Boys Life Reviews

Comprising three short films about gay men discovering their sexuality, BOYS LIFE certainly has the unified thematic content that many omnibus productions lack. But the young filmmakers here are not equally talented, and the results are erratic: only one entry, "The Disco Years," truly stands out. In "Pool Days," doe-eyed 17-year-old Justin (Josh Weinstein) gets a job as a lifeguard in a health club and quickly attracts the attention of swimmer Russell (Nick Poletti), who eventually asks him out for pizza. Justin goes, but balks when Russell touches his hand. Attempting to sort out his confusion, Justin comes on to his vivacious colleague, Vicky (Kimberly Flynn), but can't perform when push comes to shove--a failure that compels Justin to cruise the steamroom. Russell fakes a drowning incident, forcing Justin to leap in and save him. Although Justin gets angry over being duped, he's forgiving when Russell asks him about another date. "A Friend of Dorothy" concerns Winston (Raoul O'Connor), a small-town loner at New York University who has a crush on his apparently straight roommate, Tom (Kevin McClatchy), and can't figure out how to meet men in Greenwich Village. After failed library stakeouts, pick-up lines, and even a fleeting, desperate bathroom encounter, Winston is miserable. Finally, on the night before Tom relocates to California, Winston decides to act on his crush. Tom says he's always hoped that Winston was "a friend of Dorothy"--a time-honored subcultural code referring to Judy Garland's legion of gay fans--and they embrace. In "The Disco Years," Tom (Matt Nolan) remembers the seventies--a time when "earth tones were everywhere," and so was disco. Teenaged Tom takes disco dancing lessons with his mother. Aware of his gay identity, Tom thinks he's found a kindred spirit in Matt (Russell Scott Lewis). Their friendship blossoms, and one night Matt seduces Tom while skinny-dipping. But the romance is over the next day when Matt starts going out with Melissa (Gwen Welles). Broken-hearted, Tom mopes around. When Matt and Melissa vandalize the classroom of Tom's gay English teacher, Mr. Reese (Dennis Christopher), with homophobic graffiti, Tom turns them in. He tells his mother he's gay and seeks solace and support at a gay disco. The first two segments of BOYS LIFE won't be mistaken for anything but the student films they are. Both "Pool Days," written and directed by Brian Sloan, and Raoul O'Connor's "A Friend of Dorothy" are essentially uninspired boy-meets-boy pictures driven by aching hearts and loins. O'Connor's film is particularly silly--a character so inept that he can't hook up with gay men in New York City is more exasperating than sympathetic. However, Robert Lee King's "The Disco Years" has what its predecessors lack--a plot that moves, and an emotionally articulate and witty protagonist. King has modelled his film on TV's "The Wonder Years," a show that relied on a narrator's 20-20 hindsight to provide ironic commentary on days past. Although "The Disco Years" has an element of parody, it is also an honest, clear-headed movie in its own right. (Nudity, sexual situations.)