The gay ’90s

Imagine, if you will, that there are these Atlanta cops, and they find out there are drugs possibly being dealt at this gay bar, so they go to bust up the bar…

…only to fall in love.

Real life? No, we’re talking about In the Flesh, an independent gay film shot in 1997 Atlanta.
It is so gay, it is so ’90s, it is so Atlanta. Eat your heart out, Gregg Araki!

The first thing that tipped us off that In the Flesh was no ordinary movie was the really intensely detailed Wikipedia entry, in which the section summarizing the movie’s plot is longer than the same section for The Godfather‘s Wikipedia page. Then there are the polarized Netflix reviews. Naturally, we needed to see this for ourselves. (Please watch the trailer here to really get a “feel” for the movie before proceeding.)Oh yes, this movie starts out on Cypress Street! That can only mean one thing – it’s about a hooker with a heart of gold and a dark past, Oliver:First, though, we meet the other protagonist, a cop…

Wait, no, FIRST, we are introduced to the heavy glass block motif that runs throughout the entire film.

Then we meet the cop, Phillip – undercover vice cop, that is.

He’s got a tough new assignment from his boss – to go undercover at the Blue Boy, “hustler bar, off of Ponce? Word has it they’re not just dealing boys, know what I mean?” This is a confusing assignment.

Here’s the outside of the Blue Boy:

“Is that…isn’t that…?” you ask.

Here’s the inside:

Those particular glass block windows are still visible from Ponce – the former MJQ space under the Ponce de Leon Hotel.

But now let’s look at MORE GLASS BLOCK!

..In the apartment of the heroin addict sister of the sweet little hustler.

…Outside the “Metro Police” HQ, which is clearly in the same building in which Oliver’s sister lives.

And let’s look at MORE BOYS OF THE BLUE BOY!

If you watch this movie – and you will – the boys are the best part. Oh, and also the lesbians that keep getting kicked out for being girls:

The second best part is how ’90s everything is. 79% of Atlanta and 86% of Atlanta’s gay community is still decorating like this:

“What? The ’90s were a great time! Ever heard of THE OLYMPICS??? Ever heard of Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid???” you’re saying.

The music is also really good! There are just three songs but they are played CONSTANTLY throughout the film. There is even a casual plug for one of the artists on the soundtrack!

How ’90s are those song titles? “Kamera (A Photographic Memoir)”?

Based on the really heartfelt plot synopses of In the Flesh that we’ve read, we are supposed to know that Oliver is a college student because he is always carrying a backpack around Charles Allen Drive and Piedmont Park.

Beyond the Goat Farm, MJQ, a brief but really intense scene at Coronet Club, and some Midtown shots, there’s not much more to say about In the Flesh except that everyone should see it. It’s just a simple love story of two dudes, one a prostitute and one a cop, just trying to keep from being accused of murder  by corrupt police officers in a heroin ring so they can live in their cool masculine urban loft together and fix cars and benchpress for fun.

Previously: A brief filmography of Xernona Clayton

Tags: in the flesh, midtown, mjq, the goat farm