"Cruising" Brings Killer Leather Queens Back! For Better or Worse...

Al Pacino goes undercover as a 1980 gay to catch a gay killer. But watch out for the gays! And Al's gay dancing...

Back in 1980, gays were free and easy. There was no AIDS, and NYC was a big horny playground where men would wear their teensiest Daisy Dukes and mustaches and party without a care in the world. That is, until a serial killer starting chopping them up! EEEK!

Yep, therein lies the premise of the controversial 1980 Al Pacino movie, Cruising, in which Al goes undercover as a "gay" (and yes, as a gay into leather) to find the killer terrorizing the homo community. Of course, as all cinema fans know, the result was a laughably bad, stereotyped-filled, somewhat offensive look at the gay scene. Gays are victims! They're killers! They're swishy and pervy! Now, I could debate on all of those things (on boths sides, most likely), but having it played out in ineptly onscreen ain't cute.

All that said, I've never seen the film and I'm dying to. So I'm excited to find out that Cruising is getting a theatrical re-release on September 7th here in NYC (in Chelsea, naturally). And it's coming out finally on DVD on September 18th. Frankly, I'm gonna go fetch a harness, strap it on, and go watch it in person. I love bad cinema and I'm eager to see what the fuss is all about.

Ummm... Will Al pass for gay with that old lady hairdo? And where's his mustache for gay's sake?

More CRUISING and photos after the jump!

Al's cop boss Paul Sorvino preps him for the case... Down by the river, for some reason. At one point Sorvino asks him: “You ever been porked? Or have a man smoke your pole?” Ummm... Wow, Chief. And how was your weekend?

To get primed you can read a fun write-up of the film via CinemaDeMerde (watch out for spoilers). Evidently there's one scene where a suspect gets interrogated by a big African-American cop in a cowboy hat and a jock strap. Wha...? Who knew the NYPD was so progressive? Can I get arrested, please? Or is that another one of those things Giuliani ruined?

"Come here often? Kill anybody?" Gay small talk, 1980's-style!

See you at the movies... And watch out for gay S&M killers!

Comments

[Scott from CdM]

Hey John--

This is Scott from Cinema de Merde. Thank you so much for posting a link to my Cruising review... I'm honored. I'll have to start keeping an eye on your blog. How many vodka cranberries do I have to buy you to appear over in your 'favorites' list? Thanks again--

Scott