EAST COAST PREMIERE

When groups of men get together in queer films like Love! Valour! Compassion! And The Boys in the Band, the booze flows and boundaries are tested. There is something about being secluded with those we love that makes us believe that we can rock the boat in a more truthful way. What happens, though, when a bunch of gorgeous straight bros get together for a relaxing getaway? It seems that we allow straight men to get away with anything, and Horseplay showcases the hypocrisy, toxicity, and eroticism that come with hard bodies in close quarters.

For the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, a group of friends gather together at a chic house to bond, drink, smoke, and play pranks on one another. They might dump a bucket of water on you while you are trying to nurse a hangover or they might take suggestive photos of buddies humping one another to share in their private group chat. Guys like these—gorgeous, slender, uninhibited—certainly act gay, but they would be first to tell you that they wouldn’t ever date another man. Even though they continuously spend time naked with one another, sleep in their briefs in the same bed, and grab each other, no homo bro.

Are straight men terrified of being gay but never want to lose that comradery of hanging with the boys? Do some guys feel betrayed if a closeted friend doesn’t condone their sexuality? The guys in Horseplay want it both ways: the freedom to express brotherly love by ribbing each other, but keeping down any guy who also might like guys.

Director Marco Berger’s The Blonde One (shown at ImageOut in 2019) focused on the frustration one gay man found after falling in love with a straight roommate, and there is connective tissue between that film and Horseplay. When a bunch of girls show up at the house, conversations become even deeper about misogyny and acceptance of sexuality. Berger delivers on the promise of male intimacy but his film lingers for how it subtly disrupts and shakes up preconceived notions about how men need to behave with one another.

~ Joey Moser

Official Selection: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 

Official Selection: BFI London Film Festival

Official Selection: Cinema Diverse Palm Springs LGBT Film Festival