Dirty Magazines

By: Robert O'Neill
In-House Review - Feb 18 2013

Walk into any youth-oriented store at the mall and you'll find that '80s nostalgia is rampant. Those of us who lived through the Reagan administration still have crystal-clear memories of the music, movies, trends and retro-1950s politics, but times have changed significantly in the last two decades ? especially where technology is concerned. Remember that simple time before internet porn when young gay teens were to steal copies of magazines like "Blueboy," "Mandate" and "Inches" to get their porno-fix? Writer/director Jay J. Levy does ? and his short comedy Dirty Magazines depicts it lovingly.

Dirty Magazines follows Marc (Josh Hahn) on his 16th birthday. A growing boy with unavoidably raging hormones, Marc longs for a little time alone in the bathroom with his new copy of "Honcho." He's so excited, though, that he neglects to find a good hiding spot for his incendiary material. His Mom (Suzan Brittan) finds the magazine under his bed and soon becomes obsessed with talking to her son (in the most well-meaning and therapy-minded, but ultimately awkward way possible) and trying to figure out just what is going on with his libido.

Anyone who attends film festivals regularly can tell you that getting to see brand new, cutting-edge short films is a particular highlight. The only problem is that you can rarely see them anywhere else. It's always a special treat when those movies get released on DVD and reach a wider audience. This 40-minute comedy is a great example. The film earned laughter and applause during its gay film fest run back in 2008, but has been seen very rarely since. Now, it's available along with over 20 minutes of bonus features!

By: bigrawtop

By: Bryguy5

I remember seeing this short at Outfest a couple of years ago and I was sincerely tickled by the director Jay Levy's good sense of fun with the material. And the superior cast really shines here. It was sort of like going back in an 80s time machine (on !) If only my childhood had been like that! Or wait, maybe it was?! Recommended!

By: tiggerdatiger

By: peteeboy09

By: Bob Lind

In this film festival favorite, set in the 1980's, Marc's mother decides to surprise him on his 18th birthday with a new bed for his room. In moving the old bed, she finds his cache of gay magazines ... uh, oh!

Following a rather quiet birthday dinner, Josh's parents confront him about their findings, and his mother over-reacts, trying to "logic" him into realizing he might indeed not be gay ... with hysterical results.

This is a well-produced, entertaining film, with capable actors, including newcomer Josh Hahn as Marc, and Susan Brittan in a scene-stealing role as his mother. It is based loosely on the personal experience of writer/director Jay J. Levy. Only 40 minutes long, it has been featured at many gay film festivals since its release in 2008, and won several awards. DVD has over 20 minutes of extras, consisting of interviews with the mostly gay cast and crew. . I give the film three stars out of four.

By: Amos Lassen

"Dirty Movies" was a big hit on LGBT Film Festival circuits but one thing that seems to be lacking is finding short films on DVD. I am so glad to tell you can get this now and watch it at home. "Dirty Magazines" is a comedy set in the 1980's. We meet a woman who is determined to be the perfect mother. When she finds gay porn under her 16 year old son's bed, mother and son get into it on the meaning of it. There are laughs everywhere but on the serious side, the short film deals with family dysfunction, love and acceptance and how wild and crazy the journey may be to achieve that acceptance and love. If you came out in the 80's you will love this and for everyone else, it is a look at the way things were.

I went back to the 80's in this film and although my experiences were not like what we see here (I was living in Israel during the 70's and 80's) but I have heard many stories.