There are few filmmakers who are more polarizing than Bruce LaBruce. His arty, message-y films fly right over the heads of many. But perhaps there’s encouragement to read that his latest feature, Gerontophilia, is supposedly a little more mainstream.
But only a little: the plot is about an 18-year-old who’s attracted to senior men, takes a job at a nursing home and then helps one of the residents escape on a erotic gay Canadian road trip. Yes, that should play well in the sticks.
Despite the unusual subject matter, it’s still a lot more gettable than some of his previous work. His debut feature, No Skin Off My Ass, concerned a love affair between a hairdresser and a skinhead, and was black and white. More recently, Otto; or Up with Dead People contains punctuation in the title and follows a sexy German pro-zombie propaganda movement. Understanding these films, we have found, takes a certain level of mental fitness that we just have not achieved.
But maybe this one will be different! According to an interview with Vocativ, LaBruce based the film on his own youthful appreciation of older men.
How about we take this to the next level?
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“After I hit puberty, I had very strong sexual fantasies about older men, ranging from male teachers in their 30s or 40s to even older men in my life,” LaBruce recalls. “Our contemporary Western culture doesn’t even want to acknowledge that postpubescent children can have these kinds of sexual impulses. Age of consent laws vary worldwide, but it is obviously often a gray area in terms of morality and ethical behavior. With my movie, I chose to represent an inter-generational love and sex relationship that is as extreme as possible and still within legal boundaries. But it still disturbs people in its extremity, if in a deceptively gentle and subtle way.”
Hmm, maybe it’ll be a gay Harold and Maude.
Whatever the case, the movie doesn’t mean that LaBruce is abandoning his weirder side. Sure, this is his most expensive work to date, and his first union shoot, and the most organized film he’s ever made. But his next project is an “anti-narrative” experimental adaptation of a stage play based on a poetry collection. Now that’s a guaranteed hit!
RandallSM
Not “artsy,” but, “arty.” This isn’t a crochet class.
Throbert McGee
“With my movie, I chose to represent an inter-generational love and sex relationship that is as extreme as possible and still within legal boundaries. But it still disturbs people in its extremity, if in a deceptively gentle and subtle way.”
Hmm, maybe it’ll be a gay Harold and Maude.
Seems like a potential winner to me. God, I can well remember being a 15-year-old absolute virgin and lusting after teachers, coaches, and other men much older than I was. (My 10th-grade Sunday School teacher was an Army officer who lived in my neighborhood and looked a little bit like Colin Firth. It was the only year that I found Sunday School to be something other than a complete bore — though nothing ever happened outside my ravenous J/O fantasies.)
In my second year of college, I discovered the amazing sport of “tearooming” and always considered myself INCREDIBLY LUCKY if the anonymous guy with whom I was trading handjobs and (don’t-cum-in-my-mouth!) BJs was a “townie” in the 30-50 range, rather than a student my own age (yawn, you’ll do…).
And 50 years was not an absolute cut-off age for me, but I didn’t consider myself a “gerontophile”, and never had a “grandpa fixation.” I did, however, gravitate overwhelmingly towards men who LOOKED like men, and couldn’t possibly have been cast as high-schoolers in a John Hughes flick.
hotboyvb81
wow- who would have thought the ‘Tom and Dustin Love Story’ would make it to cinemas so soon 😉
Apparatus
@hotboyvb81:
All tea all shade.
Billy Budd
I am 39 and I usually don’t have sex with people older than me. I prefer the younger ones. I had an older lover only once. The guy was about 45 yo, a total bottom, very muscular and hairy. He was very experienced and into lightweight S&M. He played with my nipples for hours.
stranded
I don’t find Labruce films very entertaining. Hustle White, meh. No skin off my ass, meh. L.A. Zombie looked dumb, so I didn’t bother. This looks promising, I’ve heard about it for about a year now. He knows how to titillate the audience with the beauty of the male form.
jazz4108
I guess if we are both attracted and willing and of age then there really is no harm just the stigma that goes along with age gap relationships. Who has the right to tell you who you can love anyways? Oh I forgot the state of Nevada apparently does.
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BritAus
Wow, I wonder how this with go down (pun not intended)with Today’s youth obsessed society?
DannX68
It’s a wonderful movie, saw it at a film festival here in Copenhagen, Denmark this April.
Of course the young guy is adorable, but the older guy is a total blast with a spark that makes it seem beleiveable that the young one would fall for him, and the way the young one looks at the old man really expresses a lot of love.
john.k
I saw this at the Dublin LGBT film festival. My much younger boyfriend who fancies much older guys (like me) thoroughly enjoyed it. As DannX68 says the older guy is great fun.
Matt1961
Gerontophilia? This makes what I have as a relationship sound like a mental disease.
I’m 53, my boyfriend of 4 years is 23, and we are very happy. I didn’t ever think I’d be in a inter-generational relationship however I am and I love it.
Kenover
Unfortunate title but it’s a good movie. I saw it at the San Francisco Gay Film Festival. I’m not a big Bruce LaBruce fan but I liked it.
BeachDaddyDave
I am soon to be 59 years old and am pleasantly [and gratefully] amazed by the number of much younger men who hit on me all the time. I find many of these men to be interesting, interested, capable of teaching me many things and in keeping me with a more vibrant view of the world. We do have much to learn and give to one another.
queerwhizkid
it was kinda hot and kinda gross..as a teen i get it and do like older dudes…just like twice my age…3 times my age is not the same.. I don’t mind helping yu get all yur flat screens on one remote and mowing yur lawn, but i dont want to feed yu or help yu pee…..ok ok i could help yu pee but becuz its kewl and weird, not becuz yu actually need help peeing.