Fluff (2003)
This film has a title with at least
two meanings I can think of. Sure, it's just a silly
little romp, an amusing diversion that only lasts
a little over an hour and makes us laugh at least
three or four times. Fluffy.
The film is also about the making
of a porno film and the term "fluff" (as is the verb
"to fluff") certainly applies here.
And if you want to think of fluff
in it's archaic definition as in "lather," well then
there is that whole asshole shaving scene in the film
to consider and a third reference can be gleaned as
well!
"Fluff" concerns a group of alternative
theater enthusiasts who just can't seem to make enough
money staging their avant-garde versions of classic
Greek stories to keep the doors of their "space" open.
When the bank forecloser comes a knocking, one of
the theater's more eclectic writers suddenly has an
idea: Make a porn video using the group's actors and
sell it to make enough money to solve their problems.
Most of the humor here stems from
the idea of these oddball neophytes staging a porno
film. Of course, their film will have references to
classic theater from the Greek ideal and, of course,
all the various diverse members will be allowed their
own subjective imput. It's a damn good thing they
decide to do a gay porn too - since only one of the
male thespians is actually heterosexual. Like a real
trooper, however, he's ready to bite the, um, bullet,
for his co- horts.
"Fluff" is a fairly amateur film
as well one might imagine. The actors are almost universally
horrible and stumble over their lines a lot, much
more than is acceptable in this day and age of video.
The dialogue is somewhat stilted, the sets are practically
non-existent, the locales are obvious homes of friends,
and the entire piece is lensed rather poorly using
pretty standard seemingly consumer-grade video equipment.
The term "cinematography" is not even relevant to
this film. Also, the horrible score music is pushed
up way too far in the mix.
Meanwhile, the direction here leaves
a lot to be desired although the editing does, at
least, keep the film moving at an easily digestible
pace. This seems to be, much like the film-within-a-film,
a piece that has far too much "communal" decision-making
going on and not enough of a assured hand to guide
it. It often seems to go all over the map. And while
it is occassionally funny, some jokes just don't work.
Side-story moments about Mormons (some sort of homage/spoof
of "Orgazmo" that makes no sense); a German polka
band; parents returning home early; cuckolded husbands;
and lesbian group politics fall pretty flat.
Still, it's amusing and light and,
as I've said, fluffy. There are some genuine laughs
here and everyone in the film seems to be really enjoying
the process of making a film. Too bad only a couple
of them are really half-way decent thespians. At least
the film has a wonderfully "gay" sensibility and is
hardly ever really offensive. Nor does it ever truly
rely on stereotype or cliche for its humor or drama.
(Although some lesbians might rightly be upset for
the way they are presented here).
The most disagreeable part of the
film is this: As the guys are making a porn film,
one would hope they'd at least be smart enough to
go out and hire a few hotties to get half- naked for
us. (The idea of this being out of their budget is
never really utilized). Only a couple guys in the
cast are under 200 pounds and one of them, the cutest
- Sean Patrick Cathcart, doesn't even take off his
shirt, let alone get naked. Bummer.
Then again, the film is called "Fluff,"
not "Rock Hard."
Notes:
Made in Canada.
Shot on a Canon XL-1.
The official website is http://www.Greekchorus.com.
On it, there is a very detailed story about the making
of the film written by writer, producer, editor Steve
Hutton. He mentions that cutie Cathcart happens to
be deaf.
Viewed on a VHS screener provided
by the filmmakers in October, 2003. I had originally
intended to see the film while attending the Austin
Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival in August,
but there were technical problems at the screening
I attended and I left. The film was rescheduled after
this during a time I could not attend.
