Lucky Bastard (2009)

After watching about half the film I kept thinking that an educated, intelligent, successful person would never so easily hook up with some guy he had a chance encounter with at a liquor store, let alone almost immediately claim that he "really loved" the guy. And, if that wasn't sufficiently incredible, he certainly wouldn't stick around once the guy started hitting on him for money for drugs, followed by making a scene at a bar proclaiming that "you don't own me" and "I'll do whatever I want." I even checked in this forum at that point to see what others thought about the plausibility of all this … and initially agreed 100% with a reviewer who wrote several lines beginning with "There is absolutely no way any sensible person would …" and who concluded "The implausibilities in the story are the film's major weakness." That's exactly what I felt too.But I gave it some further thought and watched the rest of the movie … with a bit of fast-forwarding. There are a lot of people, intelligent or not, educated or not, sophisticated or not, who sometimes do totally irrational things when driven by infatuation or, more bluntly, by lust. It may imply a degree of vulnerability but people who seem to have their act together can still be vulnerable as well.I doubt at this point in life I'd be so easily drawn into doing something so stupid, but then opportunities to be irrational with someone as sexy as the character Denny don't come my way … for reasons other than my sensible, world-weary personality.Real people do incredibly stupid things when it comes to sex. If they're lucky, they're not too badly hurt by the experiences and they do return to making sensible choices … as was the case with Rusty. Quite often people in movies do things that we would never do and act in a way that seems irrational to us, but most of us know real people who do such things. The news often reports on famous, supposedly well-respected, sensible people who do incredibly reckless things because of sex. We may even look back on our own lives and recall some amazingly implausible things we did … because of sex.Nonetheless, even after accepting Rusty's illogical behavior as realistic for some emotionally fragile people and also noting that the two main characters in the movie are definitely easy on the eyes, it is still by no means a great movie. There was never any sense of Rusty being driven by his infatuation for Denny, we were just told that he really loved him and had to believe that was what was making him act foolishly. Neither the story nor the acting helped to make us understand why Rusty did what he did.

I have to say that I am a little puzzled that some of the reviewers can't see the depth of the story here. While it is true that the script needed a bit of work, and that the actors were at times confined by that script, there were some redeeming qualities about the film. First, I viewed it at home on Netflix, so the issues some have raised about the sound and lighting might not have been as noticeable in the venue I used to view it. With that being said, I do feel that there was evidence of a solid movie here.First, the actors were somewhat well-suited for their roles. Denny, played by Dale Dymkoski, was supposed to come off as an addict that was driven to his addiction by traveling a bumpy road growing up. For the most part, people who are victims of such a life tend to come off as crass and smug. Dymkoski did this well, and he even looked the part. The director did well in picking that actor, as he is not only a good-looking young man (that had to be because who could be pulled in by an ugly hustler)but he has a tough exterior and the look of a hard-nosed jerk. I am sure he is not that way in life, but he can surely put on that face in front of the camera. Good selection there. I also believe that the script makes him out to be a realistic character. He is not a truly bad guy at heart, but his life-experience has hardened him. He is the kind of guy looking for someone to take care of him. He finds that in Rusty, but Rusty is also the kind of guy Denny might want to be with long-term. That is what made it so difficult to take advantage of him, although he did at times. Denny comes off as a recalcitrant person, yet one that needs to be taken care of, and Dymkoski pulled that off quite well.As for Rusty, Patrick Tatten fell somewhat short, but tried. I also thought the director did quite well in having him live in the environment he did. He restores houses but lives in a motel. This makes sense, for as the story moves on, we get the impression that Rusty detaches himself from what he loves. Otherwise, he would live in an old home he had restored, as would be expected of an architect in his field. This detachment plays a role in his love life as well. While he seems to love and care for Daniel, he has detached himself from him to a certain extent. He fails to understand the need to make a home with Daniel outside of a motel. Daniel tells him he is tired of living in a motel, to which Rusty responds that this is the Tropical, the place where Janis Joplin died. Everyone wants to stay there. He even has only one chair in the motel room, although there are two people living in it. So Rusty comes off as a character that has love and deep emotions but detaches himself from them. This is also true in his dealings with Denny. He realizes that he just wants Denny for sex, but he chooses to portray a relationship built on lust as love. He even goes so far as to say he loved Denny, but it really wasn't love. Rusty has a deep attraction to Denny and loves his sex appeal, a fact not lost on Denny who plays it to the hill and uses it to manipulate Rusty. However, on occasion, Denny lets his fondness for Rusty show by asking him not to leave him or let him go. Denny wants to stay with Rusty, but in order to do it, he will have to make sure Rusty understands that he will need financial support for his habit and lifestyle. It isn't until the situation is almost out of hand that Rusty snaps back to reality and makes the move he needed to make; however, as is painfully obvious when he stops and stares at Denny in the rear-view mirror, it was a gut-ripping decision, one he almost could not go through with.So are these characters shallow and unbelievable? Certainly not. There are millions of Dennys out there. He is a young gay man who tried to leave his hellish life behind only to be trapped in a world of drugs, pornography and fast-talking hustlers. He blended in to this lifestyle, but there was a shred of decency in him, and he truly wanted to be loved. He just could not shake the dirty habits to which he had grown accustomed. There are also millions of Rustys out there-gay men who love the aesthetics of gay life, namely the hot, young attractive guys who seem so plentiful in Los Angeles. His visual desire overshadowed his spiritual desire for Daniel. The beauty of Denny clouded his view of the wonderful life he could have with Daniel. Denny served as a wake-up call, and thankfully, the alarm clock went off before he overslept. So yes, they are believable. There are many who have insatiable desires for sex, drugs, and the night life. Even those who have it together yearn for the cut-loose moments where they can let their hair down and be wild. It was through this episode with one hot hustler that Rusty realizes that good times can be enjoyed, but life is serious. Love needs to be deep, permanent and not based on sex. In the end, he realizes he is one lucky bastard. The script makes that clear at the end. While other things could have put the film in a coma, the script revived it.

My final take on the title is that a Lucky Bastard is one never to have met and become entangled with a crack addict. The manipulation of educated, successful Rusty, which comes by every single word out of Denny the drug addict's mouth, seems to be remembered verbatim. Rusty's susceptibility comes in part from his being a decent guy who does not expect others to lie. Al Green sang about a kind-hearted woman who revives a poor half-frozen snake. When the snake bites her in return, he brushes aside her betrayal by reminding her that she knew what he was when she warmed him to her bosom.Life's too short to watch bad movies, and this is one I found myself compelled to watch completely. The actors are all capable and believable in the many layers they must weave. The production values won't make you cringe, and the script manages to show a lot in a brief time, without wasting any. The music is unusually good, which is why I'm on line to find out more about it (found it as Amazon mp3 downloads). You don't need to suspend disbelief to enjoy this film. Instead, let this film lead you out of whatever naiveté insists we'd never misstep in the path of an addicted conman without conscience. Here's where you can glimpse how fallible such a belief makes you.

***Please read carefully, this is not a rant (because someone reported abuse)!*** It is really amazing how things sometimes cross your path (rather than the other way 'round)! I was shocked to discover how this film really resembled my life, its simple truths! A friend of mine suggested I see this film on the grounds that my Phd in architecture concerned LeCorbusier's influence on Gio Ponti. "Why," I said in amazement, "how can it be that a gay themed movie has anything to do with THEM?" "Well, watch the film," he said, "and you will find out," he added with a sly smile. I got so anxious to see the film, as you can guess, and was totally engrossed by the thought.I soon found out that the lead, Rusty, was an architect, like me, and at some point early in the film was assigned a Gio Ponti house renovation - I was thrilled! Well, they didn't get to move on with the script toward that direction (we never get to see the house, unfortunately), but I did not care, I did not have the time to realize it because I was so totally taken by the fact that the crystal meth addicted hustler Rusty passionately falls in love with and has a meaningful relationship for two days (or, is it one? the film got me confused here because, you know, we see Rusty's boyfriend going on a business trip first thing in the film, leaving him his birthday present, and then at the end, after all that has happened it is still his birthday - can it be that it is next year? but then his boyfriend was on a business trip for that long? or, more obvious, he gets to open his present one year after, since it is the same box? this is heady) and as I was saying was so taken by the fact that the really caring hustler's name was Danny, that I didn't notice Gio Ponti was nowhere to be seen.Because Danny is the name of my ex. He was a hustler, too. (So now you know why my friend had put on that sly smile of his!) We were so in love, but his addiction destroyed everything we had. Watching this film was a really painful experience; it brought everything back.He was telling me too these hot, convincing things like "I really care for you, I don't wanna lose you,gimme 200 bucks, so f*** me hard all night, oh, please don't leave me!!gimme the money I tell you!!! yeah, harder," so, when someone declares his love that passionately and repeatedly, it is hard not to leave everything behind and go to the wonderful things he promises you, since you are a rich, handsome, successful architect (but you really love small budget things, this is why you live in a cheap motel).And those trips he had, oh...One was a regular; he had this thing with the wolf and the three piggies, so when he got really high, he started mumbling "I'll huff and I'll buff and I'll blow you!" - really weird stuff! Like when Danny starts shooting himself - with Polaroid shots, that is - and the scene is filled with creepy sophomore narcissism.So then I told him "This doesn't work out; I'm gonna work out." When I got back from the gym he was still there. We had a little conversation. Not long after that he relapsed, so I told him "This doesn't work out; I'm gonna work out." I can't tell you how many times I said this thing allover again, having fallen for his great heart, but I can surely tell you after working out that much, I got the terrific body I now have! And all in the course of a few days, just the way it happened in the film! Isn't life amazing sometimes?