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October 14, 2003

PLGFF 2003 - 9 Dead Gay Guys

For the fourth selection in the film festival, I went to see 9 Dead Gay Guys (IMDB). People do seem to have a love/hate relationship with this from the preliminary IMDB voting (most votes are either 1 or 10).

The festival program says "Easily one of the most outrageous, over-the-top, and irreverent films ever made, 9 DEAD GAY GUYS has something to offend everyone!". While far from PC, you have to be pretty intolerant to actually get offended by it.

The movie starts out with Kenny, Byron's best mate from back home in Ireland, coming to visit. Byron's told him how great London is, lots of work, etc. and Kenny's come to find a better life. Instead, he finds Byron drunk and barely one step above homeless. Seeing as Kenny has one 5 pound note left, they decide to go to a nearby pub and drink it. Kenny is shocked to find that it's a gay pub, and not only that, Byron is well known there, and even more when Byron picks up 20 pounds giving a blow job ("legitimate work" he says in his best Irish accent) to "Jeff" (played deliciously by Steven Berkoff, who usually seems to get Nazi bad guy roles). It seems Jeff has been left wanting since "The Queen", his usual source of "relief", was found dead just last night. This starts a complex search for a treasure The Queen was rumored to have access to, and also heads an ever growing list of bodies that manage to accumulate as the straight boys try to track down their ticket to wealth.

This description makes it sound like it could be a decent drama, but this is all played for laughs and is wickedly funny. There were a number of points where dialogue in the movie was lost because the audience was laughing too hard to hear it. The only downside I found in the movie was the ending, which I can't really talk about without giving too much away, but I was expecting one thing, and then in the end, it looked like they used an outtake instead. On the other hand, the ending as it was was completely inline with the irreverent take on everything else in the movie.

I think it might not hold up to repeated viewing, but it was a fun and funny movie, and I do recommend it with a 7 out of 10.

PS: I can't end without commenting that Red Bull must've been a major product placement sponsor. You'll understand when you see it... Posted by abatie at October 14, 2003 01:21 PM

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