Review by Grady Harp
Rating:
CIRCUIT does not purport to be a total description of the Los Angeles gay population as some reviewers seem to believe and object. This film shows a very real segment of men whose lives ARE ruled by physical appearance, gym bodies, dance clubs, sexy clothes and drug abuse. ‘Circuit’ refers to the widespread gay parties that glorify the razzle dazzle of Dionysian sexuality – the White Party in Palm Springs, the Red Party, the Blue Party, etc. The story shows how a closeted cop from a small town ventures to West Hollywood, finds comradery in the freedom of life he has been repressing, and goes all the way with the extremes of the wild life, ending up with the sad side effects of overindulgence. No one here is preaching that this compulsive behaviour is THE way to live; the other people our cop encounters include men and women who live on the periphery of the party line and are tender, loving, caring ‘normal’ folk. What the writers and directors do examine here is just how fatal the wild life can become when the fear of aging, of no longer becoming the ‘new sensation’ in town, happens. There is a lot of in-club dancing accompanied by a lot of drug use and abuse. Yet in the end we have the opportunity of examining the Rake’s Progress effects on all the characters who survive. The use of the ‘video being made’ within a film is very effective and the cast is eye candy and for the most part a fine group of actors. No need for accepting or rejecting this film as a statement more than an exploration of a facet of real life that gratefully is not a whole population.

Review by T. Hulse
Rating:
Circuit was an enjoyable film. For most, will never see this side of the world and it allows you a view of a reality that is alien to most of us. The film quality was excellant and the acting was good. It was hopeful, dark and a real wake up call about how things can get out of control fast. I was engaged by the leads and felt the story was exceptional. This is an adult film because of the Sex, Drugs, partial nudity and rubber body parts that are shown. I gave it four stars only because it starts out a tad bit cheesy however it improves quickly. It is a good addition to your video collection.

Review by D. O’Neill
Rating:
The gentically perfect. Love them, hate them. Envy them, want to be them, and yet, not be them. These are guy’s that refelect effortless confidence. A kind of engery that comes to men who are very good looking or seldom filled with self doubt, as Dennis Lehane wrote in Mystic River. All of these guys are in this film and every TV show and film made. The ones who make the money, the ones teenage boys and girls put on their walls, are perfect in face and body. Circuit tries to show that this life, while sexually free of any morals, can be as empty as the space between the Earth and the moon. Still, they choose to live this life and I am sometimes jealous I cannot (me of no high cheekbones or flat chest and stomach. I’m just normal, which means I write about this than live it). I was surprised at how good the film is, even if the story is a little flat. Jonthan Wade Drahos, an almost bizarre version of Peirce Brosnan, Andre Khabbazi, Brian Lane Green and Daniel Kucan do fairly well with the thin material given, and all are very, very, very beautiful. But the film wanders too much, trying to tie all stories together, while hoping to make a point. And William Katt and Karen Allen, well, both of them look sort of out place in the film. But, in the end, who is the audience for this film? Even before I saw this, I was aware that this life is very self-destructive. And the Circuit queens will tell you that drugs are the only thing that makes sex interesting (one of my friends told me that if you don’t do drugs, circuit parties are essentially boring. Nice). It’s worth a look, but it’s message is as mixed up as drug crazed pretty boys.