I was going to pen an entry on the San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s “Hunky Jesus” competition, but then I noticed a related subject was available. Lesbians, transwomen and gentlegays, I present the saga of “Him”- or, “Jesus Christ, (Erotic Film) Superstud” (?)

Surely not. Sadly, there seems to be compelling evidence against the existence of “Him”, which may turn out to be just as imaginary as the mythological fogure on which it is partially based. Anyway, Michael and Harry Medved wrote a labour of love about the worst movies ever made. In their section on religious film, they mentioned “Him.” Allegedly, one Ed Louie produced this effort in 1974. It’s about a very naughty version of Jesus who carries on like a verse of James Kirkup’s awful but amusing “The Love That Dares Speak Its Name” (1979), and a contemporary young gay man who strives to find the ‘hidden message’ of the Gospels based on his erotic fantasies about the above scenario.  Even worse, a prurient Catholic priest gets carried away listening to this malarkey in the confessional box and (ahem) has some fun with his own (…) “rod and staff.”

Or did it? According to Canadian evangelical film critic Peter Chattaway’s “Film Chat” blog entry on the subject,  there seem to be no extant original copies of the film, no available person who has actually seen it, and “Ed Louie” doesn’t seem to exist either, nor is it listed in the International Movie Database (IMDB) online. There is an alleged Ottawa Citizen newspaper advert (although it’s possible this was fabricated, or a contemporary hoax).

Apparently, fundamentalists have gotten quite irate about this probably imaginary fare- which, ironically enough, may turn out to be a ‘blasphemous’ cinematic work that never really existed.

Strongly Recommended:

Peter Chattaway’s Blog “Film Chat”: http://filmchatblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/gay-jesus-movie-hoax-or-fact.html