Another entry in the all-too-short filmography of Roger Marks, THE CROOKED ARRANGEMENT is more evidence, along with the recently unearthed WHAT EVER MAMA WANTS, that he's one of old-school gay XXX's dependable talents, capable of mixing hot sex with compelling characterization to produce interesting and provocative results.
ARRANGEMENT opens with young brunet Jim attempting to force a morning quickie on his twinky blond pickup Davey. When Davey refuses, Jim counters by reminding him he's only being kept off the street in exchange for sex. Davey relents, and Jim quickly shoots a load and gets dressed for work, leaving Davey alone, awake, and – at last – finally horny. Abandoned and sexually frustrated, Davey ends up finishing himself off, after which a surprisingly lyrical sequence shows him moping around the house.
Settling on the couch to smoke a cigarette and fondle himself, Davey is interrupted by a phone call from one of Jim's "business associates." This being gay porn, the guy on the other end is naked and playing with himself too, though the presence of a mysterious man in an armchair across the room belies the scene's air of flirtatious innocence.
Later that day, a hunky repairman stops by to fiddle with the household telephones, despite Davey's protest that no one called for service. In perhaps a porno first, the phone man is indeed only there to fix the phone – though in this case "fix" means inserting a bug into one of the mouthpieces. As a counter to this scene's surprisingly chaste nature, a sexual sequence does eventually interrupt it, again featuring the man in the armchair watching from the sidelines. One of (shockingly) only two full-on sex scenes in the film, this one is a doozy, featuring a dark haired guy with an unbelievable bod doing everything and more with his slender blond partner.
(SPOILERS)
What little plot there is kicks into high gear when Jim comes home, and ARRANGEMENT abruptly turns into a slasher film as both Jim – a drug kingpin, it turns out – and his accomplice are dispatched in surprisingly brutal fashion. Waiting upstairs, Davey is also in for quite a surprise. The phone repairman is back, though unfortunately with a lot more on his mind than readjusting that mouthpiece
(/SPOILERS/)
Lighter on both story and characterization than Marks' earlier WHAT EVER MAMA WANTS, CROOKED ARRANGEMENT nevertheless delivers the same air of beguiling melancholy, along with a couple carefully crafted and very arousing sexual encounters. The opening number, featuring the not-entirely- consensual pairing in bed, is certainly hot – thanks largely to the photogenic blond Davey – though the scene does lose some points due to the (dramatically necessary) disinterest of its most attractive participant. Still, the film makes up for it with abundant casual nudity, affording the audience plenty of time to luxuriate in Davey's slender bod as he lounges around the house and idly plays with himself – a nice observational touch that rings true to life. Nevertheless, it's the second scene that really distinguishes the film, featuring dynamite sex with an (unfortunately unidentified) Adonis who really sets the screen on fire. While some will doubtless object that a porn film should include more than two sex scenes, I say why bother when the stuff on display is as well shot and arousing as this?
(SPOILERS AGAIN)
Unfortunately, the end is where things fall apart. While I appreciated the film's many instances of turning clichés on their head – particularly the sexless telephone repair visit – the film's arbitrarily cruel (implied) demise of its protagonist strikes a sour note. When an earlier character makes reference to Jim's rapid succession of live-in boyfriends, the audience is, in light of the title, primed to expect Davey to be set up as the next in a series of fall guys, a situation he will presumably escape by uncovering what his host is up to. That he never manages to do so - or indeed even gets to try - is one of the film's great frustrations, as Davey is rendered a completely passive bystander in his own story. As a result, his comeuppance feels arbitrary and pointless, less an ironic twist on expectation than a sadistic punishment leveled against an innocent kid merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Despite its distastefully downbeat conclusion, however, there's more than enough style and hot sex to recommend the rest of CROOKED ARRANGEMENT. It's just a shame things have to end on such an unfortunately misstep, as up until its final few minutes, this is a surprisingly effective and white-hot little barn-burner.
ARRANGEMENT opens with young brunet Jim attempting to force a morning quickie on his twinky blond pickup Davey. When Davey refuses, Jim counters by reminding him he's only being kept off the street in exchange for sex. Davey relents, and Jim quickly shoots a load and gets dressed for work, leaving Davey alone, awake, and – at last – finally horny. Abandoned and sexually frustrated, Davey ends up finishing himself off, after which a surprisingly lyrical sequence shows him moping around the house.
Settling on the couch to smoke a cigarette and fondle himself, Davey is interrupted by a phone call from one of Jim's "business associates." This being gay porn, the guy on the other end is naked and playing with himself too, though the presence of a mysterious man in an armchair across the room belies the scene's air of flirtatious innocence.
Later that day, a hunky repairman stops by to fiddle with the household telephones, despite Davey's protest that no one called for service. In perhaps a porno first, the phone man is indeed only there to fix the phone – though in this case "fix" means inserting a bug into one of the mouthpieces. As a counter to this scene's surprisingly chaste nature, a sexual sequence does eventually interrupt it, again featuring the man in the armchair watching from the sidelines. One of (shockingly) only two full-on sex scenes in the film, this one is a doozy, featuring a dark haired guy with an unbelievable bod doing everything and more with his slender blond partner.
(SPOILERS)
What little plot there is kicks into high gear when Jim comes home, and ARRANGEMENT abruptly turns into a slasher film as both Jim – a drug kingpin, it turns out – and his accomplice are dispatched in surprisingly brutal fashion. Waiting upstairs, Davey is also in for quite a surprise. The phone repairman is back, though unfortunately with a lot more on his mind than readjusting that mouthpiece
(/SPOILERS/)
Lighter on both story and characterization than Marks' earlier WHAT EVER MAMA WANTS, CROOKED ARRANGEMENT nevertheless delivers the same air of beguiling melancholy, along with a couple carefully crafted and very arousing sexual encounters. The opening number, featuring the not-entirely- consensual pairing in bed, is certainly hot – thanks largely to the photogenic blond Davey – though the scene does lose some points due to the (dramatically necessary) disinterest of its most attractive participant. Still, the film makes up for it with abundant casual nudity, affording the audience plenty of time to luxuriate in Davey's slender bod as he lounges around the house and idly plays with himself – a nice observational touch that rings true to life. Nevertheless, it's the second scene that really distinguishes the film, featuring dynamite sex with an (unfortunately unidentified) Adonis who really sets the screen on fire. While some will doubtless object that a porn film should include more than two sex scenes, I say why bother when the stuff on display is as well shot and arousing as this?
(SPOILERS AGAIN)
Unfortunately, the end is where things fall apart. While I appreciated the film's many instances of turning clichés on their head – particularly the sexless telephone repair visit – the film's arbitrarily cruel (implied) demise of its protagonist strikes a sour note. When an earlier character makes reference to Jim's rapid succession of live-in boyfriends, the audience is, in light of the title, primed to expect Davey to be set up as the next in a series of fall guys, a situation he will presumably escape by uncovering what his host is up to. That he never manages to do so - or indeed even gets to try - is one of the film's great frustrations, as Davey is rendered a completely passive bystander in his own story. As a result, his comeuppance feels arbitrary and pointless, less an ironic twist on expectation than a sadistic punishment leveled against an innocent kid merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Despite its distastefully downbeat conclusion, however, there's more than enough style and hot sex to recommend the rest of CROOKED ARRANGEMENT. It's just a shame things have to end on such an unfortunately misstep, as up until its final few minutes, this is a surprisingly effective and white-hot little barn-burner.