I Dug Up a Forgotten Movie Classic

[00:00:00]If you're looking for something sweet and heartfelt, but you only got like 80 minutes, I got the [music] film for you.

[00:00:06]Leatherjacket Love Story is a romance released in 1997, and it's about [music] an 18-year-old aspiring poet whose life takes a turn for the wildside when [music] he encounters an older man named Mike. And Mike is this leather jacketwearing tough [music] guy. And as this love story continues, we start to find out that the two men may have two different desires on where they want their lives to go. Now, if you could somehow get past the very poor picture quality, you will find a super sweet gay romance that somehow works as a coming of age story for the younger character and the older character. Leather jacket is one of those times where you see something with such a bad transfer and you're like, why? Yep. Yeah, maybe. Are you almost done? Had a better transfer, they wouldn't see something like this that looks like, you know, people don't have a lot of time to hear you talk and talk and ramble and say, I mean, >> I'm recording. Can you Can you just If you don't stop talking, I'm going to put this cigarette out on your head. Crazy.

[00:01:06]Calm down. Just calm down. Leather jacket Love Story is a film that I think a lot more film lovers should be aware of. It does not get enough discussion in terms of the context of gay cinema. This film has really advanced characters and depictions of a gay love story, especially for the late 90s. And if you are interested in watching Leather Jacket Love Story, I'm gonna have an affiliate link where you can rent it or buy it. Otherwise, I'm going to be talking in depth about this really good slept on movie. I'm sure you wish you had a leather jacket like me. Can you just get the hell out of here? I'm going to change this to color just to have a little bit more picture quality than the film that I'm going to be talking about.

[00:01:47]Now, like I said at the start, when I first put play on this movie, I was like, "Oh boy, this picture quality is very bad." And I was starting to wonder, "Am I actually going to enjoy this? Is it going to be too distracting?" And I have to say, after the film kind of sucks you in, you just kind of forget about the picture quality. Obviously, I would love to have a beautiful 4K, you know, transfer from the 16 mm film footage, probably shot on 16 mm, I'm assuming, and just have a much better presentation. But I'm a true believer that despite some technical limitations, if the story is good enough, if the characters are compelling enough, I think a lot of audiences can look past sometimes very poor picture quality. But I understand for some people that's going to be very off-putting. Now, leather jacket love story is a very interesting thing in its origins because the director of this film from my research is somebody who started out in the adult film um industry for doing gay adult films and later um after this movie he went on to make kind of be movie kind of fun horror exploitation films. So, this film in his filmography from what everyone says is a very much an anomaly. This film has a very condensed timeline taking place, I believe, just over the span of 72 hours.

[00:03:10]So, as the film begins, there's this title card that says, "This film is presented in black and white." And I'm not sure if the filmmakers did that to kind of warn people that this is not going to be like a traditional color movie, but it was a kind of a bizarre way to start the movie. But then as the credits go on over black, there is a really funny song about like wearing a leather jacket and how you know something about leather jacket baby or something like that. It's just just a funny song that I that don't know for sure, but may it seems like it was written for this movie, but don't quote me on that. But that's just a way that's just easing you in to kind of the tone of this movie. And the film is set up in West Hollywood, which if you're not familiar with the Los Angeles area, this is like a gay neighborhood of Los Angeles. And it opens on this narration from a character named Kyle. And I love movies that utilize narration and not so much spoon feeding you exactly what's going on, but giving you some interior monologue stuff that only books can do.

[00:04:10]Um, so I loved seeing that. And the narration here is really interesting because we find out that he's a poet.

[00:04:16]And this sequence opens up at a pool at his friends Ian's house. And let me be clear, there is nudity. And you see it right from the start. There's a lot of nudity in this film, especially sex scenes, which I'll talk about later. But this film does not hold back on showing the male anatomy in its full form. And of course, it's it's done in an artistic way. It's not just gratuitous and kind of an adult kind of film way. It's it's just showing things for how they are.

[00:04:43]And we see him talking about how much he is kind of bored with West Hollywood and he wants to go somewhere else. And that is the inciting incident in this film.

[00:04:55]The next scene we see him and his friend and they're talking about how he doesn't have sex anymore and as a poet he should have sex more and and he's talking about maybe moving to another place called Silver Lake. And if you're not familiar again with the Los Angeles area, it's not like he's moving from like New York to San Francisco. It's like just a nearby city. It's a different place than West Hollywood, but it's like a nearby city. So, it's not this huge monumental move, but it very much is a different place. And he's hoping that that is going to get him the inspiration he needs to be a better poet. And I think it's interesting that they they made this character a poet, especially in the late '9s. I'm sure being a poet wasn't actually something that had a lot of lucrative, you know, um, kind of careers behind it, but I I do think that it's kind of fun that they they put that in this setting and it and it makes sense and it pays off with this kind of romantic quality that they have and and poetry is and can be a very romantic medium. Also, this scene kind of does a good job setting up what's going to happen throughout the movie is that they have a lot of these um drag performers or or um people from the queer community just sprinkled throughout. But there the sequence has this drag performer come into the cafe that the two friends are talking at and they're just creating a mess. are taking off people's toup pays and they do this really terrible thing that has happened to me and it's just I hate what when people do this is like if you're drawing something or you're writing something someone will just take it out of your hand and then they'll read it out loud and kind of mock it just a terrible thing but um this this uh character gives the warning that there's a lot of tigers out there and that this uh Kyle character needs to be careful for that. We later see in a very short scene that his mother is totally fine with him being gay. And now also his grandma's there and the mother says something about be careful for tops.

[00:06:53]>> Don't let those tops push you up unless you want them.

[00:06:57]>> And even there's this funny moment where the grandma warns him that he should be wearing condoms. So >> and be sure you use those condoms.

[00:07:03]>> We know right away this is not going to be some kind of very sad film about, you know, parents not accepting him for who he is. We're just ready to go. And as the scene plays on, we hear such a nice classic Hollywood orchestra behind it as he's moving from one place to a new city. And it just has this tone, this light-heartedness to it. And uh you'll you'll get the sense right away that it's nothing u nothing kind of nefarious is going to happen in are just in a very light good spirits type of film. And as he gets settled into this new city of Silver Lake, he finds out that there is a cafe nearby where he keeps going to the uh barista and asking for like I think it's a small head and that becomes like this running joke throughout the movie. But there he is he encounters um some I believe they're drag queens or um just members of the gay community. I'm not sure how they are identified in the film, but they become very much supporting characters in the film and they go help him along in his journey.

[00:08:08]>> What kind of a writer are you?

[00:08:10]>> I write poetry mostly romantic.

[00:08:13]>> But this scene introduces us to the main love interest in this film, which is the character of Mike. And he comes in on this, you know, tough motorcycle Terminator type of thing. and he comes into the leather jacket with his partner and Kyle is just right away obsessed with this character and he's just locked eyes on him and just follows him. And once the Mike character finds out that Kyle is interested in him, he wastes absolutely no time introducing himself and getting to know him. And there is a very big age gap in the film. Um the main character is 18 years old and this other character is 29 years old. But we later find out too that the partner that Mike is with is also 40 years old. And so there's another age gap there too.

[00:09:02]And I think one of the aspects, one of the themes and ideas has to do with this age gap. And um some of the things that they explore uh have to do with generations and how it's different. Um and I think it's not just there for the sake of it. I think there's an actual exploration into these types of relationships. And as the film progresses, Kyle finds out there is a local poetry kind of setting that happens at night. And this is perfect because, you know, he's an aspiring poet. And he we spend a lot of time in these sequences where it's kind of like an open mic where people go up and talk and and he gets to meet another person out there who who does poetry. And this scene with this character, it could have been very creepy. Um I feel like but the film just really does a good job handling it well and making it just like a mentor character for him. And this is just the the the embodiment of just kind of like uh the elder gay in a film and the kind of like Obi-Wan Kenobi kind of like you know just giving him advice and being just a support figure. Now, in this scene, Mike shows up and we get to finally have the two men get to know each other. And this is a good back and forth, and they are just kind of doing what gay people do when they first meet each other. It's like, "When did you know you were gay?" All that stuff. And as the two begin to meet each other, um, they start to kind of fall for each other. And there is something that was interesting in this scene where the characters talk about HIV and AIDS and they even say something like >> there's probably something else we should discuss.

[00:10:46]>> Negative, but I don't know how that happened.

[00:10:49]>> Negative also.

[00:10:51]And so yeah, I mean obviously in the late 90s, you know, we didn't have the advancements in treating um that virus that we do today, but it still very much was a huge fear. Um and this little scene, even though this film is not about directly about AIDS, it has to involve that. So once the two men decide that they would like to hook up, they head back into the apartment and they start making out. But then suddenly the Kyle character starts not wanting to rush things and he wants to take things slow. Um, and so this very much is a big predicament because the Mike character is really sexual and the Kyle character not doesn't want to rush things. We get a sense that they are already at two different places in their lives. But as as the movie goes on, they do end up making love. And I want to say just a a note on the sex scenes here. Um, you can tell that the the the director had a background in adult film. Um, in the way that he just shows things the way they are, but I do think this film is not an adult film. I think there's still the the sequences are done in a very cinematic way, kind of like, you know, Anora. And it's it's yes it's it's explicit but it's not gratuitous and it's done in a very artistic way. And a lot of the sex scenes I feel are in service of the characters and we get to learn more about the characters through the sex scenes and they're not just there for the sake of it. I do think they are integrated into the development of the characters especially how both of them see sex in a different way. Um, Kyle sees it much more as a romantic thing and the Mike character is seeing it very much as a transactional thing, as something that he can't get enough of. The next morning, we even get a sense that, you know, uh, even though they just slept together the night before, we see that the mic character is already looking literally out the window at the next, you know, hookup that he wants to get. And I did understand that Kyle is aware of this and is kind of just keeping it in the background because he just met this guy. But it's also one of those gay things um where you meet somebody that you're compatible with and all of a sudden you just want to get married to them because you don't know if you'll ever find somebody as compatible. But that very much is a thing I think gay people experience because there is such such a smaller pool of dating that when you find somebody, you really want to hold on to them. And I really love Mike's wardrobe throughout this. He's got like this kind of crop top white shirt with some nice, you know, jeans and he's got that leather jacket. He just looks really cool. You wish you looked as cool as I did. No, but really smoking's not cool.

[00:13:40]And later we find out that Kyle wants to look just as cool. And he says, "Can you go with him the next day to get a leather jacket?" And this is followed with them riding a bike and, you know, the going to go pick up a leather jacket. And we've got that, you know, cliche thing where he's trying on different leather jackets until he finds one that he likes. And suddenly this is his new identity and he gets to really kind of just become the person that he's dating. And later his friend calls him out that every time he's dating a new person, he try to he tries to uh adapt to their personality. and currently he's this leather jacket guy now. And in these two scenes that happen, um, we get to find out a little bit more about both characters. We cut back to finding out more about Mike's life and who he's who he's with. And he does have a partner.

[00:14:34]Um, but his partner is about 10 years older than him. So, there's another age gap there. And we find out they're kind of have have an open relationship. And it's kind of understood that Mike, you know, dates other people. But in this scene, I got a sense that, you know, his partner does not kind of like that and he does get jealous and he may not be 100% comfortable with this open type of relationship. And monogamy and polyamory is something that is talked about and is it is a theme that is running through here. It is a theme in a lot of gay movies, but um here it's very much um at odds with both of the characters desires as we later find out. And even though Kyle is very new on the gay scene, he really wants a monogous relationship. He doesn't want this kind of casual type of transactional, you know, hookup thing.

[00:15:30]But it's pretty clear that Mike is at a point in his life where he doesn't want something longterm. Now, this film has a very lighthearted tone to it, but there is a brief moment that leads to a kind of gay bashing scene with some random, you know, punks on the street. This scene happens very randomly, but it doesn't go as dark as you think because his newfound friends um show up and defend him, and they even get into a brawl with the people. And then things turn badly when one of them has a gun and that later becomes a a plot point.

[00:16:09]And then things get a little bit more steamy when there is a leather bar sequence that [music] happens. And we get to go into a leather bar, probably a real leather bar. I'm not entirely sure, [music] but probably from that time period. And you know, you see everybody the way that you would think would happen in a leather bar, even though these scenes are not as um explicit as something [music] like cruising, but we do get to see people that are naked here dancing. And this is all for a birthday party. And we get [music] to see some pretty explicit things here. there is a naked uh dancer and and there's there's a really cool dancing sequence, but then um Kyle brings up that he should that he should get a nipple piercing and then suddenly, you know, Kyle does want to do the nipple piercing and then there's a guy there doing nipple piercings. It's kind of ridiculous um thing, but it it kind of goes with the territory of being in a leather bar, I guess, but just just a weird little moment that happens. And that's very much the tone of this movie.

[00:17:13]There's a lot of kind of like hyper realistic kind of things that are happening. Um, and they never really drops too much into a depressing kind of film.

[00:17:25]This movie is not very plotheavy. It is kind of it has a very very thin story, but it spends a lot of time with with characters. And these characters are really dense and layered, especially the Mike character. Even though our lead is Kyle, we find out how complicated Mike's life is. And and this very much is a coming of age type of film. Even though it's an 18-year-old and a 29year-old, even the 29year-old has some learning to do in their life.

[00:17:54]And we find out and it's revealed that Mike was actually married to a woman.

[00:18:00]And that just adds such a layer of complexity to his character and how he very much doesn't want to have that, you know, settling down thing. He's already been through that. And so that kind of explains his relationship with his current partner and his current exploration for new partners. And I thought it was a very advanced, you know, um, kind of theme to put in here about somebody who is not just gay.

[00:18:26]Perhaps they are bisexual, but they very much are lost. Just just as much as this 18-year-old is lost in finding his direction and finding where he wants to go, this older character is as well. And and it makes this point that, you know, age doesn't necessarily mean wisdom. you could still be very much lost in the woods trying to find a direction out.

[00:18:50]But there is a very good sequence that's done from afar uh during like busy traffic and the two kind of like confront each other and it's one of my favorite scenes in the film and how it's this is not a throwaway movie and if if anything this scene proves it how these these two different characters are very much desiring two different things. In this sequence, we find out that maybe the two are not compatible and that the their very short little romantic relationship is about to be over. And this leads the Kyle character to kind of like act out in a very unlike his character way where he calls up his friend Ian and they go on a kind of like cruising um you know uh escapade uh through a a sex club. Um, obviously I'm not going to show clips from that, but uh we find out that again this is a this is another good example how sex scenes are used to drive character and we get to find out um more about them through um these scenes. And we find out that the Kyle character, just like he was at the beginning, doesn't want these cheap thrills like his friend Ian and he doesn't want that. So, this makes us learn that he's doubling down on his desires just to find somebody in a monogous relationship. And finally, we are introduced to the last sequence in the film where he has a fundraiser for one of his friends who got in trouble earlier for having a gun. Um, they they set up this fundraiser to help the person get out of jail. And in order to do so, he has to kind of read these these poems that he has um to help raise money. And this just, you know, it's one of those endings that kind of fit perfectly to the the setup at the beginning, but it's very much um allowed here, I would say, because of the tone of the film. And we find out this poem that he wrote is about his love affair that he had with Mike, and it's called Leather Jacket Love Story. and he gives this, you know, nice speech and this kind of turns Mike um to change his mind suddenly and he rips up like a paper that he had for another hookup and he just decides, you know what, I'm going to give this guy a chance. And the two kind of embrace and meet each other and have a nice kiss and it just has that that sweetness, that warm-heartedness that is not always that common in gay films. So to see something from 1997 that has what I read a lot of comments saying, "I just want a gay happy ending." Well, there's one right here that happened way back then. So, wow, it's almost 30 years ago at this point.

[00:21:32]I'm so happy that I took a chance on Leather Jacket Love Story. It's just one of those films that I feel like more people should know about. I know I sound like a broken record saying that, but this is a good example where it's something that had so much quality, so much advanced characters for 1997. I know that we had a lot of good movies back in the '90s, but something like this that was done on a low budget, this deserves a lot more applause than something that had a lot more money to deal with. And this is a movie that if you you've heard about it or if you didn't hear about it, give this film a chance if you really want a sweet romance because I think a lot of people would love this movie if they could just get past that picture quality. And I also want to say if this is the first time that you're watching one of my videos, hello. My name is Anthony and I talk about gay cinema and you might be interested in some other videos that I have.