A successful escort describes in a series of confessions his entangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic client. The story remains the same as the novel, about a man who goes by only the letter "X" to maintain his anonymity and relationships between his two roommates—one of whom he's in love with—and an enigmatic older client who challenges him to find his heart before he will consent to sex. The film's differences from the novel include Andrew's character and the location of the story in Seattle, Washington, instead of Chicago, Illinois.
Boy Culture is based on a novel, with a few important differences found between the two. It was decided in the film to set it in Seattle rather than Chicago, and to make substantial differences to the character of Andrew, including his ethnicity. The film is also noted for the careful eye of the director, who managed to turn what was an 18-day production cycle into a fully realized film.
Boy Culture currently holds a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 31 reviews; the consensus states: "Eloquent one-liners and quick pacing make Boy Culture sharper than the typical gay indie flick." On Metacritic, based on 12 critics, the film has a 56/100 rating, signifying "mixed or average reviews". Maitland McDonagh from TV Guide wrote "Shrewder than you'd think and not half as dumb as it looks." Jeannette Catsoulis from The New York Times wrote "A slick and absorbing drama." Ronnie Scheib from Variety wrote, "A strong cast, formal visual style and cynical voiceover that propels the action help elevate this Seattle-set gay romp from the ranks of the stereotypical."
Awards
Home media
The film was released on DVD on August 14, 2007, courtesy of TLA Video. The release includes an audio commentary from writer/director Q. Allan Brocka and writing partner Philip Pierce, interviews with Brocka and the four stars, deleted scenes, premiere footage from the Tribeca Film Festival and the film's trailer.
''Boy Culture:The Series''
In 2017, a Kickstarter campaign was launched for "Boy Culture: The Series" an episodic sequel to the original, which proposed to star Matthew Wilkas, Darryl Stephens, Matthew Crawford, as well as Stephen Guarino and singer Steve Grand. The campaign met its funding goal and the series was filmed in August 2018. It was also announced that Derek Magyar who played the lead role “X” in the original film, is now reprising his role, taking over for Matthew Wilkas who was originally announced to be replacing him.
