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CIRCUIT
EXPOSES A MERRY-GO-ROUND RUN BY A BAGMAN
When a gay person can no longer stand being trapped
in a small town, the opportunities of big city gay life seem
overwhelmingly tempting, and the gay migration to Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco has changed the culture
of such meccas irreversibly. But gays, in turn, have changed
from closeted innocence to the many "types" required
by the sexual entrepreneurship forced upon them in places
where they cannot quickly establish roots. For at least three
decades perhaps the most narcissistic niche for gays have
been the "tribal" circuit parties of Southern California,
announced in a bimonthly publication In and frequented
by handsome and muscular studs who thrive on being desired
by one another but otherwise appear to have no meaningful
lives. The film Circuit, directed by Dirk Shafer,
attempts not only to document the "gay superbowl"
lifestyle, courtesy of Tad (played by Daniel Kucan), who claims
to be filming a documentary within the film, but also to provide
a plausible account of how a gay police officer, John (played
by Jonathan Wade Drahos), left a small town in Illinois at
the friendly suggestion of the police chief, only to be corrupted
by the circuit culture. The film picks up tempo at a dance
event attended by hundreds of gay men, many stripped to the
waist showing centerfold musculature, and indeed similar scenes
throughout the film will doubtless bring to the box office
those attracted by pretty faces and masculine bodies (90 percent
of whom are bottoms, according to one amusing line in the
film). At the event Hector (played by Andre Khabbazi) spots
John, who is standing alone to observe the throng, and identifies
himself as a hustler. In due course the two bond, doubtless
because Hector sees John as still unjaded by the circuit culture
and therefore a "real person," while John needs
Hector's mentorship in order to feel a part of the seductive
culture.
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In due course Hector initiates John into the rituals of the
circuit culture, namely, nude swimming parties in the Hollywood
Hills, steroids and intense gym workouts, cocaine and other
drugs, and attendance at two Red Parties, a Blue Party, and
the gala three-day White Party in Palm Springs usually attended
by 25,000 gay men. (The annual Black Party was edited out
for some reason.) On one occasion John and Hector make love
in a hotel room in front of a john, so John picks up $500
as his first and only experience hustling; otherwise, he is
a security guard at gay night spots and circuit parties. One
day John's former girlfriend Nina (played by Kierstan Warren)
from Illinois comes into town to do stand-up comedy at a gay
night club; when John discovers that she has no place to stay,
he offers his pad in the Hollywood Hills. But as he descends
into the depths of circuit culture, she moves out, not only
disgusted by his sordid narcissism but also in fear that she
will eventually see him dead. Behind the scenes, Circuit
provides an exposé of who is really behind the circuit
culture-middle-aged men who rake in big bucks from overcharged
admission fees, such as $75 admission to a single all-night
dance event. Gino (played by William Katt), one fat cat in
particular, takes out life insurance policies on his circuit
pets, including Hector, whose cosmetic surgery he has financed,
in order to profit from the inevitability of their death through
a drug overdose. When Hector dies in that manner, John finally
realizes that he has overdosed on circuit culture and shifts
gears to get a real life. As a graphic description of how
circuit culture operates, both at the top and bottom levels,
the Political Film Society has nominated Circuit
for an award as best film exposé of 2002. MH
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