Luster

Luster is more a movie about a guy who happens to be gay ,not a GAY movie. Jackson is an amazing character for this film because like this film although he is strange he is believable and thats how the whole film is dramatic enough to be a movie but not so much that you find no common ground. The relationship between characters is amazing and As a gay guy i can honestly admit i have "fallen in love" a million times before learning the person's last name like how Jackson is crazy over billy who he knows nothing about. That impulse for a connection is totally believable and the film makes you look at the characters and go i have a friend like that or more importantly "i am like that"

The film had the edginess and campiness of a Greg Araki film, with some moments cinematography and character development reminiscent of Gus Van Sant. The characters were sexy, quirky and fun to watch. The story was engaging. The production quality (lighting and sound) was lacking a bit, but not too bad. Hopefully we will see more of Justin Herwick, who played the lead role. He reminded me of River Phoneix. Supporting actor Jonah Blechman (who played Billy) was adorable and his character added some punch to the film. Those who like a mix of raunchiness and reality with the esoteric and attempts to "be deep" will enjoy the film. I definitely did.

LUSTER is a winsome, engaging look back at a time in the early 1990s when queer nonchalance began to overtake gay pride for the first time.

Something like an early Gregg Araki film (although less angry and more light-hearted), LUSTER is a funny, sexy, and a generally fast-moving look at the early Nineties from the not-too-distant perspective of the early Twenty-first century. It's hardly a classic, and hardly the kind of film that will stay with a person as the years go by, but the film's entirely adorable actors and characters help make this sweet and sexy film very much a worthwhile experience. At least it seems that way for a gay audience looking for something beyond the usual post-Queer milquetoast like IN AND OUT or WILL AND GRACE..

Luster is a coming of age story about a group of 20 & 30 somethings in L.A. in the midst of an odyssey into their teens. And they are soooo cool & punk rock. They've got that really rebellious "I'm REAL punk rock & I'm not a poseur & you ARE & the rest of the world sux" thing from high school still going pretty strong.

Everyone in LA is infatuated with the lead character Jackson, even the "guy next door" who stalks him at work. I'm not sure why, since I was eventually hoping someone would smack Jackson upside the head & shut him up.

Amongst the film's problems are too many story lines & subplots fighting for attention, none of which seem to blend or create a sense of relevance to Jackson's life or a cohesive central theme. The worst of these is an S & M subplot that seems terribly contrived, misplaced, & rings totally false with the rest of the film's "realism."

There are a couple of funny moments, like the photographer & the interaction with her "subject."

And of course there are a couple of full frontals from a really good looking guy, which help this situation along slightly.

But worse of all, I never felt for a minute why Jackson was lusting for these guys & guys were lusting for him. There's no sexual chemistry in this movie between anyone. NADA. Just a bunch of obnoxious & pretentious brats pretending to deal with "real life" & "art." Yuck.

Plenty of better queer films out there.

See it if you must.

This is was on a list of gay films I wanted to see and wouldn't you know it. I came upon it on Saturday night - just like that. I thought it was a fun movie. I think a lot of people won't like it because it obviously didn't have a high budget and didn't have all the Hollywood pizazz that you get from a Hollywood blockbuster.

I thought the title character finally learned his lesson at the end, because of the end. That's all I will say. The nudity of course didn't bother me. But I thought the final nude scene was fantastic. This guy didn't look like he had a nice body with his cloths on (you know skater boy body), but when he took off his clothes and did the 360 view of his body. My goodness. Got me hot!!!!!!!! Trust me, you will love this movie. Rent it. Buy it. Or wait - it will be on cable again this week.