Q. ALLAN BROCKA

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  B.5

USA, 2006.  Boy Culture LLC, NeoFight Film, Pierce Films, SkinnyLee Productions.  Screenplay by Philip Pierce, Q. Allan Brocka, based on the novel by Matthew Rettenmund.  Cinematography by Joshua Hess.  Produced by Stephen Israel, Philip Pierce, Victor Simpkins.  Music by Ryan Beveridge.  Production Design by Cecil Gentry.  Costume Design by Ronald Leamon.  Film Editing by Phillip J. Bartell.  Podcasts:  Bad Gay Movies.  

Yet another low-budget gay movie that you can tell was shot at somebody else’s house.

X (Derek Magyar) is a high-class hustler with a limited boutique clientele who makes tons of cash at his job and really likes it. Never one to have sex for love or affection, his feelings become complicated when his attraction to one of his two roommates has him considering a career change, while a reclusive, elderly new client (Patrick Bauchau) regales him with tales of his youthful affections that see him making a connection with one of his johns.

Not that Magyar’s face ever registers any changes between the soullessness of his job and the affections he has for the object of his affection; determined to remain made of stone throughout, his lack of investment results in our feeling the same.

Even at ninety minutes this one’s bad dialogue, acting and editing make it feel much longer, though goodness knows the cast does its best to rise above the humdrum quality of the material, which thinks it’s a lot funnier than it actually is.

For a film that attempts to indulge in the level of hedonism that its plot describes it is remarkably tame and straightforward, and none of its characters ever become human enough to inspire our sympathy.