最后的直男

Two best friends – one straight, one bisexual/gay – hook up just before the straight guy gets married. It’s the start of a decade long affair where the guys meet for one night a year to have sex, catch up and let loose. However what should be a secret but simple bit of fun soon becomes something more complicated for both of them.

That’s the set-up for writer/director Mark Bessenger’s The Last Straight Man, which shows us five of the mens’trysts over a 12-year period. With the film coming to DVD (it’s out this week in both the US and UK), we took the opportunity to chat to Bessenger about his movie, how the actors dealt with the sex and nudity, and whether gay people have a double standard about ‘straight’ men having same sex affairs.

Where did the idea for The Last Straight Man come from?
I wish I could say it was autobiographical, but it actually sprang from the budget. I knew my next feature would have to keep costs down, so I began to wonder if I could set a movie in one location and keep it interesting for ninety minutes. From there, it just built itself up: a hotel suite…one night every year afforded the opportunity to let characters grow…two men…best friends…one straight and one gay would provide the drama…unrequited love and sexual curiosity would provide the conflict…and there it was.

Have you ever fallen for a straight friend yourself?
I’ve had some pretty hard crushes on some of my straight guy friends, but yes, there was one that I was on the verge of falling in love with. Thank goodness it never happened. He was married with kids and it would have been a disaster. But, if he had been gay, it would have been glorious. We got along so well.

How did the main actors, Mark Cirillo and Scott Sell, get involved?
Scott was the first actor cast. When I was writing the script, I happened to see Scott in an episode of a local web show from Detroit, Michigan. It was a horror series, and Scott was great and had the perfect look for the Cooper character. I contacted him on Facebook, struck up a conversation and when the script was completed, I sent it to him to see if there was any interest. He wanted to try out, and I video auditioned him. He did a great job, and that was that.

Another actor had initially been cast as Lewis, the gay guy, but a month before the start of production, he backed out—a director’s nightmare. Several other good actors were contacted, including some who had originally auditioned for the part, but they turned it down, mostly because of the nudity and sex. One turned it down because of the “dirty bottom” joke! Producer Benjamin Lutz suggested I auditioned Mark Cirillo. They were friends because they had both been in another movie together (The Men Next Door), and Mark had done comedy and nudity in that film. So we brought Mark in, and he was great, so the two leads were complete.

Is it true that you initially thought about having different actors playing the two main characters at each of their meetings? Why was that scrapped?
Yes. Originally, I thought it would be fun to have different actors play the same characters every time they met. Maybe even actors of diverse races. It would give me the opportunity to work with more good people and add an interesting spin to the film, but the producers discussed it with me, and we ultimately decided it was too gimmicky an idea. The audience would have to get acquainted with the characters anew each time which would make it harder to build upon their story arcs. Plus, each concurrent set of actors would have to work within ever-tightening parameters, as they could only perform within the boundaries set by the preceding actors, which wouldn’t be as much fun. So we scrapped the idea.

Due to the setup of showing us some of the men’s yearly meeting, there’s a fair amount of nudity and sexual situations. Was that difficult to handle on set? Were the actors concerned about it at first?
Mark Cirillo had done nudity in previous films so it wasn’t a big deal to him (although now that the movie is done, he has told me he’s amazed at how much skin and sex there is in it), and when we were recording the audio commentary for the DVD, Scott revealed that ‘those’ scenes had almost prevented him from accepting the role. Both actors were very brave, but I have to give special props to Scott, who basically flew across the country to meet a group of people he didn’t know and get comfortable enough around us to take off his clothes and show butt and peen.

We rehearsed the scenes (clothed) extensively before we began filming, so the actors were relaxed and familiar with each other’s bodies, so I think that made it easier for them. And while we shot with a small crew, it was still difficult to get people to work on the film, due to the fact that it was GAY sex and MALE nudity. Even the women on the shoot were, I was told, uncomfortable. But I am always about challenging boundaries, so I take that as a badge of honor. And everyone behaved professionally. Even the telling of dirty jokes on set was practically nonexistent.

How much of a challenge was writing the script? You want us to get to know these men, but you are seeing them in quite limited periods. Was it difficult to keep it natural but still fully flesh out the characters?
Not at all. It was probably one of the easiest scripts I’ve ever written. Once I knew who these two guys were, and what I wanted each annual reunion to be about, the creation of the script just flew. I believe once the outline was done, I wrote it in a week. There was a very minimal rewrite after I let a few friends read it.

The film deals with the complexities of sexuality. It can often be a tangled thing with many people having different ideas about how peoples’ sexuality works and how/whether it can change. As the movie deals with people whose sexuality is being challenged or changing (at least in their own minds), how did you ensure that felt real?
I think a person’s sexuality is pretty much set at a young age with fuzzy borders. When I was a kid, I knew I didn’t feel the same way about girls as I did about boys, but I still thought I would get married to a woman some day and have kids. This was the ‘Barbie Dream House’ fantasy, and I didn’t realize it was really a gay fantasy. In high school and college, I became convinced I was bisexual and even bedded several women in an attempt to prove it to myself, but it was never as satisfying as it was when I had sex with men. Finally, I decided to just admit the truth to myself and came out as gay. So, did my sexuality change? No. Just my own interpretation (or frantic attempt at labelings) of what I thought I was, not what I really was.

And I believe this is true for a lot of people. One ‘straight’ male friend and fuck buddy told me that he considered himself totally heterosexual…he just liked to suck dick once in a while. To me, that is not straight, but to HIM, it absolutely is. So was his sexuality changing? I don’t think so. I think he was bisexual with a preference for women, but if he had come to this realization, his sexuality wouldn’t change, just his interpretation of it. And I found this fascinating and tried to incorporate this into Cooper’s character to help give him that authenticity.



I was also interested in how the guys’ meetings are supposed to be about escape and fun for both of them, but it quickly becomes apparent that there’s more to it than that. Do you think people can have ‘friends with benefits’ relationships that don’t get more complicated?
I really don’t. Sex, even if it’s originally just for fun, implies a certain amount of intimacy between the people involved. Now, I’m talking about ongoing sexual relationship, not going to a bathhouse or a sex club. When we have sex, we are revealing ourselves to another person in many ways. We are exposing our bodies, our pleasures, our fetishes, our psyches…everything that makes us who we are. I don’t think you can expose those aspects of ourselves to each other and not have it emotionally take hold somewhere.

It’s often difficult to get gay-themed films made. How did you go about getting financing the film?
I wish I could say I sold my body for a night to an Arabian prince and raised the entire budget by morning, but in actuality, we approached distributors, friends and investors but no one wanted to bite. Even a couple of porn companies. My biggest surprise was how many ‘out and proud’ homosexual men were actually afraid to put money into a gay production because their families and friends might disapprove. We tried an IndieGoGo campaign that failed miserably. Ultimately, a production company came through for us after reading the script and thinking it was great. Who was I to disagree?

I’m often intrigued when watching movies in which married men have an affair with another guy, whether the ‘cheating’ character would seem as sympathetic if he was having an affair with a woman. Do you think that’s true and that perhaps gay-themed cinema has a bit of a double-standard on that issue?
It is a double-standard, because cheating on a committed partner IS cheating. But I think we are more apt to forgive a married man sleeping with a gay man because men cheat to fulfill something they’re not getting in their normal relationships. If he’s having hetero sex at home and seeks out other hetero sex, it’s harder to forgive, because he’s looking for more of what he’s already getting. But if a married man is seeking out gay sex, we believe (or often WANT to believe) that it’s because he’s searching for something more than just sex. He’s looking to fulfill some part of his makeup that his wife, or any woman for that matter, isn’t satisfying. And so he finds it with other men. For a lot of gay men, we understand that search, since so many of us have experienced it ourselves, and so, we’re more willing to forgive that transgression. But if we were to see a movie about a married gay couple in a committed relationship and one of them cheats on his spouse with another gay man, I don’t think it would be as well-received.

The film seems to have had a great reaction at film festivals. Are you pleased with how audiences have reacted to the movie?
Yes. I was surprised at how few GLBT festivals in the U.S. wouldn’t take the film. When you’re rejected, you don’t get an explanation. But I was always told that it could be for any reason: too long of a running time, not funny enough, a festival programmer was feeling particularly unattractive that day and didn’t want to book a film where someone else found love…anything. But I always had a feeling the sexual frankness of the film scared some of them off. Even GLBT fests in the Bible Belt can be pretty conservative.

Are you a fan of gay-themed cinema yourself? What are some of your favourites?
Yes, I love gay cinema. I love movies in general, but gay cinema feels like it speaks more to me than other genres (except horror, but that’s an essay in itself) because it’s easier to see myself on the screen. I could name several films, but I’m going to restrict myself to two, both by the same director: Joseph Graham. This guy is such a good filmmaker, it hurts. His first film, Strapped, is a character study of people living in an apartment building as they encounter a male escort who has just had a client and cannot find the exit. After working his way through the literal and figurative maze-like hallways, he learns something about himself. It’s a beautiful piece of work. Now, Joe has a new film coming out called Beautiful Something. He’s putting the finishing touches on it right now. He graciously asked me to watch it…and it’s simply brilliant. It’s about our relationship with art and how that effects all aspects of our lives. It’s gorgeous, sexy, amazingly directed and the acting is devastatingly wonderful. Keep an eye out for that one. It’s flat-out my favorite gay film to date.

Are you working on anything new. Is there anything you can tell us about it?
Oh yes, things have been very busy at the Bessenger film factory. Currently, an older feature I directed and was thought lost has been rediscovered. It’s called Rhapsody and is available for streaming and download on amazon.com, or for purchase on Blu-ray on eBay. It was my first gay feature, shot in Chicago in 1994. When it was found, we remastered the footage, re-scored the music and re-edited the picture. There were a LOT of montages. A LOT, lol. Anyway, it’s recently been made available.

The very first feature film I ever directed, a horror/comedy/action/martial arts film called Ninja Zombie may be finally seeing the light of day next year. I was told it was too ‘mean-spirited’ by a distributor and so let it collect dust in my garage until recently someone came calling for it. Look for that one early in 2016.

And currently, I am in the middle of production on a new project called Confession. It’s a 16-scene anthology made up of gay male monologues in which each character confesses a secret to someone; sometimes a friend, sometimes directly to us. Each piece differs from the rest in tone or genre. One is a comedy, one is horror, one is romantic, one is disturbing, a few are erotic, there is a concert film, dancing and puppets; some are dark, some are light…I hope all are entertaining. And yes, there’s sex and nudity, lol.

We should finish post by the end of April and will be making the film festival circuit this year while seeking distribution.

I hope these films will appeal to ‘our’ audience, and that your readers will seek them out and enjoy them!

路易斯在好朋友库的结婚前夜，打开了库的新世界，接下来，每年库的结婚纪念日（孩子的生日），是路易斯和库普及小知识及实践同性间的做爱的日子，一年仅此一天。

本片分为三个阶段，结婚第一年-结婚第四年（包括第五年），第六年到第八年，很多很多年以后。

第一个阶段，库打开新世界，喜欢上了口交，但却坚持不能和路易斯接吻，只想和灵魂伙伴亲亲。库坚持认为自己是直的，只是喜欢上一样东西而已，那句说烂了的话，我不喜欢男生，我只喜欢你（的大J）而已（别问我为什么知道，羞羞）。路易斯则是发觉了库的想法，循循善诱（威逼利诱），想拿下他，每次刷新库的底线（最喜欢库叫路易斯SIR，然后抚摸库的时候，感觉有种征服和被征服的感觉）。

路易斯主动，库被动。

第二个阶段，库有了孩子，依旧期待每年一次与路易斯的爱爱，而路易斯有些疲倦，每次要库主动调情才活动开来。我的感觉是，路易斯已经没有以前那么主动了，第5-8年间他需要库的调情才能进入状态。他累了，精神上的累，一年才一次，还要偷偷摸摸，他再次审视自己对库的感情，是真的喜欢，还是当时的一时冲动，想占有，这么多年，他一直在寻找答案；身体上的累，正常男人也需要解决生理问题，也应该会遇到其他男人，调情做爱（大胆假设，他来找库之前，和某人做了一次，所以他才吃伟哥，而那个男人可能就是那个服务生，因为后面他的出现有点突然）。而库却鼓起勇气向路易斯表白，而后者拒绝了。对于两个人来说，这需要多大勇气。库为了路易斯，出柜，路易斯为了库的家庭，拒绝。

库主动，路易斯被动。

第三个阶段，路易斯和男友与库一家出来野餐，在长凳上，路易斯和库，交谈甚欢，相视一笑，轻轻一吻，相当自然。片尾告诉我们，他们还是保持这样，每年一次。他们是相爱的，但他们不是通过情侣的形式，而是灵魂伴侣。

结局太理想了，如果库时常想的是路易斯，一年仅一次，对他来说会不会太煎熬，会不会越来越觉得自己爱路易斯多于妻子？如果路易斯放下担心的一切，听从爱的指引，又会不会在与别的男人相处时想起库，陷入相思的圈子？

可能是我没能理解灵魂伴侣，这个玄妙的东西吧。有吗？小二，来一个。

刚刚下过一场小雪的北京，窗外寒风凛冽。
好几年没有喝酒，然而看这部电影却想喝酒了。在厨房找到一瓶古越龙山，原本打算用来做菜的，没想到味道却出奇得好。
于是一边喝酒，一边看这电影。记忆的闸门慢慢松动。

基佬的年少时光，一定都有一个想要掰弯的直男。然而不是每个直男都可以被掰弯。
或者，能被掰弯的都不是直男。
电影里的直男，要借着酒劲，才肯正视自己的欲望。
他有两个姐姐，他缺少父爱。
编剧给他铺垫了足够的被掰弯的理由。

我忽然想起很久以前，也是一场酒醉之后，那个人站在路边对我说，我好不好看？
他在路灯下笑得有些邪，我帮他整理了衣领，说：好看。回家吧。
然后转身离去。
很久以后，我猜想那大概是我最可能掰弯他的时刻。

如果真像电影里说的那样，接吻代表灵魂合一，上床只是欲望纠缠，我承认我们早就有过心灵的交汇，却从来没有让肉体越界。
电影结尾，男主角编撰了一个男友的故事，骗床上的人回到他自己的家庭里。
我理解这样的做法，因为责任比爱情更重要。

没忍住去翻了某人的微信朋友圈，此刻他在这城市的某个地方，我却终究没有发出一句问候。

我知道他有他自己的生活。
而我的另一半，在地球另一端，过几天就要回到我身边。

当初看片子的时候是在找QAC的另外一个翻译，后来看到片名和简介觉得很奇葩，以为是一部B级喜剧，就进来看了。结果有很大的惊喜。
先说剧情，一开始的单身派对让我下了一跳，也让很多人对这部片在心里默默打上了烂片的标志，然后经过前面十五分钟的铺垫之后，剧情的走向让人大跌眼镜。从两人第一次互相BK，路易斯教导库说“没有用到牙齿,不错”，到路易斯教导库如何用灌肠，这些都可以给直男们普及下同志的心理，还有性爱知识。
再说镜头，全片的场景除了最后的野餐是外景，其他的基本上都是在房间里面，这点也是这部电影加分的地方，一开始的时候我以为会有很多场景的跳跃，结果全片只有一个场景，两个演员，剧情主要靠对白来推动，非常了不起。
虽然各方面都不错，但估计片中的演员都不是同志，有些地方还是不够真实，例如库第一次被路易斯堆到，第一次进入的时候表情挺到位，跑去厕所到后来灌肠出来都没什么大问题。但第一次被进入后，库竟然可以马上就穿衣服健步如飞的走了，这点是最大的漏洞。
虽然库被进入后发现了自己另外一面从而达到另一个高潮，但第一次进入的不适并不会因为这样而消失的，之后走路还是会有些别扭，跟别说像库那样了。
另外一点就是服务员进来打扫，两人躲到房间里面BK，有很多人说这段夸张，因为太快了，但其实在这种情况下受到的刺激远比正常情况下大，也会更加兴奋，这也是为什么很多人喜欢野战的原因，因为刺激。而在随时有人进来的情况下，结束的时间的确会比以往大大缩短。只是两人的位置一看就知道偏高了，库对着的是路易斯的肚脐。不过鉴于只是剧情片不是GV，所以也无所谓。
关于最后的那里，很多人都以为路易斯说有男友那段是两人最后一次的一年之约，所以对最后两人的吻摸不着头脑。但如果算下，从库结婚前那晚也算起，分别是第四年，第五年，和第九年。而简介上面说了两人维持这种关系十二年。
当时在最后库离开时问了一句，“明年见？"
路易斯的回答是：“再说吧”
路易斯劝库回归家庭，自己也和巴尼开始约会，但他没有拒绝明年的邀约。毕竟是十年的感情，不是三言两语就能放下的，而最后的野餐之吻，也说明中间发生了很多事，导演只是将对人物心理状态转折最大的四个夜晚展现给我们。
而个人觉得最突兀的是库的角色塑造，估计是因为剧本设定所限，无法表达更深一层，显得库只是一个热爱性爱的人，到后来才慢慢审视自己的内心，发现爱上路易斯，这个心路历程很突兀，在意大利同志网剧《朱利奥和托马斯》里面，托马斯从开始到明白自己爱上朱利奥，整个过程是迷茫，不安，愤怒到崩溃最后接受，经历好几个阶段，这才是一个直男发现自己弯了的正确新路历程。然后是路易斯，他很伟大，角色塑造很成功，但从开始他勾引库BK，到循循善诱库接吻，到后来推倒库，这些铺垫都为他加了很多分，但到最后突然放弃，这个过程也跳跃很大。虽然这些心路历程也能说是在没有展现出来的那几年中，但对观众来说还是显得跳跃太大，一时间无法接受。
看到最后虽然算是一个HAPPY ENDDING，但不知道为什么总有一种说不出的忧伤。总的来说这部戏是我这些年来看过同志电影，令人惊喜的小成本制作，看的朋友别被前面五分钟吓到了，耐心看下去，你会越来越想看完的，快去看吧！