A Little Background: "Jerker" was written originally as a one-act play. Curiously, it had a slightly longer name: "Jerker, or The Helping Hand: A Pornographic Elegy with Redeeming Social Value and a Hymn to the Queer Men of San Francisco in Twenty Telephone Calls, Many of Them Dirty".
The story is really just about two gay men who engage in sexual conversations over the phone. The author, Robert Chesley (1943-1990), has written dozens of plays, mostly with gay-related themes. This work is perhaps his most famous.
The play premiered in 1986 in Los Angeles and was a big success. Around the same time, some recorded excerpts were also broadcast on KPFK (the Los Angeles Pacifica Radio station.)
Due to the explicit subject matter, a listener filed a complaint. This caused the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to investigate. The result was KPFK getting sanctioned for transmitting "indecent and possibly obscene material." The FCC then tightened its definitions of obscenity. This was the 1980's, after all...
With all the controversy surrounding "Jerker", it was unlikely anyone would be forgetting about it. So within a few years (1991), this movie was produced. Sadly, Mr. Chesley had already passed away by then from AIDS. He was 47 years old.
The Story: The location is San Francisco. The year is 1985. We meet J. R. (played by Joseph Stachura) and Bert (played by Tom Wagner) engaging in several phone sex conversations.
J. R. calls up Bert nearly every day. So, how did J. R. get Bert's number? We learn that Bert scribbled it down and handed it to J. R. one night in a local bar... When J. R. reveals how he got Bert's number, Bert does not remember. In any case, Bert does not have J. R.'s number. Only J. R. makes the calls.
As these two horny men talk dirty to each other and get off, they also reveal other intimacies. Bert worries about a friend in the hospital who is sick from AIDS, and J. R. has a disability from his time in Vietnam. Each of them suffer pain and loneliness. Sex fills that need, at least to a point.
The nature of their relationship remains anonymous: Neither man knows the other man's full name or address. So when Bert becomes sick, he stops answering the phone. J. R. leaves voice messages for him, each with more concern. Where is Bert? J. R. then leaves a message saying he checked the bar where he first met Bert. He learned that nobody has seen Bert in weeks. J. R.'s final call is the worst - the number is now disconnected. Bert is gone forever. J. R. is devastated.
Additional Comments: This is not a "porn" movie. It deals with sadness and loss. With that said, there is some sexually explicit dialog, and some brief nudity.
The title "Jerker" can possibly refer to masturbation, or a "tear jerker", depending on the viewer's interpretation.
The movie maintains a "one-act play" feel to it, since we are limited to the two characters and the interiors of their apartments.
The story is really just about two gay men who engage in sexual conversations over the phone. The author, Robert Chesley (1943-1990), has written dozens of plays, mostly with gay-related themes. This work is perhaps his most famous.
The play premiered in 1986 in Los Angeles and was a big success. Around the same time, some recorded excerpts were also broadcast on KPFK (the Los Angeles Pacifica Radio station.)
Due to the explicit subject matter, a listener filed a complaint. This caused the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to investigate. The result was KPFK getting sanctioned for transmitting "indecent and possibly obscene material." The FCC then tightened its definitions of obscenity. This was the 1980's, after all...
With all the controversy surrounding "Jerker", it was unlikely anyone would be forgetting about it. So within a few years (1991), this movie was produced. Sadly, Mr. Chesley had already passed away by then from AIDS. He was 47 years old.
The Story: The location is San Francisco. The year is 1985. We meet J. R. (played by Joseph Stachura) and Bert (played by Tom Wagner) engaging in several phone sex conversations.
J. R. calls up Bert nearly every day. So, how did J. R. get Bert's number? We learn that Bert scribbled it down and handed it to J. R. one night in a local bar... When J. R. reveals how he got Bert's number, Bert does not remember. In any case, Bert does not have J. R.'s number. Only J. R. makes the calls.
As these two horny men talk dirty to each other and get off, they also reveal other intimacies. Bert worries about a friend in the hospital who is sick from AIDS, and J. R. has a disability from his time in Vietnam. Each of them suffer pain and loneliness. Sex fills that need, at least to a point.
The nature of their relationship remains anonymous: Neither man knows the other man's full name or address. So when Bert becomes sick, he stops answering the phone. J. R. leaves voice messages for him, each with more concern. Where is Bert? J. R. then leaves a message saying he checked the bar where he first met Bert. He learned that nobody has seen Bert in weeks. J. R.'s final call is the worst - the number is now disconnected. Bert is gone forever. J. R. is devastated.
Additional Comments: This is not a "porn" movie. It deals with sadness and loss. With that said, there is some sexually explicit dialog, and some brief nudity.
The title "Jerker" can possibly refer to masturbation, or a "tear jerker", depending on the viewer's interpretation.
The movie maintains a "one-act play" feel to it, since we are limited to the two characters and the interiors of their apartments.
