An independent "gay indie" film it might be, (Why was it Black & White?) but 'The Toilers and the Wayfarers' was really hard to watch. Even at just 76 minutes, I found myself hoping it was over all the way through. It was as if it were filmed in Germany, and the only exposure to "American Culture" was American TV or movies, as all the stereotypes were out in full force, as were homosexual/racial slurs. It was a nice first effort, I suppose, but so many scenes didn't mesh well with each other and apparently everyone speaks German. I guess that's good for the characters that either speak fluent German or only German. Personally, I've only met a few people in my entire life that spoke German, and here, everyone on the street speaks it. (Another reason, it feels like it was filmed overseas and played off like it was America. The spoken English feels so, well "dubbed.") It goes in so many directions, it's hard to describe, but one story line (of many) involve a teen, Dieter (an "Arch Hall, Jr." of MST3k's 'Eegah' fame) defending his new German-immigrant friend, Udo, from everyone, including everyone who thinks he's gay, especially his newly outed best friend, Phillip. Phillip's so obviously gay, I'm surprised they didn't make Dieter blind as well as just a bad actor. Then, all of a sudden, Dieter himself is gay and Phillip is sick and abruptly abandoned. Maybe he has AIDS or just the flu, we're never sure. (And still, Dieter sleeps with him, throwing caution to the wind sure he might have used a condom, but protection was never shown.) And story line #56, apparently, Udo is a wanted man for (???) reasons that might've been in some deleted scenes. The movie was a mess and strongly un-recommended.
Review of The Toilers and the Wayfarers
