Punks

It's good to see a film depicting non-white gay men in believable situations and of various types from drag queen to masculine, and with them not being objects of derision for the other characters or the audience. Very funny and well-made.

I liked Punks -- from its edgy, in-your face "realness" to its touching romantic foibles. The acting and situations of the 4 main characters are believable, a modern-day "Cinderfella", in gay Black-face, a story of friendship and love. Excellent performances by the ensemble cast in general, particularly Rockmond Dunbar (Darby) Seth Gilliam (Marcus), and Dwight Ewell (Hil). Plenty of "fresh" and flesh to keep most viewers amused, while love and reconciliation blossom in a community of oft-misunderstood and marginalized gays. An eye-opener... Nice directorial debut by writer/producer Polk.

Punks attempts a daunting task -- staying true to the varied spirits of gay black males -- while staying accessible to a wide audience. The film introduces the audience to an entire spectrum of what it means to be a black gay male at this point in time and does so most assuredly. This film takes its place alongside other groundbreaking queer cinema such as "Parting Glances" but goes beyond that film in quality of its production. The cinematography, costumes and makeup are first rate and serve in and of themselves as character. The cast is simply a great group of actors who you cannot take your eyes off of. Rockmond Dunbar and Seth Gilliam give great lead performances as do Dwight Ewell (from "Chasing Amy" fame) and Jazzmun, who nearly steals the film. Director Patrik-Ian Polk wisely presents a balanced film that is humorous, thought provoking and disarming to any notion that the men in this contemporary West Hollywood are any less worth caring about simply because you've never taken the time to know them. Punks is an important film, one worth seeking out and supporting. Executive producers Kenneth "Babyface" and Tracy Edmonds are to be commended for providing the budget this film deserved. Check out "Punks".

When this movie began I didn't think I was going to like it at all. It seemed to be the same old tired and true gay story with all the exaggerated stereotypes. However, as I continued to watch, giving the movie a try, I found a pretty good, moving film. I identified with the main character in so many ways. I thought the acting was good too. I really felt the chemistry between the characters, emotionally as well as sexually. Kudos to the actors, producers, directors, etc for creating a decent movie about the life of black, gay men.

I do have one complaint. I was disappointed with the climax. It was like a two yard dash. It was like, boom, bam, that's all folks.

On another hand I must say that the Charlie's Angels reference in this movie made me laugh out loud for a long time. Good one.

Not bad for a low-budget film, but not great either. It's about three black gay males and one gay Latino male searching for sex and/or love in L.A. It is good to see an (almost) all-black cast in a movie not involving drugs, guns or non-stop profanity. Also, this is one of the few movies dealing with GBMs. Still, it's acting is erratic--some of the guys play it too straight, others camp it up WAY too much. There's absolutely no complexity to the characters' motivation or desires; the plot is, to be nice, old and done to death; and the direction is horrid. Also some really bad sound muffled a good portion of the dialogue. I saw it at a gay/lesbian film festival with a mostly black/white GM audience, and even they weren't too thrilled by it. A few good lines and some cute guys help. Still the low budget hurts and the movies not as funny or as clever as it thinks it is. I don't like blasting a movie like this, but I really didn't like it. Still, it's one of the few of its kind.