Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Stranger in Paradise
Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer's "The Fluffer" is an earnest, honest and humane attempt at exposing the Gay Porno scene through the eyes of a young gay man Sean (Michael Cunio), new to Hollywood who falls in love with a gay porno star after he rents a movie he thinks is "Citizen Kane" that turns out to be a gay porno starring Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney).
(When the obviously oblivious Sean brings what he thinks is CK to the check out counter, the clerk winks and says: "Doing the Classics tonight, huh?) Sean proceeds to apply and get a job at Janus Films, maker of all of Johnny Rebel's films,as a cameraman and thus sets the film and his infatuation in full motion.
Westmoreland/Glatzer have the sense to steal from some of the best movies: isn't Sean really a palliative for the Phillip Seymour Hoffman character in "Boogie Nights," who is as over-the-top and overwrought in love with Dirk Diggler as Sean is laid back and introspective about his feelings for Johnny Rebel? And it's much harder for Sean to stay cool about Johnny in that, not only is he a cameraman he's also Johnny's designated "Fluffer."
There are some heavy-handed, though earnest attempts to delve into the psyches of Sean as well as Johnny but most of this falls flat as it merely upsets the equilibrium of the film: is this a psychological study or a light comedy? It is possible to be both, but the transitions need to be handled with more aplomb than they are here to be be meaningful and effective.
The final scenes of the film are a hoot though, with blatant references to Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" with Sean standing in for Paul Newman and Johnny for Geraldine Page as Sean consoles Johnny in a cheap motel in Mexico. That scene also cannily references Michelangelo's Pieta!
They probably bite off more than they can chew in "The Fluffer," but Westmoreland/Glacker show a real sense of style, grace and directorial know-how; especially difficult with the obvious constaints of a small budget. Look for these two to do great things in the future.
Rating:  - Not Oscar material, but more than just fluff
I made a point of NOT reading any reviews on Amazon or any print reviews .... I wanted to be able to form my own opinions of the film AFTER seeing it for myself. Having had some time to process and think about it, it was not a bad film.The characters are quite believable and I felt sympathy for some of them but not for others, particularly for Johnny Rebel Porn Star, played by Scott Gurney. Gurney's performance is quite good. Nevertheless, it's very difficult to feel anything good for either his character or his actions in the story. The Fluffer is a rather dark love story, but I enjoyed it for its honesty and reality. It's not romanticized in any way--quite refreshing for a gay film. It seems that many GLBT films struggle to make you like them but forcing emotions or plotlines. Not the case here. For that reason I gave it 4 stars overall. The acting rates 4 stars easily. The screenwriting a 3 and the dialogue a 2. However, the film's unflinching look at life and consequences makes it a strong and thought-provoking look at the lives of some gay (and straight) people's lives. Recommended.
Rating: - All in a day's work
Less ambitious in scope than BOOGIE NIGHTS, which imagines the porn industry as a microcosm of American ambition and capacity for self-delusion, Richard Glatzer and Wash West's feature also weaves together the stories of a cross-section of characters who work in the adult film business. Aspiring filmmaker Sean McGinnis (Michael Cunio) has just moved to Los Angeles in hopes of getting into the business. Imagine his disappointment when he rents CITIZEN KANE, only to find that the video store has given him a gay porn movie called Citizen Cum instead. But Sean's first glimpse of Johnny Rebel (tounge-out hottie Scott Gurney) more than makes up for the mistake. Enchanted by the studly personality (to call him an actor would be a stretch), Sean does a little research and then offers his professional services to porn production company Men of Janus. He's hired as a cameraman, despite sales manager Chad Cox's (Robert Walden, of TV's Lou Grant) concern about his lack of adult-film experience. Soon Sean is on the set with Johnny, and quickly discovers that his dream hunk isn't what he expected. For one thing, Johnny swears he's straight and only does gay porn because the money's better for men than it is in straight smut. Johnny has a stripper girlfriend named Babylon (Roxanne Day), who loyally bails him out of the trouble he gets into with monotonous regularity. How can she resist a guy whose repertory of sweet nothings includes, "When I need wood, I think of you"? Thoughts of Babylon notwithstanding, when Johnny has on-set performance problems, he asks Sean to help out (that's what "fluffing" is), and Sean happily obliges. Though Babylon and Johnny both swear they're going to get out of the sex business, neither seems able to break away, and soon Sean has been sucked in as well. His social life revolves around porn industry-related events, partly because he wants to be near Johnny and partly because he's seduced by the self-contained industry's sense of community. As Johnny's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Sean must confront his obsession and ask how far he's willing to go in its pursuit. Screenwriter and co-director West - who works in gay porn - evinces an easy and even-handed familiarity with the milieu, and his characters only occasionally lapse into broad caricature. The film is studded with cameos by real-life porn filmmakers, and features a small but effective appearance by Deborah Harry, playing a strip-club owner
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