Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is a documentary about Scotty Bowers, who came to the public’s attention after releasing his memoir, Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, which I’m not sure whether or not I’ll read, during his 90th to 91st year. Basically he offered sexual services to the classic stars of Hollywood, and as the demand increased, he recruited others to be tricks while maintaining his cover as a gas station attendant. While he was a sex worker, he probably saw it less as work and more like multitasking: making money while having fun. Because of moral codes, he was extremely discrete and refused to disclose anyone’s sexual preferences until most of his customers died. This film goes more into detail about his personal history and shows us his friends and former colleagues.
I wanted to see Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood because of the gossip. I rarely delve into contemporary celebrity news, but classic Hollywood scandals are my catnip. Unfortunately I had to fight falling asleep and occasionally failed until I had to remind myself that I was not at home and could not simply rewind. I actually planned to wait to see this film when it became available for home viewing, but a friend was eager to see it in the theater. Bowers may be a lively subject and a bon vivant, but he can’t paint a picture. He never goes into details and simply lists his partners. We know that he attends saucy parties, but never get an idea of the logistics. If you’re having a threesome with two icons, is it a regular thing? Who likes to start? Who is more aggressive? I don’t want to go into prurient details per se, but I wanted to get an idea of the real life personalities behind these classic Hollywood personas. We get a glimpse behind the veil of Spencer Tracy. It seems to be more about quantity than quality, and I find lists to be tedious regardless of what they catalogue. I’m not a doctor so I don’t need a list of your sexual partners. I suppose that learning the logistics of building your very own underground Times Square of the Manhattan of the past in California should be detailed, but wasn’t an attention grabber for me except for an appreciation of the hustle.
My friend was a little shocked at the nudity and clips of people engaging in sexual acts. Here is a public service announcement for those unfamiliar with documentaries. If sex is going to be discussed, and footage is available, they are going to use it so if that is a deal breaker for you, don’t see it. For others who are now suddenly excited to see Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, slow your roll. It is either footage of anonymous men or Bowers so don’t expect to get an eyeful of Cary Grant in flagrante. Also the clips are so brief and blurred that it can be considered fairly tame in the whole scheme of things.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is definitely framed to be a triumphant celebration of sexuality and freedom under the shadow of repression of the Moral Code, which we still haven’t truly passed. We live in a world in which it is more acceptable to be an adulterer and a rapist, which I’m not equating so please put away the pitchforks, rather than a homosexual. Bowers’ attitude is so countercultural in his rejection of these standards that he deserves some praise for being ahead of his time.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood reveals that Bowers uses no label to describe his sexuality. One person described him as pansexual, which seems fair. He has long-term relationships with women, but often had numerous sexual partners with men and women while in a committed relationship though his partners seemed less than thrilled with his exploits. While he is in the business of sex, he was not sexually exploitive of others and denies that he was a pimp because he never profited from other people’s work. I found his denials to be credible because he is still friends with most of his “tricks.” They are so close that one even offers him a kidney when his health begins to suffer from the side effects of a drug that he was required to take during his service in the Pacific theater of World War II. They seem to be grateful. One even credits Bowers for getting a house for him.
Unfortunately Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood waits until late in the film to reveal something about Bowers’ personal history which arm chair psychologists such as myself would theorize explains his professional choices and compulsions. Throughout the film, the documentary shows us that Bowers is a hoarder so the fact there will be an eleventh hour plot twist is not exactly a surprise. Anyone can see it coming. The filmmaker reflects Bowers’ attitude and wishes regarding how he wants his life to be seen, but I also think that by waiting to reveal that information, it retroactively detracts from the overall movie and makes it seem more like an imposed agenda than an understandable and acceptable response to trauma. Also one of my major pet peeves is when a film does not use a linear narrative unless it further enhances the film’s objectives.
No one has a right to impose upon someone how one should react to what happened to them, but there is a difference between how someone chooses to react and objective ideas of what is acceptable or not. I think that is what makes the films of Pedro Almodovar and Paul Verhoeven so interesting because they are willing to simultaneously condemn sexual violence and recognize that a person who did not consent may choose to cope with that experience by retroactively making it into a relationship or claiming some level of triumph, but it does not excuse the perpetrator’s behavior. Whether or not that response is healthy in the long term is debatable and to some degree, unanswerable until a life is fully lived. As a fellow human being, I defer to someone to tell me about how an experience made one feel, but as a lawyer, I would opine that experience may be considered objectively criminal regardless of that person’s subjective experience. Bowers dismissal of therapy does seem to be a case of the gentleman doth protest too much as tears well up in his eyes. The stigma of therapy is so distressingly prevalent. It is simply talking to someone that you pay not to change the subject or make it about them until you have fully explored an issue and figure out what you want to learn from the experience.
I was extremely excited when Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood made a reference to Cecil Beaton. While I think that this documentary could have been stronger, I think that it should be mainly viewed as a part of a viewing theme weekend, which would include Love, Cecil, another documentary, and Tom of Finland, a foreign drama film that explores similar themes of bold and life-giving sexuality emerging after horrific wartime experiences.