AmosL
08-27-2006, 07:36 AM
"FIRE ISLAND" and "200 American"
Two Enjoyable Treats
AMOS LASSEN and Cinema Pride
Bravo Television has produced some really interesting shows for our community. "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Boy Meets Boy" are two of those. Another, "Fire Island" (WIN Media, 2004), was the forerunner. It was one of the early reality shows with which we have been saturated in recent times. I ordered this DVD from Netflix and sat down to an entertaining hour and a half.
The documentary follows the activities and inter-relationships of two houses on the gay resort of Fire Island--one house is a group of women, the other a group of men. Fire Island, off the coast of New York, had once been "the" place to be in the summer--either at the island itself, in Cherry Grove or at the Pines. Fabulous parties, high jinx and anonymous sex were the rule and the stories that have emerged from escapades there are almost legendary. During the course of four episodes we are let into the lives of those who were there. We hear discussions of love, divorce, AIDS, coming out to family and infidelity. The characters are not actors--just regular people who let us peer into their lives, although just on the surface. And this was the problem I had . Several important issues were discussed lightly--I would have preferred a deeply discussion, especially with regard to infidelity and coming out. Yet even as light as this documentary is, I was riveted by it. It was not just the beautiful people that caused that; it was more of what they had to say.
Almost as good as the movie itself were the extras. These included "Invasion of the Pines", two extended interviews, and a featurette on gay marriage. One of the characters summed up his summer at Fire Island with this poem:
"Once upon a summertime
on an island by the sea,
A bunch of boys
Would pass the time
Getting tan and going to tea.
They came from every walk of life
By train and boat and ferry,
They kissed each other on the cheek
And called each other Mary.
Wolfe Video's "200 American" is a gem. Artfully directed by Richard LeMay, this is a story about the search for identity. Two very different men, a rich entrepreneur and a poor young rent boy meet and share their lives for a period as they struggle with whom they really are. A young good looker from Australia arrives in America searching for his boyfriend who has returned home. The two lovers split and Ian, the Aussie, cannot find employment because of his visa status but he wants to stay in order to attempt to patch up the relationship with his ex. He finally finds a girl who is willing to marry him for $10,000 so that he can become an American. In order to finance that, he turns to hustling. He meets with a client who is mourning his own relationship and who is smitten with him, so much so that he offers him a job in his high scale advertising agency at the salary of what it would cost to hire him for a full night of lovemaking. Naturally problems and crises ensue.
The cast includes Mark Ford, Justin Durishin, Spencer Aster and Anthony Ames. The excellent photography of New York and the exuberance of the actors makes this movie a pleasure. Each character develops his own distinct personality and the twists and turns of the plot make this movie one to see.
Two Enjoyable Treats
AMOS LASSEN and Cinema Pride
Bravo Television has produced some really interesting shows for our community. "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Boy Meets Boy" are two of those. Another, "Fire Island" (WIN Media, 2004), was the forerunner. It was one of the early reality shows with which we have been saturated in recent times. I ordered this DVD from Netflix and sat down to an entertaining hour and a half.
The documentary follows the activities and inter-relationships of two houses on the gay resort of Fire Island--one house is a group of women, the other a group of men. Fire Island, off the coast of New York, had once been "the" place to be in the summer--either at the island itself, in Cherry Grove or at the Pines. Fabulous parties, high jinx and anonymous sex were the rule and the stories that have emerged from escapades there are almost legendary. During the course of four episodes we are let into the lives of those who were there. We hear discussions of love, divorce, AIDS, coming out to family and infidelity. The characters are not actors--just regular people who let us peer into their lives, although just on the surface. And this was the problem I had . Several important issues were discussed lightly--I would have preferred a deeply discussion, especially with regard to infidelity and coming out. Yet even as light as this documentary is, I was riveted by it. It was not just the beautiful people that caused that; it was more of what they had to say.
Almost as good as the movie itself were the extras. These included "Invasion of the Pines", two extended interviews, and a featurette on gay marriage. One of the characters summed up his summer at Fire Island with this poem:
"Once upon a summertime
on an island by the sea,
A bunch of boys
Would pass the time
Getting tan and going to tea.
They came from every walk of life
By train and boat and ferry,
They kissed each other on the cheek
And called each other Mary.
Wolfe Video's "200 American" is a gem. Artfully directed by Richard LeMay, this is a story about the search for identity. Two very different men, a rich entrepreneur and a poor young rent boy meet and share their lives for a period as they struggle with whom they really are. A young good looker from Australia arrives in America searching for his boyfriend who has returned home. The two lovers split and Ian, the Aussie, cannot find employment because of his visa status but he wants to stay in order to attempt to patch up the relationship with his ex. He finally finds a girl who is willing to marry him for $10,000 so that he can become an American. In order to finance that, he turns to hustling. He meets with a client who is mourning his own relationship and who is smitten with him, so much so that he offers him a job in his high scale advertising agency at the salary of what it would cost to hire him for a full night of lovemaking. Naturally problems and crises ensue.
The cast includes Mark Ford, Justin Durishin, Spencer Aster and Anthony Ames. The excellent photography of New York and the exuberance of the actors makes this movie a pleasure. Each character develops his own distinct personality and the twists and turns of the plot make this movie one to see.