Punks (2000) User Reviews

nice change of pace

[wilbowers3 · 8/10 · 9 January 2002]

It's good to see a film depicting non-white gay men in believable situations and of various types from drag queen to masculine, and with them not being objects of derision for the other characters or the audience. Very funny and well-made.

Risque sensuality and sensitivity from the 4 principal characters.

[lprdp1 · 8/10 · 5 November 2001]

I liked Punks -- from its edgy, in-your face "realness" to its touching romantic foibles. The acting and situations of the 4 main characters are believable, a modern-day "Cinderfella", in gay Black-face, a story of friendship and love. Excellent performances by the ensemble cast in general, particularly Rockmond Dunbar (Darby) Seth Gilliam (Marcus), and Dwight Ewell (Hil). Plenty of "fresh" and flesh to keep most viewers amused, while love and reconciliation blossom in a community of oft-misunderstood and marginalized gays. An eye-opener... Nice directorial debut by writer/producer Polk.

A solid first branch of queer cinema, literally a first.

[frank56 · 13 July 2000]

Punks attempts a daunting task -- staying true to the varied spirits of gay black males -- while staying accessible to a wide audience. The film introduces the audience to an entire spectrum of what it means to be a black gay male at this point in time and does so most assuredly. This film takes its place alongside other groundbreaking queer cinema such as "Parting Glances" but goes beyond that film in quality of its production. The cinematography, costumes and makeup are first rate and serve in and of themselves as character. The cast is simply a great group of actors who you cannot take your eyes off of. Rockmond Dunbar and Seth Gilliam give great lead performances as do Dwight Ewell (from "Chasing Amy" fame) and Jazzmun, who nearly steals the film. Director Patrik-Ian Polk wisely presents a balanced film that is humorous, thought provoking and disarming to any notion that the men in this contemporary West Hollywood are any less worth caring about simply because you've never taken the time to know them. Punks is an important film, one worth seeking out and supporting. Executive producers Kenneth "Babyface" and Tracy Edmonds are to be commended for providing the budget this film deserved. Check out "Punks".

ONE OF THE MOST HONEST PORTRAYALS OF QUEER MEN OF COLOR

[TATBOY · 10/10 · 22 December 2000]

"PUNKS" is a great little flick done on a fairly shoestring budget. It's not perfectly polished; it's not full of visual effects or innovative camera tricks; but what it does have plenty of is Character! Character and Charisma; enough to go around a few times!

These guys may not be to everyone's taste, but if you give them a chance, you'll see yourself at some point in someone in this film, and that's what movies are about, after all, right?! Seeing the truth of your own life...

Being gay in this society is tough; being gay and a person of color just compounds every aspect of living freely and truly. "Punks" has truth from start to finish, truth that affirms all of our lives and revels in our uniqueness amongst one another. Even if you don't find it easy to relate to queer folks (or even L.A. folks; and that can be a challenge in itself!), the time you invest in watching this film won't be spent in vain. You'll come away with a better understanding of a wider circle of your fellow human beings. For that alone, "Punks" is well worth the time!

Very funny, even touching

[justme-2 · 9/10 · 6 October 2000]

I saw "Punks" as the opening night film in the Rochester Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It was a very funny, uplifting and even touching film. The audience loved it! The characters were well developed, interesting and there was a character almost anyone could relate to. The movie was fast paced and very visual. All in all a fun movie.

Impressive debut for young director

[don.degeorge · 10/10 · 16 October 2000]

The movie is a smart and funny view of a set of gay friends, looking at both the cynical and old-fashioned romantic sides of life. It has much to say about what constitutes friendship and family. It is one of the first, if not the first, movie to explore gay relationships almost entirely within the African-American community (there is one Hispanic in the group of close-knit friends). While the movie will be of special interest to Blacks, I as a white man enjoyed it immensely.

So-so

[preppy-3 · 5/10 · 5 May 2000]

Not bad for a low-budget film, but not great either. It's about three black gay males and one gay Latino male searching for sex and/or love in L.A. It is good to see an (almost) all-black cast in a movie not involving drugs, guns or non-stop profanity. Also, this is one of the few movies dealing with GBMs. Still, it's acting is erratic--some of the guys play it too straight, others camp it up WAY too much. There's absolutely no complexity to the characters' motivation or desires; the plot is, to be nice, old and done to death; and the direction is horrid. Also some really bad sound muffled a good portion of the dialogue. I saw it at a gay/lesbian film festival with a mostly black/white GM audience, and even they weren't too thrilled by it. A few good lines and some cute guys help. Still the low budget hurts and the movies not as funny or as clever as it thinks it is. I don't like blasting a movie like this, but I really didn't like it. Still, it's one of the few of its kind.

See this movie !

[artmyers · 10/10 · 7 June 2000]

Three words - Ex Cell Lent ! Like most independent films, the movie is not actually about the main plotline. Forget the "finding romance" story line. Its tired and a re-tread. What this movie does best is to take varying personalities, and show their struggle to not only remain friends, but also to maintain their own persona. Not to mention, Punks is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. In fact, I will probably need to see it again due to the uproarious laughter masking part of the dialogue.

A Pleasant Surprise

[mycalangelo · 30 December 2003]

When this movie began I didn't think I was going to like it at all. It seemed to be the same old tired and true gay story with all the exaggerated stereotypes. However, as I continued to watch, giving the movie a try, I found a pretty good, moving film. I identified with the main character in so many ways. I thought the acting was good too. I really felt the chemistry between the characters, emotionally as well as sexually. Kudos to the actors, producers, directors, etc for creating a decent movie about the life of black, gay men.

I do have one complaint. I was disappointed with the climax. It was like a two yard dash. It was like, boom, bam, that's all folks.

On another hand I must say that the Charlie's Angels reference in this movie made me laugh out loud for a long time. Good one.

Great film with an interesting cast; sexy and fun!

[dpete1 · 26 November 2001]

This film taken in its proper context, low budget and Patrik-Ian Polk's first film, is an extremely fun and realistic look at a segment of the population that continually gets neglected by the media (film, television, etc). The humor is specific which might make this movie hard to catch for some. I saw it in Los Angeles and the audience laughed out loud the entire time, a definite crowd pleaser. A classic fairy-tale story with a to-die-for ending, possibility the fantasy for just about anyone breathing. The movie explores complex issues, placed in a comedic context. The costumes for the "Sistas": fabulous. Rockmond Dunbar: flawless. Seth Gilliam: fantastic. Everyone should see the movie for the pure experience. Did I mention, Rockmond Dunbar?

What I thought about Punks (2000)

[1blkman · 2 December 2000]

Hey folks, I saw the film here in Chicago and was more than pleased. But I went into this wanting to like it...and I did. There was only one problem I had with the film and that was that I didn't really appreciate how the Black guys seemed overly interested in chasing white men. That was my only BIG problem. Other than that I was quite pleased. It was really intriguing to see a movie with all the leads being of color, and they were gay on top of that. I kinda felt like I was a fly on the wall looking at all of this. I'm can't hate on the fact that the direction was off (I wasn't affected by it). I'm sure the script could have been punched up a bit, but you gotta start somewhere. I'm glad this brother got his chance to show his stuff. It was very intertaining to me and seemingly to all the other folk in the auditorium (the film even broke while showing, I still enjoyed it), so that can only be seen as a possible opportunity for some other (or maybe even that tall skinny black boy again) aspiring artist to get a chance. I say go see it and go with a good attitude. Don't worry about whether or not the scene was in total focus or not. Take it as a slice of black gay (even if they spent waaaay to much time chasing white boys) life. GO SEE IT, AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Wonderful :)

[tygar-2 · 16 October 2000]

Patrick, many, many kudos to you for a wonderful piece of work. The screenplay as well as the performance of the cast was great! The story was a real adaptation of much of Black gay life in most major cities. I'm sure many of us have a close inner circle of friends that could easily be any of the four main characters in the story (me personally, I'm Marcus-smile). I also liked the fact that each of the characters had their own separate identities, without one having to stand out as more tragic than the others. Each character was able to eventually recognize, and successfully deal with his own drama, resulting in a positive outcome for all. This movie also illustrated that true friendship is rare, whereas "lovers" will come and go. I think that's a point that many people in this lifestyle overlook. We sometimes get so wrapped up in searching for love, that we sometimes sacrifice the love of our friends for a few moments of temporary happiness.

Overall, I look forward to the nationwide release of Punks, as well as it's video release-I'm definitely buying this one.