When Boys Fly (2002)
I have only been to a couple of small time raves
in Austin. I know enough to know that people who go
to them don't call them raves, they call them "parties."
In the gay world, a gay rave is called a "circuit party."
These are usually elaborate and fabulous and full of
hotties with mad cash who have flown to the event in
a big city, making it a huge extravaganza. There was
one in Miami in 2000 called "The White Party" and filmmakers
Stewart Halpern, Lenid Rolov and Kevin Weiler took cameras
there and filmed the event.
Actually, they did more than that. He got on the
party's website and asked for participants in a "gay
'Real World.'" They looked at applications and videotapes
from several young men or groups of friends and picked
four to focus on. One guy was a circuit party regular
who was having serious drug problems and had promised
his friends to stay sober at this one. One was a little
virgin boy who did not do drugs or alcohol (and loves
his mother) but wanted to attend and experience the
event to see what it was like. And two were in a relationship,
an older man/younger guy relationship. The curious thing
about this couple was that the man had dated one of
the boy's friends as well and then broke up with him
before dating the one he was now with. (Wow, talk about
a soap opera). All three of them were friends now, however,
and going together.
In this age of mockumentaries, it took a little
while to be sure that this was a real "documentary"
and not a faux one. These were real people, with real
interesting issues, who were young and attractive and
had engrossing stories to tell. Watching the events
unfold over the weekend party was curious and intriguing.
The trio of filmmaker's cameras (they used three)
seemed to be virtually everywhere and a variety of issues
come into play in the film, which is basically told
in chronological order. The older man/younger boy story
held my attention easily. The man was probably in his
late 30's, maybe early 40's. He was handsome and buff
and sexy. His younger companion talked about how extraordinary
the sex was with him. This guy had been married and
had not explored his gay side fully as an adolescent
or as a young man, so he was reliving his teenage years,
in the body of this buff, older guy. He was a real player.
The younger guy, Jon, was really hung up on him and
could not tolerate his infidelities. The audience at
the festival screening I saw hated the older man, but
he was my hero. He was not only attractive and masculine,
he had a plethora of attractive young men around him,
begging for his attention. Lucky bastard. And more than
that, he was living it, man. He was pursuing the dream.
He was a fucking sex machine. He wasn't some nancy boy
or some old closet case trying to figure it all out,
this guy had it going on. He was smart and secure and
wild. I really respected that he had decided to live
his dream and be unapologetic about it. Most of the
old queens in the film just couldn't get that. They
hissed him when he argues with his (literal) boy-friend.
The film, however, eventually devolves into a cautionary
tale about drug use. For me, this was fascinating because,
as an old pothead (I used to smoke it everyday for over
10 years), I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable
about drugs. I have done coke and acid, 'ludes, X (back
when it was a pharmaceutical), Eve and crank, and all
sorts of poppers and whippets and Medusa (which I think
was freon, God help me) and a ton of other drugs. Yes,
I have even crunched up and snorted No-Doze. (I may
have done 'shrooms but then again that may just be a
false memory from doing acid and talking about doing
'shrooms). I have never done anything that was injected,
like heroin or a speedball or anything like that. But
the point is this: Drugs have changed since I stopped
doing them. The drugs here, Special K and GHB (or is
it GBH), are totally alien to me. Sure, I've heard of
them, but I've never seen anyone do any and I do not
know what type of affect they have. Or, at least, I
used to not know. Now I know. I've seen people high
on these drugs, caught on videotape, unapologetically,
in "When Boys Fly." It is both troublesome and fascinating,
something you really have to see.
Circuit parties, and drugs like GHB will come and
go. There will always be something new next week for
people to get into. But "When Boys Fly" stands as a
real period piece, a true testament, to a portion of
the alternative gay lifestyle and its intriguing moments
in the early party of the 21st century. It is a true
mirror (albeit with lines of K stretching on it), an
accurate reflection, and, in that way, a significant
and fascinating, and most importantly, accurate document
of a moment in time.
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Report
Card
Content:
A+
Completeness: B
Cinematography\Lighting: B+
Special Effects\Make Up: B
Music: C
Final
Grade: A+
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