‘Jim Queen’ review: A gay comedy from a sleazy French cartoon that tells a lot of old jokes

One goes to Cannes to see the heights of fine cinema, the bold and searing visions of the world’s most eminent auteurs. We glimpse the social turmoil of contemporary Romania, explore the fringes of city life in Tokyo and Seoul, hike the isolated foothills of Anatolia, experience the hustle and bustle of Dakar, and examine Chile’s fraught history. It is an enriching experience to see what the world’s leading and emerging film artists have dreamed of.

However, sometimes, one needs a little break from all those heavy things. Which is exactly what the French comedy cartoon does Jim Quinn Offers this year. Directed by Nicholas Athan and Marco Nguyen. Jim Quinn is a crude, profane, and very stupid tour through a pile of stereotypes about gay life in Paris. It’s full of jokes about prostate orgasms, about highs and lows, about fetishes and bodily fluids and G’d out party bois. It’s a welcome shock to the system here at this venerable film festival. I just wish the movie was funnier and fresher than it is.

Jim Quinn It follows the travails of Jim Parfitt (Alex Ramirez), a top Instagram user who is lusted after by everyone he comes into contact with – online or online. He has the perfect physique, the perfect amount of hair (on his face, chest, and head), and is as feisty and volatile as one would expect of a gay alpha at the top of the hierarchy. Only the steroid-addicted rival, Pavel, dares to question Jim’s position. (He’s voiced by gay porn icon François Sagat, for those who know such things.)

At the bottom of the hierarchy, or indeed not ranked at all, is Lucien (Jeremy Gillett), an arrogant, spoiled person of privilege who longs to meet Jim but whose domineering mother keeps him at home away from anything gay. We see – in a piece of music that amusingly evokes “Part of Your World” from Little mermaid – Lucian has amassed an amazing collection of gay life props, most of them sex toys. Only, he has no one to use them with, and is too insecure to do much of anything on his own. He seems destined to remain stuck in the virginal, satin-lined closet, desperately pining for Jim and the proud presence he represents.

But fate places Lucien in Jim’s orbit at the beginning of an epidemic sweeping the gay community, a disease called heterosexuality, which turns those afflicted into something shockingly grotesque: straight men. Perhaps the most laughable aspect of the film is the fun it takes in imagining what being rounded might look like: a sudden interest in soccer, an urgent desire to reproduce (in the biological sense, folks), and complete ignorance of any alien culture. Jim tests positive, and much to his horror, he sees his abs disappearing one by one. Soon he was completely shunned from the scene he once adored. Only Lucien, whom he still greatly admires, will aid Jim in his strange and dangerous quest to track down the cure.

Here Athane and Nguyen nonchalantly traffic in AIDS allegory, which stands in stark contrast to the film’s lighthearted, light-hearted behavior. I think the filmmakers have had their fair share of that South Parkand they try to imitate the exciting, pointed provocation of this show at its best. But their comedy isn’t sharp enough to thread that difficult needle. They’re better suited to lewd gags and broad satire of the gay milieu (as they see it, anyway). Although I could certainly use a slightly less condemnatory tone about drug use; The film has a strangely conservative bent in this regard, undermining the message of one love and equality.

The film’s main mission is to tear down the walls that, in the film’s strict planning, hopelessly divide the (male) gay world. Jim must learn to accept a woman as thin as Lucien, while Lucien learns the valuable lesson that Instagram appeal is sometimes associated with a corrupt and vain personality. (Duh, kid.) Jim Quinn It feeds into (and exudes) the vulgar tribalism of so many raucous gay narratives, but ultimately wants to tear down that model and create a healthy kind of pluralism for all members of M4Ms.

It is a noble goal, although the ideal might be more effective if Athan and Nguyen looked beyond the most obvious clichés. Often, Jim Quinn It feels like a primer 101 for straight people, even though it’s very explicit about certain sexual mechanics. Gay audiences are likely to crave more accuracy and authenticity; We’ve seen some versions of Jim QuinnBasic homosocial classification many times before. If you have watched any version of Drag racingFrom anywhere in the world, for the past 17 years, you know these jokes by heart.

Credit is given to the animation, though, as the bright artistic effects are alternately evocative steven universe and Rick and Morty. It’s not overly sophisticated, but Athane and Nguyen do a lot for a fraction of the budget of a typical Pixar film. They show a particular flair in the action scenes towards the end of the film, which take on real cinematic heft in a compelling and compelling way.

I’m eager to see what these directors do next, now that their gay fantasies about irrational subjects are over. I hope that any upcoming project breaks new ground, rather than sifting through the trash of decades of gay comedy and pulling out the kinkier parts. I think we’ve well and truly figured out what bears and daddies are by now. Dismissal dismissed, hopefully forever.