Saturday, January 20, 2024

John Paul Pitoc in Trick


'A story about two guys trying to make it in the big city.'


Trick wasn't really a huge movie with regards to story.  It didn't have the twist that A Crying Game had, or the buzz of a Talented Mr. Ripley.  There also wasn't really much skin.  What there was, was a gay rom-com, a relatively normal and relatable with the focus being on two gay men.  In many ways, that's what made the movie so appealing.  So many gay films from the 1990's had a 'hook', but Trick was just about relationships with a boy-meets-boy dynamic instead of a boy-meets-girl. 


The movie introduced me a few things, including educating me on what a go-go dancer was.  Until then, I only knew men and women danced or stripped, but go-go dancing was new to me, falling somewhere in the middle.  The movie also had me temporarily drop my resistance to anything featuring Tori Spelling.  I wasn't a fan, but give credit to any mainstream actor at the same supporting and normalizing the community.  


The two leads were both sexy and engaging.  Christian Campbell played Gabriel, an office temp by day and aspiring Broadway composer by night,  John Paul Pitoc played Mark, a go-go dancer at a local gay bar.  Gabriel and Mark's attempt at a one-night-stand doesn't go smoothly, but they eventually form a relationship beyond the one night of sex they had originally planned.


You can't really have a character that go-go dances, without at least one scene of him dancing, and Trick provided a hot one.  The dance, and the movie, was the first professional role for Pitoc, but it certainly wasn't his last.  Some of you may remember the actor from his other roles including turns in; Six Feet Under, The Ghost Whisperer, Grey's Anatomy and the film Species II.  Pitoc is still a working actor and was most recently in two episodes of The Rookie. 

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