User Reviews

I think the theme is fascinating: How on earth can gay escorts do what they do? And how does it affect them? Apparently many escorts have intimacy and trust issues that stem from the superficial nature of their relationships with their clients.

In this movie, our handsome hero is an escort struggling with such interpersonal and relationship issues. His two roommates are both in love with him, but he pushes them away. Not surprisingly, he finds it difficult to open up and have a "real" (i.e. non-pecuniary) relationship with someone appropriate. X had come to think of sex and emotions as having great value, I suppose. Not something to be given away for free.

I didn't really get this movie. There were problems with the dialogue, character development and plot. Some aspects of the movie just didn't ring true.

Even though he's a highly paid escort, X seemed to be living like a waiter.

We're not really shown why X is such a great escort. This movie needed an elegiac sex scene that made clear why X is good at what he does. Why did he love it so much?

X falling for Gregory didn't seem right to me. I get it that opening up emotionally to an older man could lead to feelings of intimacy (especially since Gregory was acting like a therapist), but why should that lead to desire? Intimacy and desire are two different things. The sex scenes between them were problematic for me.

When Joey offered himself to X both emotionally and physically, it seemed inexplicable to me that X felt nothing. If these scenes were meant to show us X's dysfunction, they worked. X lacks the easy sexuality of most gay men.

The movie hinged around X's emotional life, which was in turmoil. Sure, escorts can be prone to self-image problems and depression. Perhaps it's too difficult to show this on film, but we don't really find out why he has such intimacy problems and why he's such an as*hole. Near the end he sobs "I'm a freak", but I didn't really understand why he was feeling this way.

By the end of the movie, I was annoyed by X.

We were told repeatedly that X was in love with Andrew, and vice versa, but I didn't feel that at all. It didn't seem like real love at all. Maybe lust on Andrew's part. But what was it on X's part? X's emotional turmoil would have been difficult for the most difficult actor to convey on film, especially if the lines weren't right.

Perhaps I've not really understood this movie properly, even though I've seen it twice. Maybe this is actually a profound movie with much to say about the emotional life of gay escorts.

However, it left me with a disengaged, flat and down feeling afterwards. I wasn't moved at all. I can't say I really enjoyed the film. Worth about 5 or 6 out of 10.

This movie was okay, but not all that. It was mildly interesting. If you wanted to see Daryl Stephens in another role besides Noah, or if you're just feeling really gay, then it could be somewhat satisfying. I thought the four actors were good and played their characters well (considering what they had to work with), but the script wasn't very good and the plot was lacking. It tried to have a point but just didn't quite make it.

And boy did everything work out so conveniently for Andrew (Daryl's character) when he took X to see his family and go to his ex-girlfriend's wedding! They weren't sure how they'd go: as roommates, as friends, or as a new item, because Andrew had not officially come out to his family. The parents welcomed them in as a couple, the mother told them to share Andrew's bed in his old room, the mother told Andrew she'd known all along, the father questioned X like a fiancé just to confirm that he had financial security (X told him he was an investor, which he was, but he left out that he initially made the cash from hustling). The girlfriend was happy to see Andrew, and her newly out gay brother was thrilled to see him (this is the brother Andrew had thought was straight and wanted to get to during the time he dated her). That whole sequence was a fantasy-dream-come-true coming out.

The plot movements and the character relationships had a lot of false starts. In many instances the story would move in a direction, but the writer didn't follow through all the way with what he'd started. So I was left feeling disappointed or let down with a lot of the small sub-plots within the movie, and with the general plot.

.....a "Classic" in the making. Hey, to become one, not everything has to be an emotional downer like the exceptional "Brokeback Mountain." The 'light romance' film category has its "Classics," too. And this film, this "Boy Culture" is so good it's almost "fairy tale-ish" (that's meant in a good way).....so different from what films usually give us about ourselves (Q. Allan Brocka: "King of Gay Filmdom").

Yes, it is a love story.....one about looking for love---a real and lasting love---and being afraid to accept it when it's found. And "X" proclaims it so loudly and clearly when he first introduces us to Andrew: "That's who this is all about." (And wouldn't you, the viewer, then think that puts Andrew in an all-powerful position.....well, just wait and see).

But, enough about the story. While many other online reviewers here have already talked about story line.....plot, lets us now do some "actor digging."

First, it's got to be said that this is not one of those movies where one need only watch facial expressions, or body language, and listen to what's being said. Oh, no, in this one, it's an absolute must to "watch the eyes".....you've just got to "watch the eyes." Why? Because Derek Magyar ("X") has great eyes---he can make love to you with those eyes. And did you even catch how many times those eyes had tears in them? Amazing! And while it's Darryl Stephens who has the beautiful eyes, it's Derek who has the world in his. Watch for them misting up when he knows he's been cutting and unkind to Andrew, or when at a wedding he becomes aware he's about to lose out on the only person he knows he wants / he loves. Oh, and, for the fun of it, be sure to watch closely what he does with those eyes at that point in the film where he enters their digs and sits down right against Andrew on the sofa. Just watch where those eyes "go to" (you'll be able to picture yourself having done exactly what he does). Yes, those eyes are his most devastating physical feature.....I so hope you have a large and clear enough screen to see all this. Again, he's just amazing! Am I in love? Yes, I am.

Second, what else can you say about the two young lead characters in this fairy tale of love, other than that they have "those feelings" for one another......if only they'd let themselves stop to realize it. In that exciting near-the-end scene (which is a repeat of another love tale told in this story), when asked what he is doing, "X" replies: "Waiting for you" (going on to tell us, in voice-over: "The words haunted me"). We, the viewers, then realize, as does he, that's exactly what he has been doing throughout the entire film narrative: "Waiting for Andrew"......to accept Andrew. BUT, dear readers, whether he accomplishes that is for you to find out.

Everything in and about this production moves like the proverbial clockwork; there really are no rough spots. How Director "Q" got these levels of performance out of this "tri-pod" of, essentially, first-timers-to-movies (Magyar, Stephens and Jonathon Trent) is almost unprecedented and beyond me. To be factual, though, it is really more of a "quad-pod," when you stop to realize that the good, senior Mr. Patrick Bauchau is as much a "cast leg" of this production as any of the other three. But.....the important thing for us to note is that "Q" did draw out top notch levels of performance, and he has, indeed, given us that rarity---a gay love story that provides a "lives happily ever after." You needed that, I needed that, (Ennis and Jack needed that), we all needed that. Thank you immeasurably, Mr. Brocka, nephew of The Philippine's Lino Brocka, director of 1988's "Macho Dancer" (we know; it's in the genes, it's in the genes). I'm so looking forward to what you give us in the future. If I knew a way to invest in you, fiscally, I would.

A final thought for a specific audience segment---Isn't it interesting that the only "real simulated" sex in this production (that means 'anal' for those of you wondering) is not between our two young lead lovers. Instead, we Seniors out here get the goods---for once. Go us!!

****

I just saw this movie the other night at Mia. Gay/Lesb Film Fest. This was not our center feature film but it should have been. This movie is a feel good movie about being gay, being in touch with yourself(at some level) and relationships...... The characters are real, alive, and the insight into the experiences and emotions are through the main character "X". The narration by "X" tells you what you need to know and nothing more. It's like reading a book but there's eye candy. There should always be some mystery, some unknown factor and that's the rest of the story. The story is of a relationship that is being suppressed by the two people who need and want it most, but can't or won't confront it. I know you're wondering how can the be relationship if it's suppressed? Ever wanted to date a friend but was afraid to take that next step to tell them how you really feel? Take them to this movie...We all needed some intervention at sometime in our lives.

Eating Out was not my favorite film. I actually only really enjoyed one scene of the movie. So I had uncertain expectations for the director's latest, Boy Culture. Let's just say that I was surprised.

This film, I guess, is controversial to some people. The main character is a sympathetic (enough) but unapologetic male hooker. Some of the characters party and sleep around; and one of these is barely of age. As well, the lead can be downright nasty at times; and there are some sexual moments that are hardly the pretty-boy soft porn we get so often in gay film. To me, however, these seeming deficits establish Boy Culture as one of the more unique and enjoyable gay films of recent years.

It is nice to see a film that takes risks. It is also fitting, since this is a film about taking risks. I can honestly say that though many elements of the plot are not hugely original (a crush that is not acted on, a "coming out" to the family, an older man who leads our hero to greater understanding), the details of these plot threads are daring. At points, Mr. Brocka seems to take these conventions and give them a proverbial b*** slap.

Most wonderfully, though unfortunately I would not make a great hustler, I really could identify with the characters of the film. The nastiness, for example, especially in the "humor" of its characters, seemed so right. Don't most of us use humor as an emotional condom from time to time, a bit of protection from potential pain? Can't most of us identify with the desire to keep people out of our emotional soft center? The film addresses this reality in a way that can be unnerving, but is still humorous and at times extremely wise.

No, this film is not for everyone. No, the characters are not good plain assimilated folk who the straights can love and not judge. The beauty of film to me, however, is when it can find the universal in something that may be far from our experience. Deep down, I really think Boy Culture does just that.

The acting in most gay movies is TERRIBLE, so I was pleased to stumble across Derek Magyar's performance in "Boy Culture". The character he plays is extremely sexy (mostly because he is guarded almost to the point of being completely unavailable). The character "X" is a high priced male hustler with a very select client roster. "X" appears to the outside world to be a hardened, almost heartless, shell of a human being, but the audience is privy to his innermost thoughts. Through this internal dialog, we learn that "X" is "saving himself" for someone who loves him, and has convinced himself that he is secretly in love with his roommate played by the talented young actor Darryl Stephens of LOGO's Noah's ARC. If Derek wasn't a gifted actor, the character "X" would not have been likable (and the audience wouldn't have cared what ultimately happened to him). But, because Derek IS a talented actor, with above average material that borrows from a classic play, the audience is given the opportunity to invest in what happens to "X".

The story unfolds through sexy dialog that is believable enough if the audience is willing enough to suspend belief long enough to buy into a more serious, and sexier, gay version of "Pretty Woman." If you let out a little groan at the comparison, be aware that both of these films owe a debt to George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion". While "Pretty Woman" follows a more predictable, and commercial path with the prerequisite Hollywood happy ending which owes more to "My Fair Lady" than Shaw's original play, "Boy Culture" is actually closer to the spirit of "Pygmalion". Gifted character actor Patrick Bauchau, best known for playing the character of "Sydney" for four years on the television series "The Pretender" plays Gregory Talbot, the rich "sculpture" who is intent on molding "X" into his creation. The story appears to follow predictable paths at times, but is actually more complex than what the jaded viewer may expect. Thankfully, the characters in this story often display traits of nobility that elevate them above what they appear to be if only given a cursory inspection. While this film borrows from "Pygmalion," it doesn't steal; it veers away from the known story arc to find its own path.

With sexy dialog, the conveyance of raw emotion through his eyes, and a male beauty that rivals the sexiest Titan porn stars, Derek Magyar delivers a performance that is more than worth the average ticket price (a rarity these days to be sure). He emotes a type of vulnerability without giving up his pseudo-macho hustler persona. His character establishes early on, that he is unavailable (symbolically placing his jacket on the empty seat next to him, showing that he will allow no-one to get too close). He is very acid tongued to anyone who tries to remove that "barrier" and get too close, but it is obvious he is doing this in order to protect himself from harm. He pushes people away with "humor" based in a need for self preservation. He prays often (humorously enough he owns a religious Madonna icon –the Catholic version, not the pop-star) asking for forgiveness. It is easy for the viewer to grant this forgiveness since "X" is actually a very passionate, albeit damaged, character.

If this movie were a wide release Hollywood drama with heterosexual characters, Derek's performance would be a star making role. Although this film is unlikely to become a blockbuster, hopefully it WILL eventually find the audience it deserves. It has the potential to become a gay cult classic, and audiences that discover this small film may well begin to follow this talented cast to other projects. Without spoiling the ending, I found this film to be both unapologetic and hopeful. Considering the lack of gay cinema that offers either of these outcomes, I am delighted to recommend this film. I go to movies to escape and be entertained, and I found this film to be very entertaining escape on multiple levels.