Talking trash and truths: cult-classic road-trip documentary American Fabulous finally makes its cable TV debut

American Fabulous

* Directed by Reno Dakota

* Sundance Channel

* Premieres June 30

"Believe me, nobody could make this up, and if they did, why would they want to?" So goes Jeffrey Strouth's most self-summarizing bon mot from American Fabulous, a low-fi documentary of a garrulous gay man "spontaneously performing" the story of his tumultuous life as he's driven around his native Ohio in the backseat of a '57 Cadillac.

A cult favorite since its release in 1992, American Fabulous will finally have its television premiere June 30 on cable's Sundance Channel. In a post-Jerry Springer culture of anything-goes reality TV, the film now seems both quaint and prophetic. There are no gimmicks--just a car, a camera, and Strouth's storytelling panache to make American Fabulous a must-see historical document of gay life on the margins.

To survive, Strouth turned to prostitution ("I thought it was real neat, I was real proud of myself at the time"), hitchhiking, sleeping in cars, working in New York clubs, and "waitressing." From life with an abusive father to co-hosting a lesbian Tupperware party--forget everything you know about potato salad--Strouth rarely comes off as unbelievable. His folkloric tales of "all the biker trash, all the white trash, all the drug trash, and all the trash trash" transcend vulgarity because Strouth--who died of AIDS before the film's release--swan-sings them with a delicate mix of love, mockery, and zero sentimentality.

For some, however, Strouth's shrill voice and flamboyance may make this documentary portrait an endurance test. For those viewers, Strouth offers advice at the outset that can easily be followed at home: "If you go to a movie and you're bored, just take off all your clothes and sit there and watch it completely naked. I highly recommend it. It's just something to do to keep you from smoking a cigarette."

Lee has also written for US Weekly, Index, Paper, Bust, and Butt.

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