In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Watching a doco about male physique models whilst eating a bag a chips makes you think twice. That aside, this is a reasonably interesting film that blends original archive footage, interviews and places them along side recreations of events of the AMG Studios, set up by Bob Mizer to capture the male physic. The recreations are okay to a limit, there is too much flipping between black and white and colour and some of the actors playing the models have less than defined bodies which goes against all the images we are bombarded with that show strong ripped muscular bodies. Some of the acting is also heading to Hamsville. There are some clever scenes where they have melded archive footage with new scenes and this works very well.There are some interesting, if brief, interviews with some of the people that came through AMG: models including Joe Dallesandro, as well as other photographers and fans. Then there is a vast array of archive footage of models-and yes there is plenty of flesh on display-and it does have a sense of beauty to it, because despite the obvious homoerotic nature of some of the photos and films made and the fact that these were taken for publications that were really the beginnings of pornography, there is an innocence to some of it and perhaps that was the 40/50/60's backdrop which was an all together different time.The film wins on its old footage and the telling the story of an age gone by, but is let down by trying to have too many ideas at once. Now I have to go do some sit ups.More of my reviews at my site iheartfilms.weebly.com

BEEFCAKE is a mess. A mix of documentary and narrative feature, the film is a frustrating failure. When the focus is on archival footage and interviews with fascinating people like Jack LaLanne and Joe Dallesandro, it works. But then it shifts to actors to present the Bob Mizer story. And boy oh boy, are they bad actors. Even the copious amount of male flesh on display can't save BEEFCAKE. Also frustrating is the naive and sugarcoated way Mizer is portrayed. According to BEEFCAKE, Mizer just loved helping people and pleasing his customers and was practically asexual. Puh-lease. It's as if the filmmakers did not want to "go there." LaLanne must have been embarrassed to be involved in what could have been a decent documentary. Listen, if you really want to see skin, rent a porno or get those French rugby team videos from Dieux Du Stade. And if you're interested in the Athletic Model Guild and Mizer's work, seek out the old Physique Pictorials and/or the complete book compilation instead. I cringe just thinking about this movie.

I was curious mostly about this movie. Not being one to pass up on seeing a movie based on information or history I took a chance and watched it on the HERE! network a couple of years ago. It was better than I expected.Ignoring the continuous display of frontal male nudity (which didn't offend me in the least), This film was very informative and entertaining. The interviews opened my eyes to a part of history that I have only read about. It is a pity that this film didn't get more exposure, but I believe that the "exposure" on screen would and probably did prevent any real showcasing in worldwide theaters.I think that anyone who likes to know what occurred in the past in regards to pre-stonewall life should watch this film. And if anyone who just wants to see guys in the nude without the sex involved, will like it too. In any case, it's really interesting.

Bob Mizer photographed handsome young men for "physical culture" magazines that appealed to gay men when little other literature for them existed. The narrative part of the film about Mizer's life and activities seems two-dimensional in its production and dramatic values--perhaps intentional stylistically. It shows Mizer in his photography studio with his models, whom he found as they literally stepped off the bus from across the country--young men who were new to Los Angeles. In fact, most of the film was shot in a studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia: Canadian sources provided some of the funding.The documentary footage provides interviews with people from the larger California health and fitness culture, like Jack La Lanne, the pioneer health and exercise guru. Born in 1914, he was still active at the time of the film. Along with others, like Joe D'Allesandro, a model and actor (discovered first by Mizer and brought to greater fame by Andy Warhol), the interviews offer an interesting counterpoint to the narrative that seems stronger than the dramatic part of the film. The different segments are linked by a mixed chorus of singers using a style popular in fifties commercials.On a professional level, Mizer was a meticulous artist who took great care with his photography, creating a new genre. Perhaps later films will explore this in depth.