Luster

Reminiscent – I was never part of that scene, but I recognise many of the situations. Funny – in the right places, and the few dark parts of the comedy are … appropriately dark. Quirky, and unexpectedly thoughtful – or thought-provoking, in not too deep a way. Some of it's emotionally symbolic, which sounds a bit arty but it's not; it's down-to-earth.

Luster is not all of those things at once in any one part of the film, nor should it be. It's a smart mix that's effectively packaged. More than OK, I felt positively good after watching it.

There's some caricature, and that's expected, but it's fitting. The characters' emotions are totally human. The timeline is enjoyably ridiculous, but I don't imagine for a moment that this was intended to be realistic. Cramming the whole thing into a single weekend is part of the essence of what makes the package effective. I shan't spoil the plot by commenting on the other essential parts.

Incidentally, it's not the orgy that's pictured on the cover (I never expected it to be – a friend recommended the movie over a decade ago).

A memorable film that I'll keep, and certainly watch again, more than once. For that alone, I want to give it 8/10.

Some of it's 9/10. Overall, it's a 7 – take your time, set aside any preconceptions, watch and enjoy.

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.

I admire Everett Lewis greatly - there are too few auteurs like him making heartfelt realistically emotionally painful queer movies. LUSTER clearly warns us that in our lives (love) and everything that glitters is not gold".

The low budget nature of the film only reinforces the aesthetics. The cast is good and touching, the direction solid and the dialogue pacy and whilst it might sound corny in places - we've all thought or said the same lines.

That Everett keeps making films, keeps trying to challenge our lives should be commended.....were the studios more bold to drop big cash into his pocket I have no doubt that he could make and dazzle us all with a film as successful as MILK....thank god for queer film makers like EL....more please.

Fun movie about alternative life in LA.

Sean Thibodeau as Derek gives it an interesting twist and gives a poignant performance.

His character gives the movie its heart and sole.

Shows an interesting side to LA and people trying to find there way.

Some of the characters seem a bit extreme, but does add to the theme of the movie.

Jackson makes for an interesting protagonist: watching his evolution makes the movie interesting.

He and Derek make for an unusual pair but that makes it even more intriguing.

For a low budget movie it really does an excellent job.

Worth your time to watch.

The transition between Jackson and Derek makes the movie.

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.