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Hustler White
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRick Castro
Bruce LaBruce
Written byRick Castro
Bruce LaBruce
StarringTony Ward
Bruce LaBruce
CinematographyJames Carman
Edited byRider Siphron
Distributed byStrand Releasing, ICA
Release date
1996
Running time
79 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50,000[1]

Hustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satirical black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema. Also appearing in the film are Vaginal Davis, Glen Meadmore and Graham David Smith.

In a plot reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, Hustler White transposes the action from the silver screen's old movie backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the porn industry. The film, which like all of LaBruce's work is sexually explicit, includes a controversial amputee sex scene. Co-director Rick Castro cast real male hustlers and his former models, including Tony Ward, as amateur actors.[1][2] They also used the hustlers' homes (and other cast members' including Ron Athey's house in Silver Lake Hills) as location spots for filming.[1]

Portions of the film appear in the music video for "Misogyny" a track by Canadian rock band Rusty which appeared on MuchMusic and Musique Plus in the 1990s.[3][4]

Synopsis

The film starts with Monti Ward (Tony Ward), a male prostitute, dead in a jacuzzi. Then in a voice over, Monti describes the circumstances that led to his fate.

Jürgen Anger (Bruce LaBruce), a writer from Europe, is in California researching a book on the gay prostitution and pornographic scene in Hollywood. While touring Santa Monica Boulevard, he meets Monti hustling on the street and develops a crush on him. Throughout the movie we discover various facets of Monti, including committing a hit and run which cripples a fellow hustler named Eigil (Kevin P. Scott). Jürgen unsuccessfully follows the devastatingly handsome rent-boy. As Jürgen continues his pursuit of the young man, the film follows Monti through his typical routine of various sordid and bizarre encounters with hustlers, johns and pornographers.

Finally Jürgen can get Monti to show him various places in the gay prostitution scene of Hollywood. They end up at Jürgen's apartment, where Monti trips on a soap and remains unconscious in the jacuzzi. Jürgen finds him and pulls him out of the water, thinking he is dead. He brings him to the beach to dump his body in the ocean, but Monti wakes up. The two of them end up running hand in hand on the beach.

Cast

References

  1. ^ a b c Dominic Johnson (Editor) Pleading in the Blood: The Art and Performances of Ron Athey, p. 118, at Google Books
  2. ^ Glyn Davis Far from Heaven (2011), p. 27, at Google Books
  3. ^ Salerno, Rob (26 March 2013). "Daily CanCon: "Misogyny" by Rusty — an odd outpost of queerness in Grunge rock". Exit Upstage. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  4. ^ Gormely, Ian. "Rusty Return with Their First Album in 20 Years". 29 June 2018. exclaim.ca. Retrieved 22 October 2018.

External links


Films directed by Bruce LaBruce
Categories