GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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Newcastle Wolfe
Video, Director/Screenplay:
Starring:
Unrated, 107 minutes |
Surf's
Up
I can't help it. Whenever I see a movie about surfing, all I can think about is those cheesy Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello movies from the 60s. And I hear "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris in my head. One thing that I can say right off the bat about Newcastle, an Australian surfer epic from writer/director Dan Castle, is that there aren't any laughable scenes where surfers are filmed from the waist up while flailing their arms in front of a back projection screen. |
 Newcastle
is a beefcake fest that tells the story of a young man who wants to rule
the waves. Jesse (Lachlan Buchanan) is 17 and lives in the shadow of his
older brother Victor (Reshad Strik), a former champion surfer. An injury
ended Victor's career and now he labors in the shipyards with their father.
Victor, jealous of his younger brother's surfing prowess, is a powder keg
waiting to explode. Jesse's twin brother, Fergus (Xavier Samuel), is gay.
He is picked on, but tolerated, by Jesse's surf posse. Fergus is a quasi-Goth
who pines after Jesse's best surfing buddy, Andy (Kirk Jenkins). |
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 The
film's tone vacillates between dumb high school hi-jinks and gritty working
class drama. It's like two different films spliced together while someone
was asleep in the editing room. Terrific moments are scattered throughout
but there is no glue holding it all together. There is a nice contrast between
the beach and the industrial Newcastle seaport imagery. Ocean freighters
are often in the background of the surfing scenes as a constant reminder
of the lads' working class roots and their desire to escape. The addition
of Fergus, the gay brother, adds a lot of interest to the film and it is
refreshing that his queerness is mostly a non-issue. (It was especially
amusing, following a skinny dipping scene, when the straight boys are dumbfounded
that Fergus is way better hung than the rest of them.) But, on the
minus side, there are way too many meaningful glances and beach
interludes. The film is too long and could easily lose at least 15
minutes. |
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 One
of its problems is that there is too much going on and none of
it is ever resolved satisfactorily. I would love to know, for example, if
Fergus and Andy ever hook up. I've criticized films in the past for tying
things up too neatly but if you're going for a Rocky feel you should
at least tell the audience whether or not the underdog wins at the end;
especially when you have been watching him smash things and stare into space
for the previous half hour. It doesn't help that Jesse's character isn't
as interesting as either of his brothers. It's possible, however, that I
may have missed some important dialogue because some of the Aussie accents
are so thick that you don't even know what these guys are saying half the
time. |
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 CLICK THE ABOVE BANNER TO PURCHASE THIS WOLFE VIDEO TITLE |
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Jesse
loses a spot in the Championship and so he gathers his chums, some babes,
(and, reluctantly, Fergus), on a beach camping weekend to blow off steam.
A few nice character-driven scenes, especially involving Fergus and Andy,
play out nicely but are swallowed up by bad campfire singalongs, belching,
and drunken pranks. After this night of debauchery, the lads hit the waves.
Their camaraderie is interrupted when big brother Victor shows up with
two equally testosterone-fueled friends to challenge them. Tragedy befalls
and the third act is dominated by a family drama that - while exceptionally
well acted - just goes on forever!
Newcastle
is an ambitious, if uneven, film. What it does have, and will
undoubtedly help attract hordes of young gay male viewers, is an abundance
of teens who are rarely seen in anything besides swim trunks - and some
spectacular surfing footage. When I say, spectacular, I mean spectacular.
The photography is amazing here, both above and under the water. Newcastle
looks like a Hollywood blockbuster, it is superby acted and, while
it might not always connect emotionally, it will surely satisfy on a pure
sensory level.