Beefcake (1998)

Absolutely brilliant

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Beefcake is a film that flits between documentary style 'talking heads' and a pseudo-narrative based on the story of Bob Mizer and the rise and fall of his not-so-secret, voyeur-satisfying empire. Throughout the narrative Beefcake does seem to teeter between the subject of pornography and actually becoming soft-core pornography with the plot emphasis less on the subjectivity of the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) industry and more on the gratuitous recreation of poses and scenes from Mizer's original films and photographs. The film was partly funded by Channel 4 / Film Four and felt as if it were a cross between two other Channel 4 programmes: Eurotrash (a popular, long running, mildly pornographic programme that eroticised both sexes) and Queer As Folk (a gay drama series released in the same year as Beefcake). Though it did come under attack from some conservative viewers (and notably Gary Bushell's review in the Sun newspaper helped to ensure that alcoholic drinks company Becks pulled out their ad-break sponsorship of the drama) Queer As Folk managed to attract a large heterosexual audience. Similarly to Beefcake, Queer As Folk explores the subject of underage gay sex, male desirability and the naivety of young people. The difference is though that over the course of the series Queer As Folk tries to morally justify (and in some cases; punish) those who break the patriarchal rules whereas in Beefcake the actions of some of the characters don't seem to be justified at all – to the extent that they're being celebrated or glorified. If Beefcake is more a celebration of homosexuality than an exploration of homosexuality, then it does seems to cut down its audience to a niche.The documentary aspects of this film (the interviews with ex-AMG models) all tend to show the AMG in a positive light. This isn't to say that they shouldn't, or that the interviewees were lying or manipulated, but there are no interviews with any one who opposed the idea of AMG publications at the time, and the nearest we get to a disapproval of the situation is when one of the interviewees claims that Mizer was a 'pervert' but continued working for him because the money was good. There doesn't appear to be two sides to this tale beyond the comparatively small sequence at the end where Mizer is found guilty and his mother is shamed – though this seems to be immediately glossed over with footage that Mizer took in the years after the court case. How can such an unbalanced, bias film be intended for a general audience?Without a coherent moral judgement, a purposely jumbled plot, and a fictional story interspersed with non-fictional interviews of the AMG models, Beefcake becomes a pastiche of the AMG magazines it's exploring and therefore leaves the audience in no position to judge the subject of the film fairly. It becomes a specialist film for someone who had already made their mind up about the situation.Beefcake could be described as a 'feel good film'. This phrase is something that's often attributed to 'gay' films by gay viewers. Beautiful Thing (1996) directed by Hettie MacDonald, is part of the same spectrum of gay cinema in that though there is a plot, it's very, very thin and concentrates on showing the aspects of homosexuality that it explores in a positive light. People like to see characters on screen that they can associate with, so it's no surprise that gay films (and even gay characters) can attract a cult following. Whilst it does (to some extent) counter balance homophobia or under representation in mainstream film, it doesn't necessarily mean that the characters are accurate depictions or that few people will watch the film other than homosexuals as the content is far too specific. Not only is the film about homosexuality, but more importantly it's about homoerotic pornography, a subject that a non-homosexual male might even feel slightly afraid of.Nostalgia is also something played upon heavily in this film through the ex-models and fans of the AMG reminiscing about the now defunct publication. How could you be nostalgic about a time that you didn't remember or didn't agree with in principal in the first place? With out prior knowledge of the marketing, viewing the film alone, you could make a pretty safe assumption through the lack of disavowal that this film was made for a specialist audience. We're also left with no clear idea as to whether Mizer genuinely was interested in male beauty as an art form or whether his only interest was in the pornographic nature of the prints – though the two fields of thought aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

Beefcake is a decent 'mock'u-mentary of the life and times of Bob Mizer, founder of the 'Athletic Model Guild' in the early 50s - and precursor to todays muscle mags and also the Playgirl type of magazine. Sure, the storyline is predictable (but, so was 'Titanic') but the characters are all but priceless! And, many of the actors playing the models when young look a lot like the actual models did! This was a great use of stock original footage and 'made to look like' stock original footage. The interviews with the models are priceless, if only for the reality they provide. The acting is spot on, the sets are great and (when viewed in comparison to the original films) quite spot on! One of the other great aspects of the film is the recreation of the AMG original title styles for the credits for this film. All around, a good movie which chronicles the rise and fall of the beginnings of the 'Beefcake' magazine industry!

Most of the guys interviewed in this documentary wouldn't know who Dorothy is. Even men who cross the (often thin) line between male modeling and hustling do not know that much about campy gay culture. BEEFCAKE deals mostly with this fact. The film is precisely about the detail that most of the models (at least initially) did not realize they were posing mostly for homosexuals. So, it is very unfortunate that catty remarks that may taint a potential viewer's image of the movie are often highlighted. Many Film Critics have done the same before. Tackling stereotypes is also part of BEEFCAKE's agenda, and the movie succeeds in addressing the points I've just mentioned. The flashbacks and dramatization/reconstruction of events are woven into the narrative as well as can be expected. In fact, the editing exceeded my expectations. After all, this type of documentary mixing actual footage, recent interviews, narratives, "faux" past footage, and obviously recreated dramatizations is hardly innovative. But it does work very well here. It is all very coherent. All the added 50s and 60s touches introducing interviewees are actually quite clever. This film defines a period that may have gone forgotten. Dorothy or Judy have nothing to do with this film, except in the head of certain viewers, as in all films. This is one worthwhile documentary mixed with fictionalized events.

Funny, brave, humane and concise, this movie starts with a sharply different landscape and source material than Thom Fitzgerald's earlier minor masterpiece, The Hanging Garden, but shares with that film a propensity for spotting touches of authentic humanness in the most unlikely places. The flashes of wit range from sheer serendipity (I was startled to hear myself asking my companion, "Who IS that old queen?" when Jack LaLanne appeared, rabbiting on about Muscle Beach) to carefully scripted exchanges in the courtroom scenes. The latter really are a tour de force--think Ed Wood meets Perry Mason--and newcomer Jack Griffin Mazeika turns in a boffo performance as the sly, but vulnerable young Red. Also worthy of praise are Daniel MacIvor as Bob Mizer and the amazing Carroll Godsman as his mother Delilah. Godsman turns what could have been a campy send-up (think Carol Burnett Show) into a remarkably poignant characterization. One weakness of the film is that the script doesn't give her and MacIvor an aftermath scene in the wake of the brilliant courtroom sequence--in fact the ending of the film is a bit on the spotty side, perhaps due to lack of material. I thought the interview footage was fairly cleverly integrated into the framework of the narrative. I was fascinated to see Joe D'Allessandro looking like an older guy you'd see washing his Caddy in his driveway in your neighborhood. He actually looked fairly healthy which in itself is an amazing achievement.The credits do end things on an upbeat note. I can't wait to see where Fitzgerald goes with his next project!