The low-rent Paddy-crim genre ran its course pretty quickly, I thought. Starting with Trainspotting and finishing (not a moment too) soon after with the turgid works of Guy Ritchie, it was always a fairly annoying genre that seemed to be pitched only at soccer lads looking to fill in some time before "Match of the Day". Lower-class Irish guys saying "shite"" all the time and asking each other "what the frig" as they dart from one misadventure to the other is an entertainment that doesn't really translate very far, and it dated about as quickly as Hugh Grant describing himself in voice-over narration as a "prat" in that other despicable 1990sBritish mini-genre that included Notting Hill and About A Boy.
In the fabulously-titled 9 Dead Gay Guys Kenny and Byron are best mates who've moved to London to make their fortune or, at least, supplement their dole cheques with the odd bit of dodgy work. Bone idle and absolutely lazy, neither is prepared to do much of anything and sucking ancient cock in the back rooms of old-dandy gay bars presents itself as the least labour-intesive way to make a quick buck.
It isn't really that bad, as much as it's just one fairly weak joke repeated over and over for about eighty-five minutes. The material seems so audience-specific and just doesn't have anything to offer once you've gotten whatever laughs you can watching two knockabout lads navigate the ornate world of wealthy older gay toffs. The humour skates a fine line between refreshingly candid appraisals of gay life from a rough-edged straight point-of-view and a really dated terror of your best mate showing you any kind of physical affection. Needless to say, the boys endlessly quiz each other about whether they are actually homo and assure each other with much vigour that they aren't. Double entendre about filling holes etc. are seeded thickly throughout the dialogue, and the storyline grows around a string of mysterious deaths and a stash of lost loot. An obese diesel dyke, a dwarf, and all kinds of exaggerated freaks decorate the scene.
9 Dead Gay Guys looks good - it's very well shot and there's always something or someone interesting to look at. Steven Berkoff makes an all-to-brief appearance as one of the guys' generous regulars, and he adds a little class to the proceedings. Glenn Mulhern and Brendan Mackey are energetic and sexy in the lead roles also but the script is the real problem here: too much on-the-dole authenticity makes for a film that really needs to get off its bum and get a job.
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