GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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A Four Letter Word TLA Releasing Director: Screenplay: Starring: Unrated, 87 minutes |
Maybe
Monogamy
The setting is a gay bar. A flamboyant party boy named Luke has just thrown himself at a hunk named Stephen and is insulted when his potential trick calls him "a gay cliche." If you've just watched the film's first ten minutes, you would probably say the same thing. |
 A
Four Letter Word
is a charming confection by director Casper Andreas that is also a sequel
(of sorts) to his previous film, Slutty
Summer. Jesse Archer reprises his role as Luke, an amorous barfly.
He works in a Chelsea sex shop with Zeke, an activist who wants to save
the world and agrees that Luke is a gay cliche. Luke begins to think
so too when an elderly Quentin Crisp-type tells him that he's just like
him when he was young. Then the requisite romantic comedy "meet-cute"
scene gets an extreme makeover when Luke meets up again with Stephen (Dante's
Cove's Charlie David) in a back room and this time they click. |
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 The
supporting cast includes Luke's friend, Peter. He has invited Derek, his
boyfriend of 10 months, to move in with him and they are having serious
compatibility issues. Peter likes to have things his way and Luke
pulls Derek on the side and said "Don't let him pussy whip you, I know
him." Peter's restaurant boss, Marilyn, is struggling with alcoholism
while planning her wedding to Mr. Right. Her sobriety is imperiled when
her AA sponsor, Trisha, comes on to her and she winds up questioning her
sexuality. Meanwhile, Luke and Stephen seem smitten with each other, causing
Luke to actually contemplate monogamy. But life is never easy; Zeke reveals
that Luke's beloved earns a living as a highly paid hustler. Can a whore
and a slut find love? |
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 What
I initially thought was just going to be an R rated Will & Grace
episode turned into a nicely acted film of unexpected depth. The witty screenplay
was co-written by the director and by Jesse Archer and includes such gems
as Luke's assertion that "date is a four letter word for interview."
There is a beautiful moment when Stephen tells Luke that he doesn't need
"glitter to sparkle" and Luke replies, "And you don't need to be straight
acting to be a man." The tension between polar opposites Luke and Zeke,
as they get on each other's nerves working in the sex shop, provide first-rate
comedy. Despite being deliberately led to think otherwise, Luke turns out
to be wiser and more serious than you first thought when he says the right
thing to stop Marilyn from falling off the wagon. Sparks fly between the
two leads, and it goes without saying that all the actors are very easy
on the eyes. |
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| Director Andreas has a nice visual sense. His first film, Slutty Summer, transcended its low budget with a strong script and lots of nicely framed images. He's working with a bigger budget this time and the movie looks great. A good example of the film's frequent visual wit is a tense argument between Luke and Zeke that becomes funny when the camera frames them behind a shelf of dildos. His transitional interludes (unlike those in most films that just serve to pad out the length) establish character and propel the narrative while, at the same time, not forcing a bunch of bad songs down our throats. | |
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More
on Casper Andreas and Jesse Archer: More
on Casper Andreas: Jesse Archer
also appears briefly in: More
on Charlie David:
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He
gets a gold star too for the steamy sex scene between Luke and Stephen
wherein a condom is featured prominently as a hand frantically grabs for
it on the nightstand. Any film that promotes safe sex deserve a nod. Kudos
too for making Peter and Derek a racially mixed couple. Marilyn's AA meetings
are presented with humor but without mockery and they set the mood for
the hilarious scene where Luke arouses all the members of a Sexual Compulsives
meeting when he describes his participation in an orgy at Fire Island.
I
have no idea who wrote what in the script, but someone has a great sense
of humor. My biggest belly laugh was when everyone at that Sexual Compulsives
meeting began to chant "A disease is a cunning and baffling beast always
seeking out new ways to trick us into submission." Luke repeats this
ludicrous mantra to Zeke and then, flippantly, adds "And then they started
hitting themselves with ropes." Zeke's activism, by the way, presents
a nice foil to Luke being fabulous. Yet each has an effect on the other
and it's fascinating to watch a friendship, that actually rings true,
emerge. 
The
ensemble cast is terrific. Virginia Bryan and J.R. Rolley played Marilyn
and Derek in