![\"franco\"](\"http:\/\/smugfilm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/franco.jpg\")
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Interior. Leather Bar.<\/a> (2013) Spoiler-free.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFuck Scripts.\u201d – James Franco, Interior. Leather Bar.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n There is no greater summation of this film than in this seemingly throwaway line, which Franco barely ekes out without smirking, in the scene from which I\u2019ve grabbed the screenshot above. Within his delivery of it lies an acknowledgment of its hyperbolic untruthfulness, as well as its inherent truth\u2014what he means is, \u2018yes, of course scripts are important, but at the same time, they\u2019re just scripts, and their being there or not being there isn\u2019t worth worrying about\u2019. And his mouth lets us know that he knows we can\u2019t help but wondering anyway, and that this is the right reaction.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I don\u2019t know exactly how this movie was made. I don\u2019t know how much was scripted or not scripted, how much the actors knew or didn\u2019t know, how much of the film was planned or shaped in the moment. And I don\u2019t want<\/i> to know\u2014not knowing is<\/i> the knowing, because this film, more than anything, is about being uncomfortable. In fact, it\u2019s an exploration of uncomfortability so multifaceted and fascinating that it transcends both what it was marketed as (a Queer Cinema throwback) and what it truly is (a tongue-in-cheek pseudo-doc).<\/span><\/p>\n The premise of this movie turned me off from it for a while: James Franco re-imagining the lost, \u2018too explicit\u2019 footage from William Friedkin\u2019s Cruising<\/a>. It just sounded so goddamn stupid\u2014a useless, college art experiment, only giving credence to those who see him as over-achieving yet ultimately inept. Turns out, the premise being dumb is the whole goddamn point.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to write much about this film, because not knowing what the hell you\u2019re watching is a major part of the ride. It may seem as though I\u2019ve given too much of it away already, but trust me, I have not\u2014or, in keeping with the theme of the film, trust me or don\u2019t<\/em> trust me. Either is just fine.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Directed by Travis Mathews & James Franco
\nWritten by Travis Mathews
\n60 min.<\/p>\n