The docudrama "Beefcake" is an entertaining homage to muscle magazines that were popular from the 1940's to the 1960's. Athletic Model Guild and Physique Pictorial magazine provided not only eye-candy but a way to explore inner desires for millions of gay and bisexual men at a time when homosexuality was illegal and considered a mental illness.


The film stars Daniel MacIvor, Carroll Godsman, Jack Griffin Mazieka, Jonathan Torrens, and Joshua Peace in sexy, humorous recreations of photo shoots and life at the Athletic Model Guild. The 1999 film was directed by Thom Fitzgerald and features interviews with the real-life models (Jack LaLanne, Joe Dallesandro etc) and photographers whose work actually appeared in the those early magazines.