Animal Factory

(2000, USA) 
Director: Steve Buscemi 
Starring: Willem Dafoe ; Edward Furlong ; Mickey Rourke

It's not nice to traffic in drugs. Even if you're a cute, well-mannered 25-year-old from a wealthy family, you just might end up in the state penitentiary. And that's exactly what happens to Ron Decker (Edward Furlong). 

Gee whilickers! Now, besides being separated from his local Starbucks, smooches from his girlfriend, and the chance to tune into The Real World, Ron has to worry about being raped and transformed into some con's boytoy. 

To avoid such a fate, Ron hooks up with Earl (Willem Dafoe) and his crew of heroin-shooting lowlifes. Quickly, he discovers that hanging out with lowlifes can turn you into one. 

But what's uppermost in his mind is the reason Earl's being so nice to him. Is he just buttering up Ron to get into his pants like the rest of the convicts the boy's surrounded by: "One half is after my dick. The other half is after my asshole." No, it seems Earl just likes him. He really likes him -- sort of like a nun on Spanish fly who decides to keep her vows. 

Call this "OZ lite." Actor-turned-director Buscemi, who's played gay in the classic Parting Glances and has himself directed an episode of the Showtime prison series, here steers clear of homoeroticism and believable plotting, for some odd reason. 

Camp enthusiasts, however, will not want to miss an unrecognizable Mickey Rourke as Ron's drag queen roommate. Where he gets those nails, makeup, and outfits in a prison is a mystery to me. 

But best of all is Tom Arnold as Buck Rowan, a brutally horny and sneering rapist who gets his finger up Ron. Possibly Don Knotts and Paul Rubens weren't available at the time. Yes, not since your Aunt Harriet's performance as Maria in Our Church of the Holy Mother's rendition of The Sound of Music back in 1973 has there been a performance this lousy. That Arnold's character's actions are pivotal to the whole film says a whole lot. 

--Brandon Judell

Source : Obtained from planetout.com