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 Maybe you think you're special, and if there is ever
any doubt, you can't find a more unexpected place than David
R. Beecroft's Not Just Another Queer.
Beecroft is a movie hair stylist with an impressive list of credits that
includes K-19: The Widowmaker, Pushing Tin, Fly Away Home and To Die For
with Nicole Kidman.
Part autobiography, part film industry exposé, diary, essay
on sexuality, gender and self-exploratory confessional; Beecroft takes an
inward look at his life, loves and conflicts and comes out a winner in the end
— damaged but whole.
Beecroft tells his story of growing up gay in a small town
in Canada,
going to school while facing bullies, and his introduction to sex in honest, and
even lurid, detail. The experience of growing up a gay man during the sixties
and seventies is explored, as well as dealing with issues and barriers, including
AIDS, bad relationships, sex, depression and suicide attempts throughout the
eighties and nineties. It isn't a picnic, and often quite a struggle, but
Beecroft tells his story openly.
Beecroft writes in a rather easy-going style that is far
removed from the typical self-aggrandizing autobiography that far-too-often fills
bookstores. The experience of reading the book is that of a really thoughtful,
humble and honest open introductory letter. There are some juicy bits about dealing
with big-headed stars, but Beecroft wisely avoids delving into “tell all”
territory, focusing instead on how the industry, as well as the ‘gay ghetto’ of
Toronto, informed his senses. The movie industry parts alone would be worth a
separate book.
His relationships are a rollercoaster of emotions and
adventure, from the melancholy to the sublime. There are even nice doses of
humor, especially when he tells of one boyfriend who looked so much like Elton
John, he got mobbed by autograph seekers at an exhibition. Not one to flinch
from realism, Beecroft includes an actual e-mail exchange of the break-up with a meaningful,
otherwise perfect, twenty-year-plus relationship.
If you’re looking for a different perspective, a bead on the
film business or a consummate look at what it was like growing up gay or even a
distant companion on coping with adversity, then Not Just Another Queer is a fascinating introduction with a heartfelt
universal lesson into self acceptance.
This Reviewer's Rating:    3.5 / 5
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