There's a rash of brutal killings going on in the leather/S&M segment of the
NYC gay community. At the same time there's unidentified male body parts
washing up on the Hudson River. Could it all be linked to the same
killer? There's only one way to find out: throw cop Al Pacino deep
undercover in the leather bar scene and see what happens. Did he get any
kind of specialized training? How about a psychological evaluation
first? Exactly how deep undercover is he? Can he do drugs?
Have gay sex? What exactly is going on? Who knows, cause none of
that is ever explained. The film opens with some crime stuff, then Al
getting asked if he wants to go undercover, he agrees and BOOM! he's undercover
in a gay bar looking like a fish out of water while some dude is getting fisted
off to the side.
Despite the purposeful(?) ambiguity, I really enjoyed the first 50 minutes or
so, but then when it got more centered in on the crime solving and less on the
gay bars I began to lose interest. Also, the vagueness of the killer was
bothersome. Did the same actor play the killer in all of the killer
scenes? I know for a fact that wasn't his real voice. And what was
up with that weak ending? For starting off so vigorously, CRUISING busts
it's thick, hot, yummy, sticky load way too soon.
I did really like the scene where Al was dancing and huffing on that rag.
Every time he hit it the colors brightened and his dancing got more
animated. Good stuff. In summery, CRUISING is a good film, but it
could have really benefited from a more straight-forward story, a more
memorable killer, more brutality and much more sweaty gay sex. A better
explanation of the leather scene would have helped also. Still, it's very
much worth watching. Keep an sharp eye out for all of the young actors
that would later go on to big careers.