The Long Haul: The Story of the Buckaroos

Hungry for beefcake? Amy J. Enser's debut documentary serves it up, cowboy style, nice and hot. But these are not the sculpted, musclebound Adonises from the Magic Mike films - these are "The Buckaroos," a group of six self-described "average Joes" representing a wide range of male body types, from long and lean to potbelly to the en vogue "dad bod" look. The all-male revue, performed every summer at The Triple Door in Seattle, is a comedic twist on the famed Chippendales-style troupes reimagined as a Western-style variety show, complete with hay bales, cowboy hats, lube, sequined thongs, and little else. A project four years in the making, The Long Haul captures the live, interactive theatrical experience that began in 2014 as the brainchild of Chris Pink and Jon Bechtel, owners of Seattle's Can Can Culinary Cabaret. But the documentary also delves into the quieter personal lives of the Buckaroos and explores the surreal paths that compelled each of them to cavort onstage wearing only rubber ducks over their genitals. By tweaking traditional masculine stereotypes, Enser's riotously entertaining, inspirational doc celebrates the camaraderie of this unlikely group of performers and the confidence they gained from the yeehaw, unabashed thrill of taking their clothes off in public. (Seattle International Film Festival)