Fruit Fly

By: Scott Cranin
In-House Review - Jul 27 2010

Reuniting much of the cast and crew from Colma: The Musical, Mendoza firmly grasps the helm in telling his story of Bethesda (L.A. Renigen), a young performance artist in search of a career - and her birth mother. Bethesda loves to hang out with her gay boy buddies. She goes to the gay clubs, dances with her boys until the wee hours and sends them off to their tricks with a kiss on the cheek. But don't call her a "fag hag" - Bethesda is a "Fruit Fly". Like Colma: The Musical, the film is interspersed with songs that become conversations and solo musical journeys. This is not a musical where people dance on cruise ship ceilings: these songs are firmly rooted in reality (a gay reality, of course). Some of our favorites include "Fag Hag," "Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay," "Enough about Me," "We Are the Hag" and "Work in Progress." Though it's tremendous fun, H.P. Mendoza's film is not without its serious moments. Do not mistake it as frivolous; the director's hidden some underlying messages in the music (which you're sure to be humming for days).

By: Amos Lassen

"Fruit Fly"

A Fun Film

Amos Lassen

I just finished watching H.P. Mendoza's new film, "Fruit Fly" and I have a big smile on my face. It is a fun film about Bethesda, a Filipina performance artist who moves into an art commune in San Francisco to look for her biological mother. She stays there and makes many new friends and finds connections to the GLBT and art communities. The film is an adventure as Bethesda (L.A. Renigan) comes into contact with all kinds of people. She finds a haven in the gay clubs of San Francisco and she meets some truly flamboyant (aka flaming) people and we see the angst that many teens suffer with their superficial relationships.
The film is a musical much like Mendoza's previous film "Colma: The Musical" and the songs are wonderful. The main idea of the film, to me at least, seems to be about finding hew homes. Bethesda meets all of the gay stereotypes and she surrounds herself with them and although the plot is no great shakes, it will win you over from the first frame. The film is also a wonderful look at San Francisco and if I have a complaint at all, it is that the film does not really give a picture of the Asian gay experience (but there are others that do that so it's not so terrible). Just relax, see it and have a good time.