| Review by Dean Galanis |
Fitfully interesting but mostly off-putting and amateurish, A F*uckload of Scotch Tape is a “queer cinema” mash-up of film noir and musical.
Graham C. Jenkins plays Benji, a much-abused young man who, desperate for money and a father figure, naively trusts an older man who sets him up for a fall.
That, coupled with his money being stolen from yet another father figure, sends Benji on a violence and sex fueled rampage of sorts, pausing every so often to relate his innermost thoughts through song.
While interesting and engaging for a while, the film quickly loses steam, despite its admirable willingness to be very different.
The songs are a cool novelty at first – they aren’t played for laughs – but quickly lose their luster.
These aren’t burst-into-song, showtune-type numbers, but merely Jenkins singing by himself, at times almost matter-of-factly.
Again, nice try, but it gets old.
It’s also a nice touch that the film uses what sounds like the soundtracks to very cheap old noirs and thrillers, giving it an off-kilter feel. But, like everything else, the tinny, lousy music ends up being alternately dull and grating.
Another issue is Jenkins – he certainly commits, and it’s a gutsy role, but it’s not an especially accomplished performance. His narration is actually rather annoying, too, sounding like a cross between Heathers-era Christian Slater and Rod Serling.
I wouldn’t be surprised if director Julian Grant eventually makes some good films.
He’s obviously not afraid to tackle unusual and potentially offensive material. But this one would’ve have been much better served as a short. It made so little an impact on me, I honestly can’t think of anything more to say about it, so unlike Mr. Grant, I’ll just say thank you and get off the stage.
