Is the gay porn world about to go mainstream?
It’s entirely possible that sisters, parents, nephews and cousins could stumble into the James Franco-starring King Cobra and get a little more than they bargained for. Which could lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions for you as the “official gay” in the family.
Based on the bizarre true story about the origins of porn star Brent Corrigan (Garrett Clayton) and his relationship with closeted porn mogul Stephen (Christian Slater), the film shows the high stakes business of adult films. But it takes a decidedly dark turn when Joe (Franco) tries to steal breakout superstar Corrigan to revitalize his own production company and get him out of some serious debt.
King Cobra is fascinating to watch, yet there seems to be something missing. For a movie about gay porn, there’s no gasp-worthy, groundbreaking sex scene (only a few butt shots here and there) and because the big dramatic climax is given away in everything from studio-penned synopses to taglines on its web sites, the whole movie unfolds in a fashion far too linear in its journey from Point A to Point B.
There’s a bit of an identity crisis, too. Is it a thriller? A dark comedy? Satire? Salacious smut? Actually, it’s a little of all of the above, and depending how you approach it is likely linked to how much you’ll enjoy it. Our recommendation is to go into the theater to watch a dark comedy because that sets expectations a little differently. Even better if you don’t already know the outcome.
Each of the performances is good, even great in the case of Franco, Slater and Clayton. We were just hoping to be shocked. Maybe we’re just too jaded to be completely objective, but we so wanted this to be a movie we’d watch over and over.
We’re definitely happy to have seen it once, but that’s probably enough.
King Cobra
Premieres today on demand and throughout the fall in select theaters
www.ifcfilms.com
