Boy Culture, directed by Q. Allan Brocka (nephew of Lino), purports to be the autobiography of a hustler named X (played by Derek Magyar), with many voiceovers. The plot revolves around four gay men in search of their identities. X appears to have the most secure self-concept, as he is extremely well paid for his work. His twelve clients are obtained entirely through referrals, yet he is cynical about gay life and steers away from romantic involvements. To dodge IRS, he has been offering free accommodations in his magnificent apartment to swishy Joey (played by Jonathan Trent) and romantic Andrew (played by Darryl Stephens) for the past year. Lucy (played by Emily Brooke Hands) is X’s fag hag confidant. His latest client Gregory (played by Patrick Bauchau) pays him $3,000 for conversations in his penthouse apartment, postponing sex each time, while he tells an account of his lover of fifty years who recently died, whereupon he has become a recluse. Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old Joey becomes a slut. Andrew, invited to a wedding, wants to attend in order to meet the bride’s brother because he once had a crush on him, but he invites X so that he will appear to have a nice, white boyfriend, though he really wants to seduce X into becoming his partner. At the end of the film, there are some surprises, notably when X betrays intense emotion that hitherto was bottled up. MH
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