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Dom Robinson reviews
VCI
- Cert:
- Cat.no: MTD 5085
- Running time: 94 minutes
- Year: 2001
- Pressing: 2002
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 24 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 5
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Trailer, Filmographies, Production Notes
Director:
- Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
(Animus, The Fluffer, Grief, The Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Toolbox)
Producers:
- Pat Scanlon and John Sylla
Screenplay:
- Wash Westmoreland
Music:
- John Vaughn and The Bowling Green
Cast:
- Johnny Rebel: Scott Gurney
Sean McGinnis: Michael Cunio
Babylon: Roxanne Day
Tony Brooks: Taylor Negron
Sam Martins: Tim Bagley
Silver: Adina Porter
Marcella: Debbie Harry
A Fluffer is a warm-up man – or woman – and when it comes to assisting porn stars it doesn’t take a genius to work out how exactly they’ll be assisting.
One day film school graduate and wannabe director Sean McGinnis (Michael Cunio) intends to rent movie classic Citizen Kane only to find he’s accidentally been given the gay porn flick Citizen Cum, starring this film’s answer to Peter North, Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney), a man who’s straight but does “gay for pay”, in that a normal porn film doesn’t settle the bills so he ‘jumps the fence’ as one crew member puts it.
Someone who doesn’t appreciate Johnny’s line of work is his gorgeous girlfriend, aspiring actress and exotic dancer Babylon (aka Julie Disponzio) (Roxanne Day), not least because of where his wedding tackle’s been but also because of all the drugs he shoves up his nose while on set.
A love triangle develops as Sean’s job description extends to being Johnny’s fluffer – on occasion – and the film plays out as it watches the relationships self-destruct one by one.
The Fluffer is a reasonably entertaining slice-of-life drama which will no doubt find a place in the Film Four schedules when its time comes, but isn’t something that will require repeated viewings. It’s also mildly graphic in a few scenes with nudity from both sexes. I state ‘mildly’ because most things sexual happen off-camera, but either way it’s not one for the less open-minded.
Ageing pop diva Debbie Harry turns up briefly in one scene as Marcella, owner of the club in which Babylon dances.
Roxanne Day as Babylon.
The film is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen ratio. The image is sharp, but there’s a few minor drop-outs on the print and an underlying level of grain. Whether this is intentional or not so as to convey a kind of atmosphere is unknown, but I don’t think it’s necessary and it impacts on the visual flair at times.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, but while it’s clear enough, it’s playing to a drama and this movie could be heard just as effectively in standard Dolby Surround.
Roxanne Day and Debbie Harry.
This disc isn’t exactly garnished with extras. A trailer (anamorphic 16:9) is the only visual aid while a few pages of production notes and filmographies for several cast and crew members complete the line-up. All of this supplemental material you’ll look at once and that’s it.
The menus are static and silent and there are 24 chapters.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL 
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.