Christian Jacob Ramón | Hard / 2021

other than sex

by Douglas Messerli

 

Christian Jacob Ramón (screenwriter and director) Hard / 2021 [12 minutes]

 

In terms of its narrative, Christian Jacob Ramón’s 2021 film Hard is pretty much a one-liner. But thematically it exposes a problem that probably happens for more commonly than men, both gay or straight, would easily admit.

   

     The figures of Ramón’s short film (Chris Montavlo and Nash Ferguson) meet up for a sex date, both finding one another attractive and personally appealing. And after a short period of introduction, they get intimate, one of them suddenly discovering the age-old problem that happens sometimes even when one is most sexually excited: he can’t get an erection.

     After a brief pause and an inquiry of the unafflicted one—“Is everything okay?”—they go at it again with the same result.

     But when even self-arousal doesn’t help the man with a limp penis grows frustrated and particularly upset by the other’s question, “What, am I just not your type?” Assuring him that it’s not at all the situation, he insists that this has never happened to him before. His friend apologizes for the “joke,” arguing, “Bodies are weird,” as the two simply lay out of the bed together to talk—something which alas couples in one-night-stands often don’t take time out for.

     The one with the “problem” finally suggests his bedmate tell him an embarrassing story about himself, which might make him feel better. After some hesitation, the other agrees, telling a story about how, forced to take Taekwondo lessons as a child, he chooses a fast-food restaurant which he and his parents have visited before one of the sessions to pretend he was sick, mocking gagging. The people in line immediately ask if the child is okay, his father insisting that he’s fine, “he’s just faking it,” as the boy continues without anyone, the others in line or the employees responding, finally having no alternative but to give up and stop.

      So begins a mutual game played out between the two, a demand, for example, to identify who of the three quintessential Charlie’s Angels the other would like to be (for my younger readers, he is speaking of the TV crime series that ran on ABC from 1976-1981). They talk about their coming out experiences and share some of their salient moments from the past.

      The two cuddle up in bed, the one suggesting this was not the way it was supposed to turn out. But, in fact, it appears to turn out better. Finally, the one with the erection masturbates, assuring that the entire experience has been truly a joyful one. But the other is still unsure, particularly when his friend suggests, “I have an early morning tomorrow,” as he readies to leave.

      Such situations are difficult for all men, but particularly for gay men who simply statistically don’t get the opportunities to meet that many other men with whom they’re truly interested in developing a relationship. And the presence of two male egos brings with it a sort of unspoken macho demand: sex is after all the focus of first gay encounters, although perhaps that should change.

      Accordingly, when his friend leaves, he curses himself for his inability to perform, fearful of never seeing the young man he enjoyed again. On the phone to a friend after, he admits that he can’t help feeling that he “ruined it.” A knock on the door announces the return of his date, who has left his coat behind. But also explains that he truly does have to work early the next morning, that he truly did enjoy his time together with the other, and that “I’d be perfectly happy to take this slower….I mean, I’m still in this if you want.” They kiss, and the moment he leaves, obviously, the man’s erection returns.

 

Los Angeles, January 16, 2023

Reprinted from World Cinema Review (January 2023).