GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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Whirlwind Wolfe
Video, Director:
Screenplay:
Starring: Unrated, 99 minutes |
Picking
Up The
Good ensemble films that examine the camaraderie between friends will always find, in me, a willing audience. Barry Levinson's Diner is one of my benchmarks of the genre. Queer examples include Longtime Companion, Love! Valour! Compassion! and Relax... It's Just Sex. Now, this one isn't quite in that league; the central melodrama often verges on camp. Nevertheless, Whirlwind, a new film from director Richard LeMay (200 American) and writer Jason Brown, nicely records the synergy between a group of gay friends whose bonds get shaken to the core by a seductive sociopath who suddenly becomes their new best friend. |
 David
Rudd is Drake, an impossibly- handsome and charismatic stud who takes great
pleasure in destroying relationships. He meets our circle of friends at
a party and then watches them, like a hunter stalking game, before moving
in for the kill. Drake seems like a great guy but there is something devious
about him. The mask cracks in many of his close-ups; the flicker of an eye,
a raised eyebrow or some lines around the mouth - evoking, for me, the way
that Oscar Wilde described the first subtle changes in Dorian Gray's portrait.
Red flags are raised, for the audience at least, when he asks the guys just
a few too many personal questions. |
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 Who
is this guy and what is his problem? Well, that's why I said that
the film sometimes borders on camp. We hear that Drakes's lover left him
for his best friend, and that these aren't the first guys who he has fucked
with. A man at a bar confronts him about what he is doing and asks how many
men does he has to ruin to "get back at Kyle." This explains his motivation
somewhat, but Drake still remains a one dimensional prick with serious issues.
To the film's credit, and I mean this sincerely, Drake doesn't turn
into a psycho killer ala Single White Female in the second half and
this is a good thing. A really good thing. Instead, he becomes a
kind of camp villain as the film progresses, the kind you love to hate in
soap operas. He is hot but he's also a little creepy. And it's fascinating,
in a guilty pleasure sort of way, to watch how he methodically finds their
weaknesses and plays Iago to five different Othellos. |
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Ironically, through all the mayhem, the guys have been trying to plan a big anniversary bash for Bobby's uncle, and his partner, who are celebrating 25 years together. Their respect for the elder couple is sweet and it's too bad that they didn't start wondering about Drake right away when he remarked, callously, "That's a lot of years of cheating on each other." |
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 Aside
from a couple scenes where Drake was just a little too much like
Joan Collins on Dynasty, Whirlwind
is a very well crafted and enjoyable film with convincing characters facing
real issues and challenges. There is almost nothing contrived about any
of their actions. It's easy to be swept up by their stories. Each of the
men experience some extent of growth and new understanding after picking
up the pieces from Hurricane Drake. The acting is uniformly excellent and
I really believed that they were friends. I liked that the cast was racially
mixed as well; Bobby is Latino and Mick is a man of color. There is also
ample sex and eye candy for the voyeur in all of us. Exceptional cinematography
and cutting complete the package. The ending is a little warm and fuzzy
for my taste but these guys deserved a happy ending. |
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 CLICK THE ABOVE BANNER TO PURCHASE THIS WOLFE VIDEO TITLE |
The
dramatis personae: Bobby and Sean (Alexis Suarez and Bryan West) have
been together for three years and they're about to buy a house. Bobby
is becoming settled and Sean is scared of the level of commitment that
a house implies. Sean is all too happy to be going out to clubs and partying
again now that Drake keeps calling the gang and not taking "no"
for an answer. Desmond (Brad Anderson) is the one-night stand guy of the
group and he wastes no time in bedding the sexy homewrecker, only to get
a taste of his own medicine. JD (Desmond Dutcher) is a nerdy drunk (his
nickname stands for Jack Daniels) with self esteem issues. He falls for
Drake's efforts to pump him up with late-night informercial self-help
cliches - and makes a fool of himself. And Mick (Mark
Ford) has been, for a long time, mourning the death of his lover and refuses
to let go. His friends have learned not to badger him about dating again,
but Drake has other ideas. The wreckage he leaves is like the wake of
a hurricane. 
I've
concentrated so far on Drake but he's not the film's star. In all honesty,
many of the best scenes are saved for the longtime friends who provide
the heart of the film. From the first scene, where the five of them sit
down to one of chef Mick's gourmet dinners, one gets a sense that these
guys have known each other for a long time and truly get off on each other's
company. It is the combined strength of this ensemble that makes you care
about what happens after Drake chips away at each of them. Most devastating
is the damage to Bobby and Sean's relationship.
Fans
of old Hays Code-era Hollywood movies, when the bad guy always had to
get his comeuppance, will relish the melodrama of Drake's last scene.
Even if you think it's a soap opera, Whirlwind
hooks you and doesn't let go. It works on many levels. It's an effective
drama and a great guilty pleasure. This film is a lot of fun and sometimes
that's all you need. Recommended.