The documentary Circus of Books will debut on Netflix on April 22. The film takes a look at the history of America’s largest gay adult bookstore, the Los Angeles pornemporium which shuttered and was recently reopened as “Circus” by adult film producer Chi Chi LaRue.
Director Rachel Mason assembled the film as a family memoir; her parents owned the store for 35 years until it closed in 2019. It features extensive archival footage, as well as in-depth interviews with Karen & Barry Mason, Rachel’s parents, her siblings, as well as former store employees, including future Drag Race star Alaska Thunderf*ck.
“My parents are so immersed in this world and they’re so used to it that it didn’t phase them at all to watch Jeff Stryker doing all these ridiculously graphic dances to his hit song ‘Pop You in the Pooper.”