Homosexual

By: Amos Lassen

"Homosexual"

A New Mockumentary by Toby Ross

Amos Lassen

Toby Ross is one of those filmmakers that dares to go where others fear. I have been watching his movies for several years now and every film is a surprise. This time we are treated to a look at those gay guys who are not in the mainstream-those who are on the fringe, who do not identify themselves as gay, those who remain in the closet and/or do not conform to the newest trends, those who enjoy sex with other men but eschew labels. These men live by their own rules and their own ideas and there are more of them than many of us think.

However, Ross also shares with us his own views on the issues that are faced by the gay community and his own stance with regard to them. And as we have come to expect from Toby Ross, there are some very erotic scenes here with some very equipped men. I found it really interesting to hear about that group of men who remain beneath the surface-the guys that most of us do not regard as part of the larger community because they are basically unknown to us. They say things that we never thought we would hear as well as say things that we do not want to say to ourselves.

Ross gives us an erotic film that really has something to say as well as something(s) to see. The men we see here come from all walks of life and from all classes in society. What we see is that there is much more variety in the gay community than most of us thought and some of the descriptions and explanations will get you thinking.

One review I read says that we are divided basically into two groups-those that just want sex and those who are looking for relationships. I would add a third and a fourth group-those who want to be part of the gay lifestyle which includes sex and those who do not want to be part of the lifestyle but enjoy sex with other men. The film really concentrates on that fourth group and we see them through enactments of their sexual practices (to a certain degree-there is no hardcore sex in the film). It is not often that an erotic film gives us something to think about and for me that is enough to make this a film that we all should want to see.