Music

HOT DOCS REVIEW: Bruce LaBruce - The Advocate For Fagdom

by Sam Sutherland

Following Llik Your Idols, 2007’s successful examination of the Cinema of Transgression movement of 1980s New York, French filmmaker Angélique Bosio has turned his eye to Canada’s most infamous reluctant pornographer, Bruce LaBruce. In The Advocate for Fagdom, Bosio explores LaBruce’s storied career, from his critical role in the development of the gay punk subgenre of queercore to his continued flirtation with the world of mainstream porn cinema as an art filmmaker. LaBruce is a complex and fascinating character, a transgressive provocateur in the purest sense of both words, and Advocate makes an earnest attempt to explain the value of his work to an unfamiliar audience. In a way, it’s LaBruce 101, taught by an enthusiastic, if inexperienced, TA. The characters who populate the film each possess their own unique voice and perspective on LaBruce’s work, with fellow filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, John Waters, and Harmony Korine all chiming in with varying degrees of insightful weirdness. But as a film, Advocate is flawed; despite adhering to the conventions and appearances of a traditional documentary, it has trouble nailing down a narrative, and jumps around in a disorienting manner from subject to subject. Still, it’s the kind of documentary that is worth seeing for the intrinsic value of its subject matter alone, and anyone with a passing interest in ’80s hardcore should be sure to get schooled on LaBruce’s contributions to the genre. Worth checking out if you’re already curious, and a must-watch for any punks not already well-versed in what stump-fucking looks like. Yeah, LaBruce’s shit gets weird.