Gregg Araki’s films will be the subject of a broader post on this blog, in the context of New Queer Cinema, but this post is a review of Totally F***ed Up his film from 1993. This review may contain spoilers.
The film's focus is a group of queer friends: Andy (James Duval), a bisexual, filmmaker Steven (Gilbert Luna) and his boyfriend Deric (Lance May), Tommy (Roko Belic) who has an endless string of one night stands, and lesbian couple Michele (Susan Behshid) and Patricia (Jenee Gill). Totally F***ed Up employs the use of a home video footage to record interviews with the main characters. This gives the film an an initially fragmented feel as we are shown snippets of each character, without ever getting in-depth monologues or lengthy exposition. Despite the fragmented nature of the film's beginnings, the filming technique serves to generate a sense of intimacy which makes the one-sided dialogue between the protagonists and the viewer almost conversational. The viewer is placed behind the camera and there is a heightened sense of realism as the viewer becomes the filmmaker and part of the film's narrative.
The film's focus is a group of queer friends: Andy (James Duval), a bisexual, filmmaker Steven (Gilbert Luna) and his boyfriend Deric (Lance May), Tommy (Roko Belic) who has an endless string of one night stands, and lesbian couple Michele (Susan Behshid) and Patricia (Jenee Gill). Totally F***ed Up employs the use of a home video footage to record interviews with the main characters. This gives the film an an initially fragmented feel as we are shown snippets of each character, without ever getting in-depth monologues or lengthy exposition. Despite the fragmented nature of the film's beginnings, the filming technique serves to generate a sense of intimacy which makes the one-sided dialogue between the protagonists and the viewer almost conversational. The viewer is placed behind the camera and there is a heightened sense of realism as the viewer becomes the filmmaker and part of the film's narrative.