The Fluffer - Nos Bastidores do Desejo

What is The Fluffer? Beats me...part naughty gay comedy, part bizarre love triangle, part down & dirty noir and ultimately, kind of a mess. The filmmakers can't seem to make up their own mind about the fascination and repulsion of the porn industry, and so tease and titillate the viewer while telegraphing despair, destruction, death. It's frustrating not only because there is (at least) a provocative story to tell but also because the acting is pretty consistently on a high level, with strong leads and good supporting players. Overall, definitely a notch above most routine gay-indie-product out there, and I'd definitely take a chance on the next project from these filmmakers.

After Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights", the porn industry has been explored in a few interesting ways. Last year's "Wonderland" showed the downfall of porn legend John Holmes, a study of how desperate he became after realizing he hasn't been seen for anything but his "manhood". I recently saw "The Fluffer" which is detached to its subject, and simply shows how the characters are affected by their work.

"The Fluffer" is a film that unflinchingly shows the work of a small gay porn studio. I questioned its taste in some points, but I did in "Boogie Nights" also. I liked how it realistically shows how sex outweighing love leads to insanity in some form or another, but it is extremely hard to watch in spots.

Wash Westmoreland's story follows a pure young man named Sean who lets himself be degraded and used in his work as a cameraman in the studio. He falls for the studio's biggest star, Johnny Rebel. Rebel is straight, or so they say, but Sean can't help but love him. I found this point interesting, how Rebel (and I'm sure many straight porno stars) reduces himself to the homosexual market for more money. Anyway, Sean lets himself be dehumanized by Rebel and soon the industry sends all their lives in the wrong direction.

As a whole, "The Fluffer" doesn't fully succeed. Its messages are all told in familiar ways, (note the use of American flags to show the faded American dream for example) and the ending isn't fully convincing. However, it is a film that never stops entertaining and is definitely one of the very bravest depictions of the porn industry I've ever seen.

(2 and 1/2 out of 4)

The Fluffer was a great story with some terrific performances. Roxanne Day as "Babylon" and Michael Cunio as "Sean" were both outstanding in their character portrayals of two people obsessed with something they couldn't have. What makes them even more impressive was the fact that the object of their passion was the one major flaw in the film. "Rebel" was as lifeless and uninteresting a character as I've ever seen on film.

So, while Cunio and Day were working so convincingly at wrestling with their pain, Scott Gurney's "Rebel" made their job nearly impossible. It also made it nearly impossible for the audience to care. But somehow, Cunio and Day did make us care, and that is the art of acting at its best. The supporting cast was very good, the script was very good, the direction just so-so.

There were some big...innuendos in this film.

Was that Debbie Harry? Well, the pregnant dancer did make an effort.

Beefacake, too. An effort in an outrageous caricature of Brando's Kowalski.

The rest is blown, blown high in the sky.

No, thanks.

P.S. Why not try the contrary: portray life of porn actors as dreary civil servants, and the way through bureaucracy they come to fall in love with each other, and save the American Cream.

P.S.2 This is unbelievable. One has to write ten lines at least. Since it is so, then, to paraphrase Dali: mediocre directors (and writers), no matter how much you strive to be bad, you will always remain mediocre. Little tough, that Dali? Well, he doesn't chew his premise.

I don't care about a premise if the execution (no pun intended) does not respect it. Why should I?

A bisexual young man (Michael Cunio) gets a job at a porno company to get close to a porn star (Scott Gurney) that he's in love with. Unfortunately, the star is straight and living with his girlfriend.

This film got some savage reviews in the gay press so I expected the worst. But it was pretty good. It starts off as a mild but very funny comedy and suddenly veers off into depressing drama at the end. It's jarring but it does end up working. Still, the ending was pretty bad and very negative. All in all, it's an OK film with a funny view of the gay porn industry.

The acting is good--especially by Gurney. He absolutely gorgeous with an incredible body...and he can act! He's VERY pleasing to the eyes. Cunio is just OK as the kid. Not bad, not good, just OK. Also Deborah Harry (Blondie) turns in a strong performance as a strip club owner.

One big problem: Despite the subject matter, there is no frontal male nudity!!!! Whose idea was that?