Crutch (2004)

Director:

Rob Moretti

Writers:

Paul Jacks (writer)
Rob Moretti (writer)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A young man... His teacher...Crossing boundries

Plot:

An autobiographical film taken from the experiences of writer-director Rob Moretti, CRUTCH is a coming-of-age...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Autobiographical | Seduction | Thirty Something | Coming Of Age

Cast

Eben Gordon	...	David Graham
Rob Moretti	...	Kenny Griffith
Juanita Walsh	...	Katie Graham
Jennifer Laine Williams	...	Julia
Jennifer Katz	...	Maryann (as Jennifer J. Katz)
James A. Earley	...	Jack Graham
Robert Bray	...	Michael Graham
Laura O'Reilly	...	Lisa Graham
Tim Loftus	...	Zack
Sylvia Norman	...	Linda
Frankie Faison	...	Jerry
Tia Dionne Hodge	...	Janice
Michael Ellison	...	Bobby
Salvador Castillo	...	Drug Dealer
Michael Philip Anthony	...	Casting Director #1

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and drug use.

Runtime:

88 min | 89 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

HP Productions LLC

Movie Connections:

Featured in 2005 Glitter Awards (2005) (V)

A Tale of a Sexual Predator

MAY BE SPOILERS - I guess if I would have known more about this movie, I probably wouldn't have watched it. Even though I believe that, as adults, we should have the right, without fear of retribution, to experiment with, or get involved in, whatever lifestyles or sundry aspects of life we desire, even when others may regard this behavior as sordid, or however distasteful to them. Of course this is dependent on this behavior being by, and between, consenting adults of sound mind, and that no other persons, animals, etc. are harmed, burdened, or unduly subjected to it. Given this, it does not mean that I have to personally like it or want to view it (hence, the "I probably wouldn't have watched it" comment). This film would probably be characterized as a gay-themed film, although it was more than that, and touched on a variety of issues. Again, what consenting adults do is their own business, but this situation was quite a bit different. The main character is a very confused 16-year-old boy, who is preyed upon by a 30-year-old male teacher of an acting class the boy takes. The boy, whose parents are too self-absorbed in their own problems, is in desperate need of someone he can talk to and confide in about his awful home situation - and about life in general for someone evolving through, what are possibly, the most confusing, emotional, and important formative years in one's life. Unfortunately, the teacher is only concerned with his own agenda (as we see is the case of all the characters in this film), which is seducing the boy. Little by little, the teacher works on this seduction until it evolves into David (the youth) being a regular visitor at his apartment, where the minor is plied with plenty of alcohol and marijuana, and eventually he turns the boy, and Kenny (the teacher) and David are seen spending most of their time together getting loaded and engaging in sex. It gets progressively worse for David. The teacher is also a heavy cocaine user. One day, while snooping around in his bathroom, David finds a healthy bag of the powdered form of the drug, and steals it (Apparently Kenny must have had quite a stash, as he never even misses the 1-2 gram bag). With all of David's difficulties, the cocaine looks like something to alleviate his mental anguish. Unfortunately, it's just another "crutch," and what looks like a temporary solution, inevitably develops into just one more problem.

I won't go into the whole story here, but with all the problems and pressures in David's life - the very dysfunctional home life; his use of drugs and alcohol; his confusion over his sexual identity and unhealthy "relationship" with his teacher; and the fact that he's just a teenager in the first place, and sorely equipped to logically deal with his condition; his mental state gets worse.

Maybe I'm getting old, and more responsible, but I had a problem with this film, and that was that the filmmakers didn't really seem to see anything wrong with a 30-year-old sexual predator, in the role of a teacher, taking advantage of a very vulnerable and mixed up kid of 16. Nothing seems to ever have been done about Kenny, and even at the end of the film, they mentioned something on the order of "his whereabouts is unknown, may be teaching somewhere else." How many people out there would want this character as a teacher for their children? It doesn't take a genius to figure out how all but a very few would answer.

Whether I agree with all of them or not, this guy has broken a whole raft of serious laws, and he needs to spend a few years behind bars. I don't know how accurate this portrayal was, but, supposedly, this was an autobiographical film based on the life of this picture's writer/director, Rob Moretti (his first). As is the case with most of us, we might be able to come up with solutions, or otherwise advise and help others with their problems, but when it comes to stepping back and taking an objective assessment of our own difficulties, we quite often are unable to do a very good job. Perhaps this is what happened here with Mr. Moretti. Do society a favor, Mr. Moretti. If this guy is for real, find this monster and have him arrested - before he works his evil on more troubled and impressionable youths.