American Fabulous

Stars: Jeffrey Strouth. A feature length home video in which the late Jeffrey Strouth (who died of AIDS last year) holds court from the back of a Cadillac, American Fabulous might have been a decent short subject with some tighter editing. As it is, however, Strouth's rambling monologue wears out its welcome long before 105 minutes are over. Cruising around Columbus, Ohio, Strouth describes his family's failed attempts to kill off their alcoholic father, relates his first homosexual experience--an episode in a trailer park with a Black transvestite known as Miss Earl (whose toothless constant rejoinder to Strouth was "Mith Earl pretty thang"), and relates the vicious backbiting that went on amongst the waitresses at the Golden Kettle, where Strouth worked as a kid. As his story progresses, however, he becomes less and less focused, and more mean-spirited. As a bullshit artist, Strouth's just not accomplished enough to hold an audience's attention for the better part of two hours. The fact that he's clearly nervous, striving for effect, and almost never looks directly at the camera don't help either. Audience: Gay audiences might be willing to overlook the film's numerous flaws, but general audiences won't.