Vapors is Andy Milligan’s first film. It’s a gay-themed short set in a New York bath house populated by men who are on the make. A lonely man named Thomas (Gerald Jacuzzo) hangs out in one of the rooms where he meets the married Mr. Jaffee (Robert Dahdah). Together, they sit and talk about their lives and occasionally are interrupted by the customers who are looking for a quick place to hook up.
Although the customers who roam the halls are portrayed rather broadly, the interactions between Thomas and Mr. Jaffee seem genuine and well-intentioned for the most part. I’m sure this felt revelatory at the time just for because it showed gay men being gay men. Despite there being a nice moment or two, the whole thing just never quite gels.
The film was based on a play by Hope Stansbury (who also appeared in Milligan’s The Rats are Coming-The Werewolves are Here), and it feels very stage bound and talky at times. What might’ve worked on stage for an act, just isn’t compelling as a short. While Jacuzzo and Dahdah have chemistry together, Stansbury’s dialogue often lets them down. Jacuzzo is strong, but Dahdah is merely adequate, and he doesn’t quite sell his longwinded story about the death of his son, which robs the ending of its potential impact. The scene where they play “This Little Piggy” is rather awkward too. I don’t know if Milligan was trying to make this scene flirtatious or what, but it just comes off as a cringey interaction. Maybe that was the intention all along. I’m not sure.
Milligan does capture the atmosphere rather well. The performers seemed game enough too. Maybe if the material had been better fleshed out, it would’ve stuck the landing. As it is, it remains an interesting, if only fitfully successful curiosity.
Milligan Motifs: Milligan would make movies with gay themes on and off for the entirety of his career.
Milligan Stock Players: Dahdah had a small role in The Body Beneath, Jacuzzo was in several Milligan productions (most notably Torture Dungeon), Hal Sherwood also turned up in The Ghastly Ones, and Hal Borske appeared in a bunch of Andy’s stuff.
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