Of all the gay bodybuilding feature films out there, oh wait, there aren’t any gay bodybuilding feature films out there—none that I can think of, anyway—well, that makes Test an extra special addition to the queer canon.This taut, visceral, intense drama, grittily directed by Sam McConnell, follows Eddie (Brock Yurich), an affable, amateur competitive bodybuilder who dreams of the big time and strives for physical perfection. Eddie lives with his loving but clinging alcoholic mother Joanne (a fierce Tammy Blanchard). Their codependency is established in the very first scene where she is enthusiastically helping to ready him for a competition. As the camera pulls back, we see he is only wearing a sock—pretty odd for a mother/son scene. They are barely making ends meet. He waits tables and moonlights as a cam boy. When Eddie seeks out the help of reputable trainer (Mike Edward) his life opens to many new and different possibilities, including a taboo desire he’s been forced to repress.Read the rest at The Contending:thecontending.com/frameline-50-fab-queer-titles-include-trial-of-hein-test-before-i-do-downtown/
