This mid-section from Joe Gage's so-called "Trucking Trilogy" follows KANSAS CITY TRUCKING COMPANY and precedes L.A. TOOL & DIE. This trilogy thing's not just a marketing strategy either as there's a logical progression in the male relationships charted throughout these movies, moving from the anonymous sexual voracity of KANSAS over camaraderie and budding friendship in EL PASO towards love and commitment in L.A., crystallized in the character of truck driver Hank, indelibly portrayed in all three films by the wonderful Richard Locke.
While L.A. TOOL & DIE stands as the most elaborately plotted (somewhat unfortunately, it's also the most melodramatic), EL PASO repeats the more impressionistic structure of the first installment, employing various musical styles (frequently heard over the car radio or playing in bars) and the associative juxtaposition of images to put the mood across rather than relying on not always overly talented actors to do so. Locke's traded in rookie buddy Steve Boyd from KANSAS for then already veteran filmmaker Fred Halsted (who would later commit suicide following the AIDS-related death of his longtime love Joey Yale), whose early '70s classics L.A. PLAYS ITSELF and SEX GARAGE are often evoked visually as well as aurally. Though this casting could be the result of Boyd's unavailability, I'd like to think it was an intentional decision on Gage's part as Halsted's much more of an equal to the sexually confident Locke rather than the neophyte being prepared for initiation Boyd portrayed. Even though both men are unapologetically gay, they prefer not to sully their professional and personal relationship by having sex with each other. There are plenty of distractions along the seemingly endless trip to El Paso though. Halsted picks up a married guy who has "never done anything like this before" at Billie's Bar and has sex with him while the man's wife watches and gets herself off in a sequence paced and cut like a '60s underground experimental flick and it's a tribute to Gage's directorial prowess that this attempt never becomes pretentious or ridiculous but actually packs an erotic wallop you might not expect from the outset. Meanwhile, Locke shoots the breeze with bar owner Billie, a scene-stealing cameo from hetero hardcore legend Georgina Spelvin. Locke and Halstead provide positive role models as men who are secure in their "aberrant" sexuality, but Gage does not gloss over the fact that this did not sit well with everyone circa 1977 as the other bar patrons react violently and a brawl ensues. In a bit of forgivable wish fulfillment, much needed vicariously by anyone who has ever fallen victim to queer bashers, the gay guys win ! The rest of the movie details both men's various sexual adventures along the way with such gay iconography archetypes like the garage owner and the park ranger. Gorgeous Guillermo Ricardo will stop a few hearts as the Mexican gardener who makes it with house cleaner Lou Davis in an all time showstopper of a sex scene. Like KANSAS, this movie winds up at the obligatory orgy by the "Gage Men" as they are identified in the credits and indeed include the director known to the real world as Tim Kincaid, helmer of B-grade horror flicks like BREEDERS with the important difference that even though our heroes never connect sexually, there is an evolution in their relationship as Halsted tentatively reaches out to the spent Locke and the image freezes.
EL PASO, sandwiched between the two other Gage masterpieces, may be the most satisfying entry of the triptych as it fleshes out characters more deeply than its precedent but eschews the drama queen histrionics of the closing chapter. The concept of plot should not be considered strictly from the Hollywood point of view as it's more reminiscent of the free association of European and more specifically French cinema, bringing to mind the likes of Godard and Bresson, while still providing all the incendiary sex this skilled filmmaker can muster, making this movie hog heaven for a dirty movie devotee like myself.
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