Rated The Skinny 3/10
I was glad that at least one character acknowledged that what happened to Sebastian (Blake Young-Fountain) was, in fact, a rape. I even found the PSA moments a tad endearing (if a little lengthy), but it is hard to square this film with the likes of <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/pariah/"><i>Pariah</i></a>, a far better film (certainly in terms of cinematography) that also deals with sexual awakenings and "firsts" and one that treats its lesbian characters with respect, even reverence--one that precedes <i>The Skinny</i> by a year. Make no mistake this film is a much-needed depiction of black queer vibrancy and normality, but it can't help but be myopic, focusing as it does on the lives of the relatively class advantaged. If there is a commentary on this that the film offers, it does so almost as a throwaway, when we finally come to understand some of the background of the character Kyle (Dustin Ross). Of course it's through dialogue, and of course it's mostly a response (or justification) for why Jussie Smollett's Magnus cheats, but it is there if you squint at high noon. Smollett is very clearly the lead throughout the film though the structure isn't one that really allows him to shine, vacillating as it does between its cast of characters and their relationships. He is assisted in small part through this dilemma by the charismatic Joey (Jeffery Bowyer-Chapman) and the accented earnestness of Langston (Shanika Warren-Markland), but the smaller, quieter film focused just on <i>his</i> journey through pain would perhaps have been more resonant, more effective, and more interesting. I don't think it can or should be ignored that <i>The Skinny</i> catalyzed a resurgent interest in queer Black narratives and engendered dozens of webseries, but for all of its charms--an ensemble featuring Wilson Cruz and Seth Gilliam, and its tastefully lit and composed sex scenes--it is thin on ideas, its dialogue bloated. The understated growl of Savannah (Jennia Fredrique) is refreshing, but even she seems brought in so that everyone has something (or someone) to do. <i>The Skinny</i>'s appeal has made it possible for shows like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228904/"><i>Empire</i></a> to exist and for openly queer black men to be cast in <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/alien-covenant/">Serious Science Fiction</a>, but its handling of character is intractably poor. I want my Black queer cinema to have deep and robust feeling; Patrik Ian-Polk's <i>The Skinny</i> offers only a thin gruel of unearned lessons.
