Corrin Evans | Jellyfish / 2017

the cure

by Douglas Messerli

 

Jesse Pepe (screenwriter and composer with Benny Salz) Corrin Evans (director) Jellyfish / 2017 [6. 45 minutes] [music video]

 

J. Pee (actor/singer Jesse Pepe) is sitting on the beach with another man, who decides he wants to jump into the ocean waters, J. Pee refusing to join him, suggesting his friend will “freeze his ass off.” Fortunately, his ass is just fine, but he almost immediately cries out in terrifying pain: he’s been stung by a stingray and it hurts.

     Most medical and surfing sites suggest that in such a situation, you must immediately remove any of tail barb that might have been embedded in your skin, and then wash it is saltwater, flushing the area (yes, seawater will work as long as you don’t further call up through your motions other sting rays). The important thing in order to not get infection is to be sure to remove all the barbs and venom in the leg, washing it heavily with saltwater.

     However, the well-known folk remedy, as the San Diego Reader points out is urine, since the venom is as acid and urine is alkaline. Believers in this method insist that urine neutralizes the poison. Most professional sources advise against this method and insist that urine may have no or even detrimental effects.

     It doesn’t matter. Jose Pepe has obviously bought into the folk wisdom and has read the San Diego Reader, and is absolutely delighted, in his often-provocative gay sexual films, to make the best of it. “I have an idea bro, you’re just going to have to go with me on this, all right?”

    Pee, who loves to take gay themes to their over-the-top level in this case opens up a subject of a gay fetish which has not been often portrayed in LGBT+ movies (although it did pop up as the subject of Julian Dieterich’s 2023 short film Wet Hair), as his loosens his swim trunks and we hear the splash of piss across the wound, which quite miraculously relieves his friend’s terrible pain.

    As the two, unable to talk about what just happened, but nonetheless seeming to have enjoyed the event, resolve their silence as the friend suggests we may go back in, while J. Pee counters, “I think I’ll get my tan on.”

     “Be careful in there, he shouts to his friend as he reenters the ocean.”

     His “bro” soon returns, suggesting that he’s now been stung by a jellyfish again, this time near his lips. What’s a friend to do? J. Pee stands ready to help, “I can fix that” as his muscular pal falls to his knees, J. Pee breaking into song:

 

“I can't lie, I've been wanting to pee on someone my whole life

Would I ever get the chance?

How could I know, that the one I was meant to pee on was my bro?

How could I say no?

You have always been a best friend of mine,

And now we're so much closer with the help of my urine

In your eyes

Will we ever get to do this again?

Or was it meant to happen just one time?'

Cuz weekly would be nice.

 

Jellyfish, oh jellyfish

You granted me my secret wish

I've always wanted to piss on someone that I love

If you're out there jellyfish I want to say 'thank you for this gift'

From the bottom of my bladder

Jellyfish”

 

     Clearly, something has now happened to give J. Pee such a joyful pleasure that he cooks ups a new plan for several of his gay friends who he’s invited to a house pool party. Into the warm water, J. Pee pours a few lovely sting rays. “Ya-all want to jump in?”

     Of course, they’re all ready to go for a swim. As they each begin to scream out in pain, our hero rushing forward, his swim trunks falling the floor as we hear, in the final seconds after the screen has turned black, the sound of piss being sprayed over their all-to-compliant bodies.

 

Los Angeles, August 22, 2024

Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (August 2024).