, definitely worth a look!