“Iron Boys 1: No Ordinary Joes”–a new releasing company — gay shorts

“Iron Boys 1: No Ordinary Joes”

New Releasing Company

Amos Lassen

Canadian Iron Rod Motion Pictures is now available in the United States and they are making quite a leap into the world of gay-themed cinema with the simultaneous release of five of their DVDs—four collections of shorts and one full length film. The first of these is “Iron Boys 1: No Ordinary Joes”, a look at the different and various relationships found among gay men and boys. In each of the nine short films on the disc, we see that the “typical” is no where near the “norm” and the guys in the films are far from ordinary.

“George’s Date” is a very short (one minute) animated film about George and his date. It is interesting to see just how much can be piled into a short space of time like a minute. “Work It Out” from Australia is a wonderful look at how real men work “it” out. “Tempting Fate” won me over immediately. It is a lovely little film about a tarot cars reader who sees himself in the cards he reads for a client. “Fruitcake” refers to the Christmas season when anything can happen and usually does. It is a very funny look at life. Concerned parents who fear that their son may be gay hire a private detection to follow him in “Investigaytion”. In “Porcelain” a young Asian struggles to find himself while dealing with erotic fantasies that have been out on him by others. “Spokes is about a German tourist in New York who meets another guy in Central Park and goes home with him. He is given a special souvenir to take home with him. “Woof” is about the rise of San Francisco artist Nayland Blake to become the new sex symbol (?) of America. Twin brothers who are soccer players in the United Kingdom are the subject of “Same Difference”, a wonderful short coming-out story. Finally there is “No Ordinary Joe” who uses the words of British playwright Joe Orton to find his own happiness.

Each of these films is a gem unto itself and when grouped together they are a special treat. It looks, to me, at least, that Iron Rod pictures has a great deal to offer us.