Interior. Leather Bar.

A good idea becomes a less-than-scintillating sort-of documentary in Interior. Leather Bar., directed by (and featuring) James Franco and Travis Mathews. The film's inspiration comes from the lore surrounding 40 minutes of sexually-explicit scenes cut from William Friedkin's controversial 1980 thriller Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as an undercover cop infiltrating a leather bar to seek out a killer who was targeting gay men. Franco and Mathews speak at length about how that footage was removed in order for Cruising to achieve an “R” rating, but then go beyond that bit of history by imagining what could possibly have been left on the editor's floor. The directors decide to shoot their own version of the lost material, casting straight actor Val Lauren in Pacino's role and hiring other straight and gay actors whose characters are part of the loud, fever-dream sequences set in the bar. But most of the scenes are devoted to frank discussions involving Lauren, Franco, Mathews and others about how far an actor should go to give a director what he wants (Lauren seems especially concerned that he'll be asked to participate in a gay sex scene on-camera). Both the filmmakers and actors become preoccupied with issues of authenticity and redefining what is "normal" in a filmed story—and so on. In the end, the leather bar footage—with shadowy sexually-explicit acts—doesn't add up to much, while the rest of this talky project is just a bore. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an episode of “In Their Room: SF” (from an ongoing series on gay men, bedrooms, and intimacy) by co-director Travis Mathews (21 min.), interviews with Mathews (8 min.) and co-director James Franco (7 min.), Franco's short “The Feast of Stephen” (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (T. Keogh)