Seriously, guys, this movie is the funniest eight minutes of your life. Comedians James C. Leary (Clem the wrinkly demon from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Kirk Pynchon (“Timelock”) got together with writer Michael R. Meredith and director Tom Hodges (“Last Request”) and came up with a “Spinal Tap” take on the porn industry. And by the end of the eight minutes, this reviewer was unable to breathe and actually saw dancing spots before his eyes. It’s that funny. At ten minutes, would it have been that funny? That’s the eternal question – but at eight minutes, it went down easily and was very satisfying (and for a movie about porn, there was probably a better metaphor to describe that…)
Bill and Earl are professional “Stunt Cocks” – they’re the ones you call when you need the “money shot” in a porn movie. (Do I really have to go into detail? Well, I’m about to.) What makes these two so talented is that not only are they premature ejaculators, but they, to quote the movie “cum in buckets”. To prepare the set for a Bill or Earl stunt, the crew covers everything – everything but the actress – with plastic sheeting, garbage bags, etc.
But Bill and Earl are both very caring men. Through interviews with their co-stars, we learn that the guys consider everyone part of a big surrogate family. So they take care of the actresses when they’re sick – and let’s not forget baking day – everyone looks forward to Bill and Earl’s weekly batch of cookies.
What the movie does is deftly balance the tones of humor – the gentle and the raunchy – with unselfconscious panache. By the end of the eight minutes, you like easy-going Bill and Earl just as much as the people around them. The acting is strong clear across the board. Many of the actors and crew were culled from local theater troupes to which Pynchon and Leary have belonged over the years, and everyone seems to be having a great time.
Not a movie to watch with the kids or grandparents (the “fruits of Bill and Earl’s labors” – THE money shot – comes… er, takes place during the filming of a gay-sex video (the guys are very open minded – “It’s all about the work”), and… well, they live up to their reputations.
“Stunt Cocks” has been doing very well at film festivals, but has yet to find a distribution home. It can be ordered through the official site, and the DVD is packed with a commentary, deleted scenes, bios and an equally-hilarious alternate ending.
