| Hustler White | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Rick Castro Bruce La Bruce |
| Written by | Rick Castro Bruce La Bruce |
| Cinematography | James Carman |
| Edited by | Rider Siphron |
| Distributed by | Strand Releasing, ICA |
Release date | 1996 |
Running time | 79 mins |
| Countries | Germany, Canada |
| Language | English |
Hustler White is a 1996 film by Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro, a satiric black sex comedy about gay hustlers and their customers in Santa Monica, California. It stars Tony Ward and LaBruce in an addition to the Queer Cinema canon, which is also an homage to classic Hollywood cinema. Also appearing in the film are Vaginal Davis, Glen Meadmore and Graham David Smith.
In a plot reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, Hustler White transposes the action from the silver screen's old movie backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the porn industry. The film, which like all of LaBruce's work is sexually explicit, includes a controversial amputee sex scene.
Portions of the film appear in the music video for "Misogyny" a track by Canadian rock band Rusty which appeared on MuchMusic in the 1990s.
Writer Jürgen Anger (LaBruce) desperately searches for the hustler Montgomery Ward (Ward) after seeing him on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Film starts with Monti Ward (Tony Ward), a male prostitute, dead in a jacuzzi. Then in a voice over, Monti describes the circumstances that led to his fate. Jürgen Anger (Bruce LaBruce), a writer from Europe, is in California researching a book on prostitution, and when he sees Monti, he decides that this is the man he wants to be his tour guide. Jurgen offers Monti money to tell him stories about his work. The writer finds himself developing a serious crush on his hustler.