DVDs

By Gary M. Kramer
PGN Contributor
© 2008 Gary M. Kramer and Philadelphia Gay News

Two films about gay men finding love while looking for sex are now out on DVD. “A Four Letter Word” features the inimitable Jesse Archer reprising his role of the lustful Luke from “Slutty Summer.” Always on the hunt for a man, Luke dispenses witty pickup lines until he meets Stephen (Charlie David) who calls him a “gay cliché.” “The Houseboy” is writer/director Spencer Schilly’s cute romantic comedy about the title character (Nick May) sleeping with a series of drug and sex addicts in a quest for someone to love.

PGN spoke separately to both Archer and Schilly about their films.
PGN: In “A Four Letter Word,” Luke talks about getting to know someone by learning about their siblings, where they grew up and their star sign. What can you reveal to readers who want to know about you?
JESSE ARCHER: Is this an Interview or a date? I am a Cancer. I grew up in Beaverton, Ore., and I have a brother and sister — just like I say in the film, actually. I made a pact not to ask what people do for a living. I can’t stand a typical question. I’d rather know about shameful pasts — start with the worst and discover things along the way. Life is like that, too.

PGN: OK, tell me something shameful from your past.
JA: I was recently blackballed from a friend’s party list because I was once caught giving blowjobs in the bathroom. They thought it was tacky. I thought I was being courteous.

PGN: Since we’re talking about your sex life, how was it to film those scenes where Luke and Stephen (Charlie David) get intimate?
JA: We were making out all over the city. He’s very hot, but the sex [in the film] is all choreographed, so I didn’t get the chance to enjoy him like I would like to. Especially when we were fighting for the condom! Getting down to it, the makeup man had to spray glycerin on us to make us sweaty. I was hot and bothered in all the wrong ways.

PGN: Stephen describes Luke as “a gay cliché.” In what ways are you “typical”?
JA: [Laughs]. Let’s see. I would say in most ways. Except, I didn’t get the design gene. I’m not a good decorator, frankly. And I’m not about fine dining. I’m a little trashier than the typical gay. I’m more down to earth.

PGN: What about the drag scenes? I know from your book “You Can Run” that you love wigs.
JA: I do love a good wig. [An ex-boyfriend] was Mariah Carey’s stylist. Oh my God! I am a gay cliché! I’m never going to get a date out of this interview, or an interview out of this date.

PGN: In the film, Luke identifies the following four-letter words: Home, date, love, slut, teen and cunt. What is your favorite?
JA: I probably use slut the most. But my favorite four-letter word is “risk.” Not sexually speaking, but taking chances.

PGN: Spencer, how did you come up with the idea of “The Houseboy?”
SPENCER SCHILLY: “The Houseboy” came out of my frustration with the lack of interest in my second film, “Send in the Clown.” I came up with a concept that I could easily turn into a successful movie: Find hot shirtless boys and bring them to your apartment and turn on the camera. Of course I had to come up with a script and a scenario and I wasn’t about to tell some cute, happy coming-out story that didn’t ring true to me and that had been done hundreds of times before so I thought about some of the darker aspects of gay culture today, which to me is quick-and-easy anonymous sex and, of course, crystal meth.

PGN: How did you conceive the various obstacles Ricky encounters on his path to happiness/love?
SS: People often ask this question and I think they want me to say that I was a houseboy or I once had a houseboy, but that is unfortunately not true — although I would have been a good one. The characters in this film are all based on people I have encountered, stories I have heard or situations I have been in. No character is based on one specific person but just different people, and many are fragments of myself. I basically put all of my fears, frustration, desires, experiences and stories I had heard in a virtual blender set in my apartment, and “The Houseboy” came out.

PGN: What about all the sex and nudity in the film? Was that deliberate to sell DVDs? Did the actors have difficulties with it?
SS: Yes, it was extremely deliberate and a cheap ploy to get attention, into festivals and sell DVDs. Although sometimes the sex scenes are disturbing, I believe they are not exploitive, but brutally honest and something that will hopefully lead to discussions about how gay men sometimes treat each other. The actors knew exactly what they were getting into before they came in for the audition, so if there were any actors who had problems with nudity or man-on-man action they never came and auditioned for the movie.

PGN: What can you say about casting Nick May as Ricky?
SS: Nick’s soulful eyes, adorable face and ability to connect with the character made casting him a no-brainer.