CIRCUIT A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 2002 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
According to the press materials for "Circuit," Dirk ("Man of the Year") Shafer's new film "follows the journey of a naïve and closeted police officer in a conservative small town who is outed and brutalized by his fellow cops. Seeking the chance to live as an openly gay man, he ventures to West Hollywood, CA, and quickly falls into the fast-paced, seductive, and bacchanalian world of the Gay Party Circuit."
What the press kit fails to mention is that the above happens in the film's first 30 seconds!
Shafer doesn't spend a whole lot of time setting the scene. The film opens with our hero, the generically named John, lying face down on the white tiled floor of a Red Party bathroom. As he pulls himself together, we flashback to his time in uniform, to his brutal beating by fellow officers, to his commanding officer's suggestion that a relocation to a part of the country that "better tolerates his lifestyle" might be a wise decision for all concerned.
Cut to a scene of John moving into a West Hollywood apartment building, sans uniform, ready to party.
The rest of the film, an unashamed gay interest soft-porn flick with lashings of sex, drugs, and dance music, pretty much follows John (played by John Wade Drahos, sort of a cross between Antonio Banderas and Rupert Everett if you can buy that) as he hops from one dance-driven weekend celebration to the next trying, if only for a short time, to escape from the normal "straight" world. "Surrounded by beautiful men, VIP parties and decadent night-into-morning dancing, John strives to stay afloat in an ever-deepening pool of hustlers, money, sex and deception" the press alert continues.
Drahos gives his best in the lead but this is a film that fairs better in the audio/visual department than in its skilled use of dialogue. Shafer utilizes some interesting camera tricks and angles not to mention a plethora of flashily edited images of naked male torsos bumping and grinding the night away. Other cast members who also impress include Andre Khabazzi as Hector, the volatile Latin hustler who falls for John, and Kiersten Warren as John's high school friend Nina (Warren is probably the best thing about "Circuit"--she's smart and funny and doesn't take herself too seriously). Name performers William Katt and Nancy Allen are also on hand to give the proceedings a boost but their contributions are slight; the film has more than enough energy to get by on its own.
Like the driving, pulse-ridden techno beat provided by veteran DJ/mixer Tony Moran and Centaur Entertainment's Nick DiBlase, "Circuit" is a single-mindedly monotonous movie-going experience. But as a glimpse of an alternative lifestyle--a fast, frenetic, and flesh-ridden invitation into the glamorous world of the gay party circuit--it offers up something a little bit unique.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@dca.net
Got beef? Visit "La Movie Boeuf" online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
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