User reviews

After a very disheartening beginning this story moves quickly (but not quickly enough) towards what it is really all about: trust between men. Ben Taylor chose a stalking killer as a plot device, unfortunately the identity of the killer is not much of a mystery. Nevertheless the main focus really is the two male leads and their coming together is explored in ways you don't often get to see in gay-themed films. High praise to Taylor for making an effort to present us with something a little bit different. The two male leads (Ritter and Corbin) are very good together and their performances are far better than I ever expected them to be. Sometimes the script-director is to be thanked, but very often it seems to be the determination and commitment of the actors who pull the film up by its boot straps. Dane Ritter is rivetting. He seems to hit every mark that the story sets for him. All in all, a film that is well worth seeing ... if you can get past the first several minutes.

I knew nothing about this movie other than the blurb I read at Netflix. I was intrigued by the promise of a relationship between a cop and a hustler. I must say that, overall, the film delivered.

In brief, a police department thinks that there might be some drug sales going on at a boy bar. While this premise is not enough to get excited about, when Philip (Ed Corbin) is sent as an undercover cop to discover what's really going on, he has to fight his attraction to one of the bar's boys, Oliver (Dane Ritter).

The suggestion of an intense sexual relationship between the two, that may or may not ever be consummated, keeps the excitement level high. That, with a murder, a heavy-duty alibi, a semi-tragic subplot and a left-hook-to-the-jaw surprise towards the end were enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

There were a couple of cliché moments, a couple of unbelievable moments (when Oliver opens his front door without looking through the peephole) and for some reason the writer/director felt compelled to throw in a few humorous bits/lines, especially in the beginning, which really didn't work. But overall, I thought this movie was really worth watching. The two leads looked more like father and son, and it did take a while to get used to their relationship, but the beauty of it is that it seemed that it could have been real.

I applaud the producers for taking a chance on this film without big Hollywood stars and for really piecing together a story about a sad, tragic world which seems like it can only destroy all who inhabit it.

OK, so everyone has said everything about this film that needs to be said. if ANYONE is curious about the songs written exclusively by Wes Yoakam and Pop Cycle, but could never find those songs, anywhere... here is your answer. Wes had 2 bands; one was called "Catfish Jenkins" which towards the end of their run, had their name changed to "Pop Cycle" This was name of the band that recorded the songs for this movie. The other band is called "Big Atomic" and are still around. strangely enough, the songs from the movie have resurfaced on Big Atomic's "Wrestling the Dragon and the Rat" You can find it on itunes, amazon, etc.

I thought In the Flesh had great promise.

The story (surprisingly?) is excellent, and there is even some character development happening. But altogether it was very slow going. Not just in the plot though ... even the actors movements seemed to be painfully plodding.

I would have liked to see more of the heroin dependent sister and the "slow" boy playing his Nintendo. These seemed to add a really human touch to the rent boy.

More action (or even sex) scenes would have given it a nice boost along.

I gave it a 6 out of 10 mainly for the story.

But this film went on for almost 2 hours. The mystery angle and the love story are never integrated very well, as the former stops dead cold while the latter progresses.

Ed Corbin - jaw tightly clenched throughout - plays a 30-something cop investigating drug dealing at a gay hustler bar, and falls for a young male college student in his early 20's who hustles on the side. The young guy has major emotional problems involving a car accident which killed his former partner, and turns tricks as a form of self-punishment and longing for an emotional void. Good basis for a drama, but awkward execution.

The bizarre thing about this film is that it's a love story between the two male leads, but the only sex scene is one between the college student and a girl he works with at a record store (guess he was experimenting on the side). The two guys never even kiss once! Now that's something you'd never see (or not see) in a heterosexual love story. Bizarre.

The scale is small and the results not especially impressive but this earnest, thoughtfully-made movie has a sure grip on its story and characters and never loses its focus. I would have preferred the sex between the hustler and the cop to be a bit more explicit, and it would have helped had Ed Corbin (the cop) not relied so much on that deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression, but the overall effect is respectable enough to make me look forward to the writer/director's next project.

As bad as the acting is in this film, the full impact of its awfulness doesn't really hit you until you rerun the plot in your mind. (WARNING: the "plot" will be given away.) A detective investigating drug sales at a hustler bar falls in love with a hustler who is turning tricks mainly so that he can buy heroin for his drug-addicted sister. (I think we are supposed to admire him for that.)

As much as I enjoy gay-themed movies, this film is a testament that producers shouldn't be too loose with their funds.

This movie certainly caught and held my attention. I didn't really foresee the way the movie would end. It was a good movie with really great acting.

Dane Ritter was superb as the "full-of-it" hustler with very low self-esteem. He portrayed an incredibly complex character and gave an honest performance. He became the character "Oliver" - confused, bright, beautiful, articulate, friendless.

Ed Corbin delivered another superb performance as the closeted police officer. What impressed me most about his performance was the way he went from being closeted to being completely open about his sexuality. He, too, plays a complex character very believably, and gave a nuanced performance. He and Dane played opposite each other very well indeed.

The story is a well-known story: a hustler's street life comes to an abrupt end when a tragedy strikes, making him unable to pursue his business. In comes the cop who takes a liking to the hustler. Then comes love. This particular movie shows more than the standard story: it shows that all people are complex with secrets they must hide. However, when the secrets come out - acceptance and forgiveness follows.

Very highly recommended.

This film is by no means perfect: the script is a little loose, some of the performances are uninspired, and some of the characters are a little flat. The cinemetography is barely more than functional. But you don't see a movie like this expecting quick cuts and wacky camera angles, special affects and/or lovingly photographed scenery and people. I'm not a big fan of gritty realism, but this movie was extremely intelligent and sensetive in its handling of potentially ugly people and a potentially vulgar, trashy scenario/storyline: that alone sets it apart from about ninety percent of the "gay" cinema that I have seen. Taylor handles his subjects well, and while this is no groundbreaking work of film, it is consistently and appropriately crafted throughout. Points to the women of the film for turning in excellent performances all around, and to Ed Corbin for the way he deftly handled the moment he asks Oliver if he can just hold him: it was totally believable, and you could see everything this guy had to go through to make such a request. Also, a fantastic, beautiful, haunting soundtrack that I really wish I could find on CD. All in all, a worthy effort, worth checking out.

Wow this film was shot in Atlanta... USA????? I was expecting subtitles it looked so foreign. Except there was no flesh "in the Flesh" and foreign films always have lots of flesh. Clearly these were straight film makers trying to make a "Gay" themed movie. Atlanta is a beautiful city and they show none of it. My guess is they wanted that "anywhere" look so they could release it in Europe. They can have it. But I doubt Europe would want this film either. Take out that 1 straight sex scene and you could show in on American TV, but it did look like a porno with no sex. It reminded me of "Matlock" gone wild.. hehehe since it was in Atlanta. Of course Matlock showed a lot more of Atlanta. And had a better script. And the audio was quite distracting. He dropped a pen on a pad of paper and it sounded like a bomb blast... not exactly delicate Foley work. The only good thing about this movie are the cute actors...well models that read lines... not much acting here. Don't waste a Netflix pick on this movie.

I watched this movie at a local film fest. The actors were so wooden that I expected to see birds building nests on them. The script was so disjointed it did literally fall apart on the screen, this might have something to do with the fact that the writer/director Ben Taylor does a lot of foreign films and has probably forgotten the english language. The real problem with this film is the fact that it tries to be several films at once. The plot (or plots actually) are, A police story, Teen angst, Dealing with a cruel world, A love story, Hooker with a heart of gold, and Struggling with sexuality. There are several throw away characters, which they should have done just that with, use to prove just how nice a guy the male prostitute was, at one point I fully expected him to start healing leppers. It tries to make the case for it self that the film made the "brave" choice of dealing with a homosexual relationship, this was not brave, it was a gimmic to try to breathe life into the recycling of several tired plot lines. All in all I would have to say that if you are an aspiring filmmaker, go see this movie, and use it as a prime example of what not to do.

I read all the negative reviews, and really, they should go make their own movie before trashing this one. I loved it... it was very touching and sensual.. and NOTHING trite about the plot.... in fact, I found it very original. This movie explores the human condition.. it shows us that all of us, from the destitute hustler to the respected cop, are facing weakness of our own. To love someone is to understand him/her, and to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt. IF you want a perfect movie, dont' watch this.. but if you want a touching piece of film treasure, you must buy this title on DVD.

Now and then you come across a movie that is so lame even the idea of describing it makes you feel slightly tired. And IN THE FLESH is so lame in so many different directions that trying to give it a legitimate review is major uphill work.

The story has been done a thousand times, but here it is given a gay-appeal twist. Undercover cop and closeted homosexual Philip (Ed Corbin) is working a possible drug ring operating out of a gay bar. When he meets male prostitute Oliver (Dane Ritter) it's love at first sight--but then one of Oliver's regular tricks is murdered and suspicion falls on Oliver. Philip gives him an alibi and then sets out to find the real killer.

Will Philip find the killer? Will Oliver give up hooking and finish his college degree? Will the two live happily ever after? Do you actually give a damn one way or another? Frankly, the thing is so badly done it's impossible to care.

Upon seeing this film my heart went out to the cast. When they saw the fruit of their labor it must have come as a shock to find they had no talent. But I have no sympathy for writer-director Ben Taylor. His script is amazingly awful and his idea of direction is to hold the camera on his actors just long enough for them to look stupid.

The only people who might find this movie appealing are those who have never before seen a gay-themed film of any kind. If you're one of them, trust me: there are many, many gay-themed films that are much, much better than this one. So give it a miss. IN THE FLESH is wasted time you won't ever get back.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

In the Flesh is a well-written story which unfolds slowly and deliberately towards a good ending. The characters are well-developed, especially the lead characters. The acting is quite good. The story is quite believable. I enjoyed this movie very much.

Unfortunately I just saw this film at the Intl SF L&G Film Fest. The writing was trite and contrived, and played on every stereotype imaginable. The "straight-acting" character was shown several times fixing his car just to make sure that we knew he was macho. His dialogue was so stilted, supposedly like a really straight cop might be, that it was embarrassing. The plot was as thin as Japanese paper. All the minor characters were underdeveloped.

And, worst of all, the technique of fixing the camera on a key plot element several times during the movie, and for protracted periods of time, insulted the intelligence of even the dumbest in the Castro Theater.

The packed theater burst into laughter at several scenes that were NOT intended to be funny. This is a film that should never have been funded.

The acting was good, especially the police chief, the sister and the girlfriend. I enjoyed the fact that the gay theme wasn't over powering. It was a love story that happened to be about two men. I would have liked to see more of the two other police, they seem to disappear for long periods of time. I loved the bar scenes with all the boys, they made you want to know more about them and their lives. All in all a good film worth seeing.

I liked it anyway. There are flaws, and the more you analyze the more flaws you'll find. So don't analyze; just enjoy. This isn't a great movie -- it's mediocre as a thriller, poor as a phychological profile/look at hustler life film, and only so-so as a romance.

This is a film that I enjoyed initally inspite of flaws like the ghost, the kiss that never happened, and inconsistent characterization in unexpected places. You may be disappointed when it's over. But when you reflect on it... and you will, okay it won't be fantastic, but there are still parts of the film that will stick with you even if the story itself doesn't.

After having watched a LOT of "gay cinema" lately and finding most of it downright dreadful this film was a welcome breath of fresh air. The plot is engaging, the acting was good, and I found myself glued to the screen even though it was very late when I put the DVD in the player and I was expecting to fall asleep on the couch. It is definitely a worthwhile movie to watch, and I've been making my friends aware of it.

I very much enjoyed the music in the film (something I normally don't pay attention to) and think it's a shame you can't buy a soundtrack. Guess I'll have to rip an mp3 of "Had To Let You Go" by Pop Cycle until/if I can acquire a copy of that tune legally (yep it's THAT good).

If you're debating giving the movie a chance, you should. Is it the best movie ever? No. Is it better than most of other stuff being passed off as gay themed movies lately? DEFINITELY! It ranks right up there with Tales of the City (10) and Broken Hearts Club (9).

A good, well-formed plot. The character's behavior and reactions to their situations were quite believable. The movie has a somewhat vanilla flavor, which I found refreshing - it represented real-life more than most of the extreme stuff currently represented on film (e.g., violence).

the acting was surprisingly very good. I found the characters believable. For a low budget movie, this one is filmed well and has realistic acting. The plot was enticing, easy to get fascinated by. It made me want to see the actors in other roles also. The story was really touching and it definitely portrays a side of life that most people in the mainstream don't see. I could relate to it well. I thin most of us have had times in our lives when we shut love out and have been a bit jaded about relationships. B/c I go to gay bars frequently and know "boys" who dance and strip and so on, it's nice to see it on film, even if it's a seedier portrayal than I'm used to, it was a good plot line.

> I like a mystery where a clue turns out to mean something different than it > seems at first. It happens twice here. This film delivers a good > intellectual puzzle.

This is an older flick, but still one of my favorites.

It tells the tale of two mutually screwed up people, who's lives collide.

One, a emotionally shut down cop, who buries himself in his work and pushes away anyone who would force him to confront the fact that he's living a lie.

The other, is a hustler who was involved in the death of his best friend. Despite the emotional damage sustained by that, he finds himself helping his sister the only way he knows how.

Both these two have baggage enough to overload a 747, and it's interesting to see how they work through it, all the while trying to figure out who's out to kill them, and why.

Just keep in mind while watching this movie, it's a moderate low budget movie, so don't expect high end special effects. Some of the acting leaves a bit to be desired, but all in all, it's worth the money to rent it, or add it to your personal collection.

The acting was a bit awkward and corny at the time, but I was rather surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was fast-paced. The story kept me intrigued. The emotional development between the protagonist is was a bit awkward but adorable in it's own way. It isn't a heavy movie. Something worth watching on a lazy day with a pretty straight forward story and a happy ending. God knows we have plenty of gay-themed movies that are awful, this isn't one of those in my opinion. It is an older indie film so I think one really have to see it for what it is.