Review by Amos Lassen
Rating:
“Fruit Fly”

A Fun Film

Amos Lassen

I just finished watching H.P. Mendoza’s new film, “Fruit Fly” and I have a big smile on my face. It is a fun film about Bethesda, a Filipina performance artist who moves into an art commune in San Francisco to look for her biological mother. She stays there and makes many new friends and finds connections to the GLBT and art communities. The film is an adventure as Bethesda (L.A. Renigan) comes into contact with all kinds of people. She finds a haven in the gay clubs of San Francisco and she meets some truly flamboyant (aka flaming) people and we see the angst that many teens suffer with their superficial relationships.

The film is a musical much like Mendoza’s previous film “Colma: The Musical” and the songs are wonderful. The main idea of the film, to me at least, seems to be about finding hew homes. Bethesda meets all of the gay stereotypes and she surrounds herself with them and although the plot is no great shakes, it will win you over from the first frame. The film is also a wonderful look at San Francisco and if I have a complaint at all, it is that the film does not really give a picture of the Asian gay experience (but there are others that do that so it’s not so terrible). Just relax, see it and have a good time.