(screenplay by Franklin Khedouri & David Buckley / directed by David Buckley)
Is this a porno?
I asked myself this when I first saw the DVD cover and read the title.
It was in and around 10 years ago when I received an unexpected box in the mail. A couple from my Omaha days had performed a bit of spring cleaning on their DVD collection and sent me the purged titles. They probably figured their freak film-lover was the perfect recipient of mostly LGBT-related films.
There were a few films I had been wanting to see (ADAM & STEVE, for example, which caused me physical pain despite co-starring Parker Posey) but many of the titles were new to me. Truthfully, I've passed along some of the DVD's for other friends to enjoy, including a couple of titles that were edited adult films (THE HOLE, for example, started out as an amusing parody of THE RING, but quickly focused on tiddlywinks, or whatever the cool kids are calling it nowadays.). I kept a handful of the DVD's, including SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS, which...to my surprise...was NOT a porno! Though there are a couple of intensely intimate scenes.
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS is a slice of-life look at shades of sexuality and what it meant to be queer in a post-Stonewall 1970's New York City. The film also takes a peek behind the lavender curtain at a bathhouse, the kind of establishment where Bette Midler and Barry Manilow got their starts. A minimalistic plot and low-key acting gives this film an honest, realistic feel.
Michael (Robert Aberdeen) is a straight-laced pianist living in New York City with his girlfriend. Tracy (Ellen Sheppard) is a photographer and encourages Michael when he lands a gig at The Continental Baths, a gay club that is like a discotheque, vaudeville stage and bathhouse rolled into one. Scotti (Don Scotti) is the manager of The Continental, and opens a different perspective to the straight man. The question is, what will Michael ultimately see in himself?
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS doesn't give you easy answers, which is one of the reasons I enjoy this film. The story dares you to draw your own conclusions and take a look at yourself as the three main characters struggle with and celebrate life and love. There is also plenty of humor, along with some knockout performances at The Continental, for a nice balance with the underlying drama.
In conclusion, I urge you to see this important LGBT film. It's low-budget, but it's amazing that such a film with frank and honest dialogue concerning homosexuality could be made in 1975. Especially when you consider how gay characters and themes would be treated in the 1980's. SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS is a cinematic record of us being there, being queer and being human...and we still are.
(As of this writing, SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS is available to stream on Amazon Prime)
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. A different review of a different queer-themed film...
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