I love this movie for a number of reasons: There is a lot of flesh, sometimes even full frontal. The lead character is beautiful and fresh (although he didn't have much of a career after this, which is a loss to us all.) And there's a lot of gay history, albeit about a very specific area of history. It's also filmed beautifully, very stylized and obviously on sets. It's gorgeous. I've seen it many times.It's not for everybody. I think that's what I like about it. You can see that they spent a good amount of money on it, but it's only realistically intended for a gay audience. So many gay movies suck. The nineties were cruel with their promise of films that were stupid or poorly done. This one isn't either. I've had my copy for years and I will continue to watch it over and over.

The makers of this film set a bit of a challenge for themselves. How to make an interesting movie about the world of magazine photography. The subject in this case is one that hasn't been comprehensively covered before: male physique photography. Generally speaking, in 30s the emphasis was on art, in the 40s on fitness, in the 50s on sensuality, and in the 60s on sexuality. The film explores all aspects of this industry by focusing on a few of the top photographers and their models. Surprisingly, not all participants had the same ideas or experiences about their work, nor the same recollections. In fact, these folk seemed to rather enjoy their work, which did emphasize a healthy, fit body. The relationships of the models emerges as congenial and brotherly, and the photographic activity as engaging. As in any "entertainment type industry" there were some over-the-top kibitzing, which in some cases digressed into rather kinky goings on. Still, the makers of this film manage to remain light hearted about most of it, while allowing some top models and fitness stars to share their memories in short commentary episodes. For those who were not into this area, they could simply not buy the magazines nor be concerned about the whole matter. For those who found this an area of interest, they were free to make their own choices. What caused problems were conflict with the law, which itself may be controversial. These clashes are also presented here in enactments. It was interesting to see Joe D'Allesandro, well remembered from some of Andy Warhol's films, being interviewed--and what a candid, down to earth personality he is. The fellows, though, come across as having a good time. While it may not be the most ambitious of professions, modeling at least keeps one off the streets -- that is, almost everyone.

I saw this film with some misgivings and enjoyed it a lotmore than I'd expected. It's the story of Bob Mizer andhis Athletic Model Guild and the unfortunate court trialthat took place in the '60's because of pornography charges. Mizer's physique magazines filled with "artistic" photos of nude and nearly nude males seem quiteinnocent by today's standards but were looked upon ratherdifferently back in those less enlightened times. "Beefcake" mixes lots of vintage photos of AMG models withcontemporary footage and actors giving credible performances (Josh Peace as model Neil O'Hara is especially good). There are a number of "talking head"interviews with people connected with Mizer's outfit inone way or another. Two of them are Joe Dallesandro (whowent on to Andy Warhol fame) and Jack LaLanne. I was especially amused by the very macho LaLanne's comments. Especially when the interviewer asks a question that prompts LaLanne to say "are you asking me for a date?" That remark brought some guffaws from the audience! Foranyone looking for something different in the way of entertainment, I would recommend this film.

Beefcake is a fascinating docu-drama about a unique chapter in the history of the Gay liberation movement in the United States. It's a pity this film hasn't received a wider distribution here (if any at all). The MPAA guidelines, no doubt, would require quite a bit of editing to get it under the NC17 barrier. But nudity in the film, however, far from creating a salicious aura, actually conveys a sense of innocence and freshness to most of the dramatic scenes.The interview materials, in need of some tighter editing, did drag at times, though they were, for the most part, interesting and informative. This is more than made up for in the dramatic scenes. The actors convey both the excitement of this emerging masculine/Gay "scene" and the tragedy of the legal persecution suffered by the people who promoted it.By all means, see this movie if you get a chance. It's well acted (Josh Peace is a stand out), well directed and a fitting chronicle of one part of pre-Stonewall history.