Beefcake is a film that flits between documentary style 'talking heads' and a pseudo-narrative based on the story of Bob Mizer and the rise and fall of his not-so-secret, voyeur-satisfying empire. Throughout the narrative Beefcake does seem to teeter between the subject of pornography and actually becoming soft-core pornography with the plot emphasis less on the subjectivity of the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) industry and more on the gratuitous recreation of poses and scenes from Mizer's original films and photographs. The film was partly funded by Channel 4 / Film Four and felt as if it were a cross between two other Channel 4 programmes: Eurotrash (a popular, long running, mildly pornographic programme that eroticised both sexes) and Queer As Folk (a gay drama series released in the same year as Beefcake). Though it did come under attack from some conservative viewers (and notably Gary Bushell's review in the Sun newspaper helped to ensure that alcoholic drinks company Becks pulled out their ad-break sponsorship of the drama) Queer As Folk managed to attract a large heterosexual audience. Similarly to Beefcake, Queer As Folk explores the subject of underage gay sex, male desirability and the naivety of young people. The difference is though that over the course of the series Queer As Folk tries to morally justify (and in some cases; punish) those who break the patriarchal rules whereas in Beefcake the actions of some of the characters don't seem to be justified at all – to the extent that they're being celebrated or glorified. If Beefcake is more a celebration of homosexuality than an exploration of homosexuality, then it does seems to cut down its audience to a niche.The documentary aspects of this film (the interviews with ex-AMG models) all tend to show the AMG in a positive light. This isn't to say that they shouldn't, or that the interviewees were lying or manipulated, but there are no interviews with any one who opposed the idea of AMG publications at the time, and the nearest we get to a disapproval of the situation is when one of the interviewees claims that Mizer was a 'pervert' but continued working for him because the money was good. There doesn't appear to be two sides to this tale beyond the comparatively small sequence at the end where Mizer is found guilty and his mother is shamed – though this seems to be immediately glossed over with footage that Mizer took in the years after the court case. How can such an unbalanced, bias film be intended for a general audience?Without a coherent moral judgement, a purposely jumbled plot, and a fictional story interspersed with non-fictional interviews of the AMG models, Beefcake becomes a pastiche of the AMG magazines it's exploring and therefore leaves the audience in no position to judge the subject of the film fairly. It becomes a specialist film for someone who had already made their mind up about the situation.Beefcake could be described as a 'feel good film'. This phrase is something that's often attributed to 'gay' films by gay viewers. Beautiful Thing (1996) directed by Hettie MacDonald, is part of the same spectrum of gay cinema in that though there is a plot, it's very, very thin and concentrates on showing the aspects of homosexuality that it explores in a positive light. People like to see characters on screen that they can associate with, so it's no surprise that gay films (and even gay characters) can attract a cult following. Whilst it does (to some extent) counter balance homophobia or under representation in mainstream film, it doesn't necessarily mean that the characters are accurate depictions or that few people will watch the film other than homosexuals as the content is far too specific. Not only is the film about homosexuality, but more importantly it's about homoerotic pornography, a subject that a non-homosexual male might even feel slightly afraid of.Nostalgia is also something played upon heavily in this film through the ex-models and fans of the AMG reminiscing about the now defunct publication. How could you be nostalgic about a time that you didn't remember or didn't agree with in principal in the first place? With out prior knowledge of the marketing, viewing the film alone, you could make a pretty safe assumption through the lack of disavowal that this film was made for a specialist audience. We're also left with no clear idea as to whether Mizer genuinely was interested in male beauty as an art form or whether his only interest was in the pornographic nature of the prints – though the two fields of thought aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

I was a male physique model in the 60s in LA and this film brought back so many memories of the time. In those days you weren't totally exposed. Yes, I made centerfold! However, in my frontal shots my hand was casually at the right place although my backside was completely in view. I was an actor, new in town and to earn extra cash I modeled for Young Physique Magazine. I never met Bob Mizer although I certainly heard of AMG then. One of the scenes of this film I enjoyed was interviewing such guys as Joe Dallesandro [of Warhol's FLESH and TRASH]. He still has his looks and sense of humor. Almost making fun of himself. I also enjoyed seeing Jim Lassiter, whom I knew, and Russ Warner. The role of Mizer, played by Daniel MacIvor was well played making him human and at times a bit overbearing. Also liked the acting of Josh Peace [Neil] and Jack Griffin . They both seemed natural and not uncomfortable with the nudity. But that mother of Mizer was too much. I still have some of the films of those times, including one with Jim Lassiter. The combination of the documentary look and today's look worked. Hat's off to Thom Fitzgerald the writer/director of this flick. I remember when I had stripped all my clothes off, having a certain feeling of control as others watched me strut my wares. You find yourself in a quiet place of feeling your body being in a state all by itself. It was quite thrilling. The shoot was done on a rooftop in Hollywood. I also remember thinking at the time, of those who were watching the shoot from their neighborhood windows. You could clearly see apartment buildings surounding us. I hope they were saying, "Another star is born".

Beefcake is a fascinating docu-drama about a unique chapter in the history of the Gay liberation movement in the United States. It's a pity this film hasn't received a wider distribution here (if any at all). The MPAA guidelines, no doubt, would require quite a bit of editing to get it under the NC17 barrier. But nudity in the film, however, far from creating a salicious aura, actually conveys a sense of innocence and freshness to most of the dramatic scenes.The interview materials, in need of some tighter editing, did drag at times, though they were, for the most part, interesting and informative. This is more than made up for in the dramatic scenes. The actors convey both the excitement of this emerging masculine/Gay "scene" and the tragedy of the legal persecution suffered by the people who promoted it.By all means, see this movie if you get a chance. It's well acted (Josh Peace is a stand out), well directed and a fitting chronicle of one part of pre-Stonewall history.

I really enjoyed this! I guess you'd call it a docu-drama, since it's a mixture of reality and re-enactment. The story of Max Wiser and the "Physique" magazines of the fifties was funny, sad, and startling. There were interviews with former members of the "Athletic Models Guild", and lots of male nudity. C---, a movie buddy, asked me if I found that a turn-on. Mostly I didn't, though it was interesting to see which young men came across in the pictures as personalities, and which were just standing there flexing.