Hot, hard, and rather enjoyable: James Franco and Travis Mathews' INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR

After making the rounds of some festival circuits (Sundance, Berlin, in Turkey and Taiwan, and then various GLBT fests), INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR. -- the Cruising-inspired sort-of documentary from our current Renais-sance "Entertainment" Man, James Franco (below, second from left), and the upcoming video doc writer/director who seems to specialize in full-bodied, hard-core gay couplings that appear as real as they do genuinely interesting, Travis Mathews (shown at left, below) -- finally opens theatrically here in New York City. (It played in Los Angeles back in early January.)

Because this film lasts but 60 minutes, its distributor Strand Releasing, has added to the program a worthwhile shorter "short" by both men: Franco's five-minute The Feast of Stephen and Mathews' 15-minute I Want Your Love. Overall, this adds up to a worthwhile look at the work of both men, while providing -- for those who appreciate this sort of thing -- some hot, gay sex experienced by real characters. For those new to gay sex or who may want to find out more about it, as well expand their viewpoint on the coupling possibilities in this great wide world of ours, the program may be an eye-opening (or -closing), as well as a mind-expanding experience.

The filmmakers seem interested in all of the above, and while the largest audience for this will undoubted by gay and bi-sexual, Franco and Mathews make it clear that they intend (in fact, they do outright) to question things like the western word's great interest in depicting violence on screen, along with its great fear of doing the same thing with sex. This, of course, is not a new idea. TrustMovies himself has been asking that question for decades, with the major answer arising from the stranglehold that organized religion, followed by (or incorporated in) the effect that "tradition" has on the general public.

The two shorts, which I presume (as at the press screening) will be shown first, lead us nicely into the heart of the matter. In The Feast of Stephen, Franco, who directed and wrote the screenplay (inspired by a poem by Anthony Hecht), takes us quickly and effectively into the masochistic wet dream of a gay young man as he watches a group of his classmates play basketball. He disrobes them and has them attack him and finally fuck him and then rub dog-shit in his face. This could also perhaps be the sadistic wet dream of one of the boys who attacks our "hero." Either way, the movie is short, sharp and entirely credible look at the forbidden.

In I Want Your Love, on the other hand, two young men (Jesse Metzger above, right, with Brenden Gregory), obviously good friends, lounge about  in one of their bedroom, chatting about life and friends and what not. Slowly, it becomes clear that one is sexually attracted to the other but that they have not, up till now, acted on that. They do, and what follows is around ten minutes of pure sex. It is a delightful, sexy turn-on to view, and because we've gotten more than a whiff of who these guys are, it also seem like watching a couple of friends at play in the fields of the lord. Well, someone's lord, anyway. Mathews avoids the "sleaze" angle that so many porno films, gay or straight, insist on and instead gives us two people exploring and enjoying sex. Gosh, how riveting and transporting. And unusual.

Interior. Leather Bar. ostensibly wants to explore by some sort of re-creation, the said-to-be 40-minute segment from the movie Cruising that went missing in order for the film to be released theatrically back in 1980. But there is more going on than mere re-creation. So we meet the "cast" of this new footage: some gay, some straight, some perhaps still closeted. Chief among these is actor Val Lauren (above in close-up and below, left), a long-time friend of Franco who explains that, though he doesn't fully understand what his friend (and maybe idol) is doing, he so believes in Franco that he will play his part the best he can.

Lauren tells us that he is indeed straight and that he is not playing Al Pacino, the star of Cruising, but rather the character that Pacino was acting -- which was a straight cop going undercover to ferret out a murderer in the gay community. This works on a couple of levels, for Pacino presumably is straight, and so both actors were/are forced to come to grips with getting up close and personal with a community composed of the "other." Both performances reflect this to some degree, and Lauren's as well as the filmmakers' exploration of this -- in talks with his girlfriend, another good friend, and some of his fellow actors -- is pointed and unsettling.

There are a couple of hard-core sex scenes within this hour-long film featuring actors in the cast of the "new footage" doing things pretty normal for a leather bar back in the day -- some cocksucking, a little S&M -- but likely to curl the toes of newcomers to the scene. Yet the reigning input here would seem to suggest to viewers, not to mention the actors, "Man up, honey; it's good for you!" I think Mr. Franco would subscribe to this, though Mr. Mathews has clearly moved far beyond that hurdle.

Overall, this program's a good one: expansive and ground-breaking for some; interesting, hot, funny and plain enjoyable for more seasoned veterans. Interior. Leather Bar. opens today in New York City at the IFC Center, along with the ongoing James Franco festival. Click here to see showtimes and which other Franco films are scheduled for that day.

(A)SEXUAL: Angela Tucker's documentary explores folk who feel no sexual attraction

In our current times of internet porn of every sort and sex appearing more regularly and obviously in everything from television to movies, advertising, fashion and (you name it), what's the poor asexual to do? And just what is an asexual? That subject is something that the 2012 documentary, (A)SEXUAL, from filmmaker Angela Tucker (shown below, who helped produce the currently heralded doc The New Black) aims to find out. It does this via mostly one young man, a fellow named David Jay, who, according to this documentary, has pretty much single-handedly brought to the world's attention the plight of the asexual person: someone who simply feels no sexual attraction -- hetero, homo, or anything in between -- toward another human being.

According to the statistics provided by this film, when Mr. Jay (shown below) began his drumming up interest in the subject, there were but a handful of confessed asexuals on record. Within a short time, thanks to Jay's endeavors and the worldwide web, there were thousands of them. Because, initially, there were no scientific studies done on asexuals (there are still, today, very few of these) -- there are plenty of 'em done on "sexuals," since that's what most of us are -- it is difficult to drum up a whole lot of what we might call real evidence. Hence this condition, along with the movie about it, is mostly anecdotal. Within the anecdotes, however, patterns begin to emerge.

One of these, if we go by what we see and hear from some of those interviewed, is that this "condition" may possibly be traced to a fear of sexuality, intimacy, self-worth or giving over, along with a number of other feelings and behavior that a competent therapist might better diagnose. This is not to say that in some folk, no sexual attraction lurks at all. But, as even Mr. Jay himself admits, due to the lack of firm evidence from scientific studies, this is difficult to quantify in any way. (Gays and lesbians have been shown to exhibit genetic differences, so what about asexuals? Somebody is probably doing research on this, even as I write....)

So we're left with anecdotes and the faces, bodies and voices of the people Ms Tucker follows and interviews over what looks like a few years' time. Fortunately, these folk are pretty interesting, even if the movie begins to run down a little before its short 75-minute running time has finished. A young girl named Poonam (above, left, with David) is certainly adorable, and a couple who claim asexuality and have a workable relationship even manages to marry by movie's end. A possible connection is also posited between asexuals and Asperger syndrome, which makes some sense to me.

But does David or any of this male crew ever have hard-ons or wet dreams? They do, it comes out, though what induces those erections and flowing seminal fluid remains unexplored. We note a connection to the GLBT community, which is ironic, since so much of that community is so heavily engaged in sexuality. The reaction to these asexuals from those attending a gay pride parade is generally rather silly, however. We even hear from that ubiquitous sex columnist Dan Savage, who tries to be fair but who also seems to find the idea of asexuality a little questionable.

By the end of the film, our David admits that he is now willing to at least try a relationship that includes sex. Well, good luck to him. And to the rest of these people we've met, still struggling with being outsiders in a already marginalized community. You can view (A)sexual now via Netflix streaming -- and maybe elsewhere.

Kimberly Reed's PRODIGAL SONS looks at a heartland American family. Yikes.

When a family is going to pieces and the camera keeps on rolling, not just the family but the viewer and the filmmaker can find themselves in deep trouble -- or at least very tricky territory. (Remember Tarnation, Capturing the Friedmans and quite a few others?)  So it is with PRODIGAL SONS, the new documentary by and with Kimberly Reed (shown below), who details here her own family's history.

Full of surprises, some of which are sprung quickly while others detonate later, the film is one that, if you know little about it, keep it that way and simply watch and learn. While TrustMovies must go out of his way not to spoil things, he will say, however, that Ms. Reed's doc deals with identity in a major way, though given the enormous change of identity(ies) shown here, part of the problem is how little we learn about the characters in front of us for the nearly 90-minute running time. 

"I don't like those photos!" (One of which is shown above) "Why did you bring them out?" Kim asks her troubled brother Marc (below, center, and bottom, left) at one point and explains to him that the past is something that upsets her terribly.  And that's about as deep and specific as it gets, in terms of probing feelings and the reasons behind them.  What has happened to Kim and Marc (and continues to happen in the course of the movie) is major and more than a little interesting.  The fact that one of the reasons for this family get-together is so that Kim can attend her high school reunion provides yet another hook. 

We see the family then and now (above), along with Montana (and that reunion), where the kids grew up; a little of New York, where Kim now resides;  San Diego, the current home of brother Todd; and Marc and his family's home in, I believe, the Pacific Northwest.  We even go to Croatia, which provides some gorgeous scenery. Clearly, I am beating about the bush so that I spill no beans.  I do recommend seeing the movie, which consistently fascinates and is, in its way, one of a kind.  But it ought to have been better. 

Prodigal Sons opens today, Friday, February 26 at New York City's Cinema Village (Ms Reed and others connected to the film will appear for a Q&A at various screenings; click on the link above for specifics).  A limited national rollout will begin in March.  Check the individual cities and dates here (click and refer to the right-hand side of the screen).