Roxxxanne

Jay Aquitania

Roxxxanne sets up a world that may appear commonly third-world, with cramped housing spaces and limited water supply, except for one key advancement: Anyone can produce celphones from their pockets. In this world, instant videos and file sharing can dictate new order.

The achievement of Roxxxanne is that, for the first time, a movie makes us understand the viral life force of a "sex scandal" (a private sex video gone public) -- how it can start, its constantly snowballing momentum, and the extent of its impact, much more than Co-Ed Scandal, a 2005 movie that wasted the subject. Roxxxanne recreates our present wired world with astounding potency, fashioned around a story of secrets and intrigue. It's Scorpio Nights for the internet age, and it's gay, too. It couldn't be more en vogue.

Marlon (Jay Aquitania) is a student who receives blowjobs from gay men in exchange for cash and the latest video scandal. But he may be gay, too, as his sexual feelings for his friend Jonas (Janvier Daily) distract him more and more. It's the videos that will undo him. The two actors are undeniably hot, and there's been much talk already about Jay Aquitania's morning fresh deliciousness and Janvier Daily's sweaty from-the-streets machismo, but the sexiest thing about them in this movie is not mentioned enough: They talk like real boys and their naturalness is panty-dropping hot.

But where is all this going? That's the problem. MILD SPOILER ALERT! The movie is forcefully spiralled towards tragedy in the classic mode of those "important" social films like Scorpio Nights, with lots of blood and violence, and it seems to point to a naive cautionary message about the dangers of holding a celphone in your hand, and also, the dangers of being a closet homosexual teenager. What is it really saying about young men with confused sexual feelings? It's one thing to talk about the chaos brought about by the new media, but it's another to suggest that homosexuality is as poisonous to society as sex scandals, bringing only death, rape, and misfortune. Not very progressive, and alas, not very modern.

GRADE: B

Related Link:
Review of the Trailer
Writer-Director Jun Lana's Blog