I remember a time where it was nearly impossible to get a film like “Fags” made, but now we’re in a glorious time where the LGBT community is allowed to be fun and unleash their creative visions. “Fags in the Fast Lane” is Andy Warhol, John Waters, Russ Meyers, and a dash of Frank Henenlotter thrown in to a blender and given some pretty fun tweaks here and there allowing Josh Collins and writer Steven G. Michael to go as far out there as he wants. Thankfully he never loses track of the narrative or the film’s genuinely weird sense of humor once. “Fags” is a very LGBT aimed action comedy but it also has an admirable sense of self-awareness always looking for any reason to poke fun at itself.
The dialogue is goofy and occasionally eye roll inducing, but it’s all a part of the kit and caboodle that is Collins’ whole vision. Chris Asimos plays “cockslinger” and mutton chop master Sir Beauregard Esquire AKA Beau, and he rides around with his partner Lump, as played by Matt Jones. Together they’re a pair of gay superheroes, aided by transgender Salome as played Sasha Cuhan, they seek out a gang of gay bashers that are attacking their community. During their mission, they’re called in by Kitten (played by the great Kitten Natividad) whose bordello is robbed of its fortune including a golden cock. Now it’s up to the team to take on a traveling burlesque show run by an evil female giant who has a fetish for performing genetic experiments on her victims.
Narrated by Tex Perkins, “Fags” has a unique energy to it with a lot of colorful pastels making it feel very pulpy, and paired with the cinematography, it’s bears a rare aesthetic that’s not seen too often these days. Even in indie film. I’m a big fan of what Collins is able to pull off, using miniature sets and stop motion that adds some admirable ingenuity to a film tight on a budget. You can always tell when Collins is using models to depict the larger scale, and it thankfully adds to the film’s comic tone rather than distract from it. Director Collins also crafts some interesting characters and protagonists including Beau, who is a fun superhero and is played well by Chris Asimos.
Asimos is a bonafide scene stealer and I liked watching his progression over the course of the film, especially as he struggles to stay on the mission at the behest of his grandmother. “Fags In the Fast Lane” is rough around the edges with an overlong epilogue, and some stiff editing here and there, but overall I had a fun time with it. I grinned and giggled a lot and enjoyed the world director Josh Collins unfolded for us.