Luster

By: Raymond Murray
In-House Review - Feb 11 2015

Luster is a hip, irreverent and refreshingly funny take on today's queerboy world of lust, sex and unrequited love.

Queercore-loving Jackson (Justin Herwick) is a lanky, blue-haired record store employee and poet who wakes up one post-orgy morning groggy from the excesses of the night before. He finds himself in a real romantic mess; he's fallen in love with the seriously cute Billy (Jonah Blechman), who he met at the orgy. The only problem is Billy just wants to be friends and is, himself, punch- in love with Sonny ("Sex and the City" star Willie Garson), a seriously masochistic musician.

So where is a hot, young gay boy who wants to be in love to turn? There's his hunky cousin Jed (B. Wyatt), who is visiting, and while lustful dreams invade his mind, there's that damn thing. He could always have Derek (Sean Thibodeau), a clean-cut customer who obviously likes him, but that might be too vanilla. His best bud and boss, Sam (Shane Powers), might not be so straight after all ? but that's a little intense. With raging hormones and a confused sense of romanticism, the skate-boarding Jackson finds that getting fucked while in love (with the one who's fucking you) is not such a simple matter!

Set in a seemingly all-queer L.A., Luster is a wildly entertaining ride through clashing worlds of the heart and libido.

By: Dave55

Luster is one of my all-time favorite films. I'm not going to take up space listing the reasons why; other reviewers have covered this already. If you're not put off by quirky low-budget films, you should definitely see this movie. It has a vibe that is truly unique - a different "feel" than anything I've ever seen.

In addition to the bizarre plot twists, you'll get to see the gorgeous B Wyatt showing off his body for a great part of the film. The trailer gives an idea of the look of the film, but doesn't really represent it's unique feel.

One correction to the review on TLA's Product Info tab: Willie Garson plays a seriously SADISTIC musician. I'd gladly give this film 4 stars, if only I could figure out how to assign ratings on this site!

By: Amos Lassen

"LUSTER"
Refreshing, Funny, and Sexy
Amos Lassen
Unrequited love is usually not much fun and neither is it sexy nor refreshing. At least it is not until you see "Luster" (Here! TV). Jackson is a cute, lanky frustrated poet who works in a record store. He is mad about Billy, a sexy young blonde who he meets at an orgy but Billy loves Sonny who is a musician into S and M. Then there is Jackson's customer, Derek, who is in love with him and the owner of the record store who is straight (?) but obviously infatuated with Billy. (Got all this down?). Next we add Jed who is Jackson's cousin who is responsible for leading his relative to contemplate . (Whew!!!!) To make everything even more complicated, Jed is seduced by a lesbian.
From the moment this film begins you know it is going to be different-first the actors are listed only by first name and secondly, the first scene is a bunch of young guys lying entwined and naked. So, is this a teen flick? In many ways it is but it also has a great deal to say about the nature of relationships. There is a good share of "camp" and several of the mysterious subplots seem to bring the film down from what could have been a really good movie. Yet the more I watched the more I enjoyed it and the youthful exuberance of the cast makes it a lot of fun.
Jackson is the central character, he is cute as can be but he has his problems. His superior, record store mogul may be remembered as the gay guy on "Sex and the City", Stanford. He is supposedly straight but he does enjoy being beaten. The other characters give the whole mish mash a soap opera tone. Jackson could have had his character developed a bit more but somehow that did not happen.
This is a fun movie and doesn't demand a great deal of thought or concentration. You may not remember much about it after you finish it but you will have a good time watching it while it is on the screen. Sit back, enjoy and move on. There is also a great deal of frontal nudity so that is a definite plus.

By: JANORM

This is a story line that tries to portray a lifestyle that best can be described as lies, , sex, alcohol, and violence. Unless you have lived and experience these conditions, and survived, your appreciation of what is protrayed is very minimal. This is so accurate at times, that I had to turn off the viewing and walk away, MY GOD! It was DEJA VUE, all over again. I have seen and lived with a lot of what is portrayed in this movie. Most of it was in the West coast, some in the East coast and some in Chi-town. I never thought that this could ever be portrayed accurately, but the film is the perfect example. The jaggedness of the story line only refects the lifestyle of this sub-culture completely. You need to watch this film as an insight to a way of life and will probably have to watch it more than once. This is a classic of all classics and should be reseved to that singular category of descriptive life-styles. A definite addition to your classic collection. LOVE IN ALL OF ITS FORMS, IS LIKE A MULTI-FACETTED GEM-STONE!! NJMJr!

By: Luis Rolando

Sure, a blue-haired protagonist will catch anyone's attention whether the movie is gay-themed or not, but that's about the only thing Luster's got going for it. A flimsy excuse for a plot laced with a creepy S&M ambience mixed with poor acting and characters who throw the word "love" around way too much and engage in equal an unbalanced, mess of a film. Just when you think the movie can muster up a redeeming ending -- nope. Find yourself another gem, there's no luster here.

By: q

I ordered this dvd after reading the editorial comments as well as customer reviews. Also, it was recommended to me by Amazon.com as well. What a huge disappointment. The film is completely self-aware and self-conscious in trying to be hip and cool and cutting edge. For a film released in 2000, it is none of the above. It took me a while to realize I wasn't watching a film set in an 80's punk-lite scene. The acting was mediocre, the script was purposely vague (was that trying to be atmospheric, moody, or avante garde?), the cinematography was trying too hard to be gritty. And poor Willie Garson. How embarassing for him in a cliched role he walked through. I can't recommend enough that you avoid this movie. I watched the whole thing looking for signs of "fun" "refreshing" "sexy". It was really kind of sad and pathetic, with characters who were so full of themselves, I couldn't care less about the bad things that happened to them. It was just plain dirty, and not in the good way. I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. It's not that I didn't understand the film. I understood it too well. Maybe if it really was organic and earthy and real instead of trying hard to be those things, it might have worked. As it is, it may seem cool to people with limited perspectives. But if you're looking for something new or with an edge, this isn't it. In its attempt to be something original, it just became a bad version of more of the same, with bad haircuts.

By: Len_1

Often times I ask myself the question of "love" and end up going through my checklist of requirments/reciprocity. Watching this moving graphically portrayed the events I play out in everyday life concerning "love" This an Awesome movie in that the characters are Realistic/Idealistic. A MUST see and MUST buy. Thank you

By: JD

I haven't seen such a well made independent movie with a gay theme in quite a while. This movie has a great story line. It doees however have an unexpected event that you would never think would happen in the movie until it does. It catches you off guard, leaving you saying to yourself "NO". Great movie for the all the skater boy type and also the aspiring artist types who are in search of that special one special guy. I do recommend this movie

By: Netguy

I knew this was going to be a "cool" flick from the opening credits that just list the first names of the cast and crew, but it isn't without its flaws as well. Namely some campy acting, a customer in a record store squealing for Madonna, to numerous subplots that tend to bring down the film as well as audio that tends to be muffled in spots. But overall the more it went on the more I accepted and enjoyed these vagabonds and the flaws found within.

The story centers around a punky, skateboard, party goer, poet, named Jackson (Justin Herwick), who works at a record shop called, how appropriate, "No Life". After waking up from the aftermath of an orgy he inquires about a boy who was there, Billy (Jonah Blechman) with whom he develops an infatuation for and decides to track down. Who wouldn't! He's a cutey but he he too has some flaws. Needless to say Billy is the boy toy of a record mogel played by Willie Garson (Sarah Jessica Parker's gay friend Stanford on Sex and the City) who gets off on getting beat up. It does get a bit ugly and some people might not like the S&M. Throw in Jackson's hunky cousin Jed(Barry Wyatt), a clean cut collegiate type customer at the store (Sean Thibodeau) who's in love with Jackson, a lesbian friend named Alyssa (Pamela Gidley) who screws around with Jed and is later found out by her lover, and you get a smorgasboard of a soap opera. The one character I really wish had been more developed and with whom I felt something towards was Jackson's supposedly straight boss and friend at the record shop, Sam (Shane Powers). He gives a real emotional performance at the end and his story only scratched the surface. The other performances are hit and miss. Sometimes they're great and then at other times it seems campy and silly. It's a real mixed bag along with the storylines. Take it for what it's worth though and you'll have fun with these characters, their loves, lusts, and losses.

The DVD is stereo and the transfer is a bit grainy but it only adds to the seediness of the tale. I didn't expect much more from a low budget "indie" and it also includes a short documentary with the director and a film commentary and trailers for other TLA releases.

By: Jed Ryan

"Luster" was the opening night movie of the 2002 Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. I saw it, I liked it, I recommend it! Like in "Circuit" or "When Boys Fly"(the other movies that played at the Fest), the men in "Luster" aren't above numbing their pain with or indulging in sexual adventures. But unlike many of the guys in the two circuit party movies, the main character and his peers in "Luster" seem to be rebelling against glossy pretentiousness and "image is everything" attitudes-- making the movie's title something of an irony. , partying, and sex just seem to be a casual part of the fast, hard-playing lives of these L.A. urbanites. Check out a conversation in the first five minutes of the film: "Wanna give me a blowjob?"..."No, you're not famous enough-- plus I bet you can't even get it up on , can you?"..."That's what the coke is for!" "Luster"'s opening credits are set to a black-and-white montage of still photographs of naked male bodies, and shortly afterward we meet the main characters. Jackson (Justin Herwick) is a pushing-30, blue-haired, aspiring musician/poet who works (unhappily) in a record store. He's loaded with rebellious, almost nihilistic angst manifested by his creative energy that's just dying to be expressed to the world. Jackson's hormones go into overdrive when his hunky but dim cousin Jed shows up from Iowa for a visit. The sexual orientation jury is out (at first) on Jed, who unabashedly dances around his bedroom naked. Jackson also has a thing for a baby-faced guy named Billy, who has some VERY intense sexual tastes. In turn, Jackson's got a sweet, boy-next-door-type admirer named Derek-- but he can't seem to get romantically interested in him. Jackson's best friend Sam is a bleached-blond, more reserved type-- a disenchanted artist who keeps hidden some painful issues. The 16 mm film has the unpolished, almost minimalist look of an Andy Warhol movie. Like the movies of that late director/artist, "Luster" has a raw style of acting and an atmosphere of urban realness, courtesy of confident direction by Everett Lewis and well-chosen L.A. locations. The result is engrossing and penetrating. "Luster" is an ispiration to independent filmmakers who seek to break boundaries yet still make films that are accessible to their audience. Catch this movie when you can!