If these girls were gay guys, then the picture would perfectly capture the atmosphere of Slutty Summer. Not high art, but maybe a guilty pleasure?
John, did you really watch something called Slutty Summer?! What is it?
A film by Casper Andreas, first shown in 2004, on general release in 2005.
A porno film?
No! I picked it up at the library, actually.
Why did you want to watch a film called Slutty Summer?
It was a way to live, vicariously, the life of a 20-something gay New Yorker.
Okay. And how did that work out for you?
Fine. It made me feel I’m not missing much. And it showed that gay guys can be just as boring as heterosexuals when it comes to going on and on about sex and relationships. Although, being gay men, it’s mostly sex.
They’re all on Grindr, I suppose.
Well, no! That’s one of the things that’s slightly creepy about watching recent films, how easily one is able to date them by the technology that dominates our lives. Not a mention of Grindr, because it didn’t exist in 2004/5. And no one’s staring at their phone—because smartphones didn’t come in till 2007. The characters in this film talk about dating sites as if they’re something edgy!
Adorable. But apart from the technology, how was the movie?
It’s diverting, and there are lots of cute guys having sex. But honestly, I kept thinking the film was like a 1930s romantic comedy—Girls’ Dormitory or something—except it was guys talking about their love lives in place of girls, and the language is rawer than it would have been then. But same fluff, same lack of subtlety, same unbelievable happy ending.
You’ve got something against happy endings?
No, but these characters are all so shallow that it’s hard to imagine any of them having truly satisfying emotional lives in the long run. Really, if this is what gay lives are all about, it’s a bit depressing. Some people have believed, and continue to believe, that homosexuality, and “queerness” in general, is a revolutionary force. But there’s nothing revolutionary here. Just a lot of self-absorbed cute guys.
Well, at least they’re cute!
Yes, that makes up for a lot.
You're so gay.
I know. And I'm owning it.
Good for you.
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