I'm fascinated with Karen. So many contradictions and conflicts, and she tackled them with pragmatism. I could watch a part two about her tbh.

If you’re looking for a big top, you’re in the wrong place…or are you?

This is the kind of work that you end up appreciating the genuinity of the story. The coincidence that led things to seemingly funny situation but how it was just a part of their lives regardless. We all can relate to at least a part of the story as a human being.

This is a great documentary about an adult bookstore in Los Angeles. If those walls could talk.

Fun to watch especially if you are of an age to remember the gay community b4 being out was much harder than today.

Just wish it was longer and got deep in some stories, but great overall.

It's hard to review this without spoiling it (though the poster might give it away), as the surprising subject matter is definitely part of the fun for me as an audience, so I will be brief (for a change). This Netflix documentary by Rachel Mason is primarily about her Jewish parents who run a bookstore in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Working with a limited budget, I imagine, the result is akin a more professionally done family video, but it also means this is an intimate and cosy affair and watching this on a small screen won't affect its enjoyment at all. The film acts both as a lovely paean to her parents as well as a visual historical document on the fight and preservation of free speech in the USA during the same time period, via people who are personally affected or involved in that fight. Between those objectives, the latter is almost a by-product of this sweet and passionate film that is brimming with love for a pair of unsung heroes, two unassuming individuals whose lives took an unexpected turn when they took over the titular bookshop and then has to balance family values with the risqué business they found themselves engaged in. There are no deep revelatory insights here, just anecdotal, perhaps even superficial, information and stories you'll glean out of their struggles but it is tremendous fun and extremely real and you will be so charmed by these genuinely fascinating people, that you will find those 90 minutes spent with them well worth your time.

"Circus Of Books" is an Excellent Movie which tells You the whole story of how the family got started in the Adult Book Store Industry and how they kept quiet about it so that there friends and relatives, including their religious clergy where they worship did Not know about it. The movie was written by Rachel Mason, the bookstore's owner and did it in Excellent Taste! I more than Highly Recommend this movie which You can see on Netflicks. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Howard Paul Shore Viewer Executive, Volunteer Writer And Reviewer For Google Maps and Tripadvisor Websites /HPS

El porno como liberación ////////////////////// Un matrimonio judío en Los Ángeles decide abrir a principios de los 80's una tienda de revistas y de porno gay. el Circus of Books del título. La documentalista Rachel Robson (hija de ambos) filmó este interesante documental sobre sus padres (figuras centrales de la película) y este negocio, con una gran material gráfico, varios reportajes y una muy buena articulación de las dimensiones familiar, social, política, jurídica y económica del porno y lo gay, que incluye una monumental ironía que aquí no revelaré. Afortunadamente estamos ante un documental que salta el cerco de lo autorreferencial y no ante uno de tantos ensayos autobiográficos narcisistas que sólo interesan a sus realizadorxs.

A fantastic, funny, moving and thought provoking documentary about how a middle class Jewish couple ended up running a gay, adult book store and became the biggest distributors of gay pornography in the USA. This really is a must-see film.

La historia de los esposos Karen y Barry Mason y sus tres hijos es increíble. Más allá del negocio que manejaban, la historia de esta familia es grandiosa, y la directora Rachel, hija de la pareja, hace un trabajo fenomenal documentado la vida de su familia.

I liked that the daughter did it, I'm sad the business went under I would have donated to keep it open. I'm sure others would too.

Really poignant story! So glad to see this films success and just an overall fun watch!

when i go to the supermarket i don't think to myself "i'd rather die than work here". this is yet another story about a VERY smart and hard working person or couple who do feel that way and were able to make their american dream come true. without getting a "real" job.

I love history, especially untold history. I feel like this documentary hit a lot of things for me, including going through gay history, family, and delving into the world of pornography from a normalized view which I definitely enjoyed!

April 22, 2020 Given all the rich, real-life comedy, drama, scandal and secrets tied to Circus of Books, a gay pornography bookstore and novelty shop, you'd think writer-director Rachel Mason would have forged a fictional Hollywood screenplay out of its bizarre history and baked it into one of those wacky, hard-to-believe movies that sells itself by being "inspired by actual events." If she had, she likely would have been praised for her inventiveness. But, to our surprise, and to the film's benefit, Mason takes a more low-key approach and simply presents the narrative surrounding this famous (and infamous) establishment honestly and matter-of-factly. She lets its history and people speak for themselves, and the result is an unexpectedly funny, touching and wonderfully energetic documentary. It's also a deeply personal film, although not just for Mason, who isn't shy about putting herself on camera. By being so open, inviting and gently confrontational with her interviewees, the story behind Circus of Books ends up feeling just as relevant to us as the people it directly touched. Seeing their reactions and listening to their words, we instinctively think of ourselves, our families, and the various jobs we've had over the years. Eventually, we come to believe we too could make a documentary that's just engaging and relatable about our own lives, albeit with much different details. So what are the details behind Circus of Books? Divulging too many of them would be doing the film a disservice because "Circus of Books," like all great documentaries (and all great films for that matter), consistently peels back new layers, with each one more absorbing (and often shocking) than the last. The first introduces us to the Mason Family, who we see in home movie footage during what appears to be the late ‘80s or early ‘90s as a young Rachel videotapes her mom, Karen, and dad, Barry, making dinner. It's a typical home movie and Karen and Barry seem like typical, loving parents, and indeed they are, but unbeknownst to their friends, family and even three children, Karen and Barry happen to own and run Circus of Books, a gay porn shop. That's not exactly typical for an otherwise "normal" suburban Jewish family. Nevertheless, what's charming and refreshing about Karen and Barry is how practical, hard-working, intelligent and impartial they seem to be (and have always been), even as the former owners and managers of a gay porn boutique (they eventually had to close both Circus of Books branches in 2016 and 2019, respectively). With big juicy smiles on their face, the couple candidly tells us they always saw their business as just that—a business, one that made money and sustained them and their kids, which just happened to sell gay books, DVDs, sex toys, etc. We get the impression Karen and Barry viewed Circus of Books the same way they viewed their erstwhile, more socially acceptable and mainstream careers. Karen once earned a healthy living as a prolific journalist, covering an array of topics and interviewing such high-profile figures as Larry Flynt, while Barry worked as an inventor and special effects technician in Hollywood, finding himself on the crews of such classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Star Trek." I'll let Karen and Barry fill you in on the specifics, but a few years into their marriage they fell upon hard financial times and Karen used her leverage with Larry Flynt to distribute porn magazines to generate extra income. This eventually led them to Circus of Books, originally called Book Circus, and in 1982, the couple assumed ownership of the West Hollywood business and opened a second location in Silver Lake. For years, no one close to them—not their parents, kids, friends, other worshipers at their synagogue—had any clue how they made their living. However, once the cat was out of the bag, the Masons began to see (and continue to see) the extensive role Circus of Books and its unique culture played in their lives, both as individuals and as a family unit. This becomes an important theme and useful takeaway from "Circus of Books": the jobs we perform day in and day out not only influence our own points of view, the decisions we make, the biases we carry, the struggles we strive to overcome, but also those of our families, friends, co-workers. Essentially, our jobs are never our own. As I mentioned, it would be unfair to reveal too much about the history of Circus of Books or the testimonies that come from Karen, Barry, Rachel, and Rachel's brothers, Micah and Josh, not to mention the store's various former employees and patrons, including LGBT Rights activists Alexei Romanoff. Everyone Rachel interviews brings an amusing, thoughtful and often heartrending insight to the table and it's best not to know about them beforehand. What I can say is that Mason and her co-writer and editor, Kathryn Robson, find a near-perfect balance of humor, drama, talking heads, walking bodies, old news footage, and emotional reaction shots that turn "Circus of Books" into a genuinely engrossing experience. It has a universal appeal not only because it's educational but also because it feels so nostalgic in the way it gets us to recollect our own families and upbringings. At the same time, it targets and deflates the stigmas often associated with sex, pornography, and homosexuality, and even though it's clearly a liberal, left-leaning film, it's not overly pushy. Mason has crafted it in such a way that we're able to see gay porn (and those who patronize and make it, including Karen and Barry themselves at one point) objectively as a legitimate industry. Whether or not you agree that gay porn should be allowed to exist in the first place, "Circus of Books" shows us how it functions like any other business, and it's inherently interesting. More importantly, though, the film encourages us not to make assumptions about people or places, be they good or bad. It reminds us each possesses its own unique history, one that's impossible to fully know, although we can bet each is a mix of the silly, serious, light, dark, humorous and sad, and just as "Circus of Books" shows, has the potential to be thoroughly entertaining.

Wonderful. Made me cry. So honest and real.

Rachel Mason in her first documentary feature tells a family tale of one of the most iconic adult book stores, 'Circus of Books'. Mason magnificently weaves her kin's story with the history of homosexuality in the neighboring area and how the internet changed some things for the better and others for the worse. The doc covers a lot of ground and eventually turns into an inspirational voyage and a hopeful one. A charming film that shines a little light on a big part of our culture. Mason's parents owned the store and the interactions with her and her brothers and her parents during the interviews are charming. It's not essential viewing, but there are lots of worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Final score: 7.9/10

Brilliant and moving.

History is important. This documentary covers the film makers family history and the history of a very important Bookstore. This film is touching and eye opening. Very well done and I highly recommend.