Several people who reviewed this film failed to grasp what genre it was. It is an alternative reality comedy, like "The Invention of Lying", that attempts to make a point by reversing the "normal" situation. In the world of the film, gay people are the norm, and heterosexual people are considered perverts and cannot marry. It's a fun concept, although the story is fairly predictable, once it gets going. If you just want to see a Greek comedy that also has a message, then this will do just fine. If you crave superior quality, though, then this film is not for you. The acting is a bit cheesy, but it is really the kind of movie where a sincere portrayal would actually ruin it, because then it would seem like it was meant to be a serious film. It's not great, it's not terrible, but it'll do.
12 Reviews
Great concept but still nothing special
michalis_h22 April 2007
This film aims to showing the discrimination against homosexual people. The writers show a reflection of the current world were straight people are the minority and are considered to be perverts. A bit of exaggeration in the way that straight people were treaded in this fictional world, something that does not reflect in the real one where gay people have a lot more rights. Great idea and generally a good movie but with some scenes of poor acting from "Sofia" and "Yiannis". It is though a nice film and it is worthy for anyone to watch it just to watch the writers' perspective supported by the great roles of "Petros" and "Stefanos". Enjoy.
Can someone fail so utterly they actually succeed?
Tyndareon7 March 2014
Apparently yes as this movie plainly demonstrates. The intention of the filmmaker is obvious I think. As pointed out by several other reviewers, by inverting a situation where society - or rather the reactionary movement - condemns from a moral point of view a certain subculture, the film tries to establish the notion that morality - at least where sexual identity is concerned - is based upon a convention as arbitrary as the next. Which is smart. Unfortunately their chosen method to accomplish said goal is to present this fictional inverted world with all the ridicule they can master - and they do so admirably. I say unfortunately because ridicule is transfered back to the original institutions rather than validation been attributed to the subculture. So everything is invalid, tradition is ridiculous and, oh yeah, the subculture itself too - if it aspires to validation and recognition. And this argument finally transcends the rather dull debate of morality in sexually driven social institutions. I will go as far as saying that after this, every film created to promote homosexuality can officially be categorized as part of the reactionary movement too. Applause.
A fun movie which deserves more serious discussion.......
theromanempire-12 February 2021
Well.......if u see this movie lightly it's a fun and weird film for what it was and what it tried to do for a change.....but if u see it seriously then it's the proof why humanity in general will never agree on this matter the movie is about.
straights and gays.......there will always those who will support the others and always those who will call the others perverts and that's human nature.
people of today forget that life isn't perfect. humans may all be.....humans but they are not the same nor all have same religion and beliefs about what is norm in this life and what's not.
for example if u are a Christian u have no choice but to think the gays are sinners and perverts and they need to repent if they want to be saved by the lord. that's Christian beliefs especially if u are an orthodox or even a catholic.
u can't be an orthodox Christian and at the same time to think that gays are normal. so only by this example someone can understand that as long as humans exist in this planet the dispute between gays and straights will never end.
in my opinion what needs to be done is to allow all the humans no matter if they are "sexually normal" or not to have rights as much as possible in this life.
whatever u do in your bed is your choice as long as u don't disturb your fellow human.
thing is.......u can't have the same exactly advantages as a human the ....."normal" human does as for example if a gay person wants to be a Christian and marry his love interest in church the way the straights do this is forbidden by the church for the well known reasons and so by this act there is not a real equality no matter if today many states allow gays to be married out of the church and even to adopt children. there are always those who protest against this act and u can't blame them as this is their beliefs.
so this is the answer to the other reviewer in this site for this movie when he talked about......."democracy".....and that "Greece is time to change too...etc..."
in his view to be gay and do whatever also the straights do is...democracy.....he forgets that for others this is a sin and not.......democracy.
when we people will understand this FACT OF LIFE then maybe our world will be in a better place.
you can't force all people to share ONE VIEW at things.
What a mess!
ozdavid20 August 2008
At first the idea of of a world where "gay" is normal and "straight" is "perverted" seemed silly but interesting.
A few minutes into the film you start to think "why am I wasting a minute of my life on this rubbish?". The story is so contrived and the alleged acting by everyone is so wooden it almost defies description. It's been a long time since I have seen such poor performances.
The movie has no idea what it wants to be - social comment? comedy ? farce ? drama? and fails miserably in every aspect.
The ending says it all for the whole storyline - a complete and total disappointment. I really think that all involved should be ashamed of this abysmal piece of cinema and I doubt if many involved would want to show it on their CV for future work.
A few minutes into the film you start to think "why am I wasting a minute of my life on this rubbish?". The story is so contrived and the alleged acting by everyone is so wooden it almost defies description. It's been a long time since I have seen such poor performances.
The movie has no idea what it wants to be - social comment? comedy ? farce ? drama? and fails miserably in every aspect.
The ending says it all for the whole storyline - a complete and total disappointment. I really think that all involved should be ashamed of this abysmal piece of cinema and I doubt if many involved would want to show it on their CV for future work.
disturbing
kathtea14 May 2008
As a Greek I have to say that if this is where Greek culture is heading, then Greek culture is in very serious trouble. The characters are wafer thin and the plot is a 95-minute extension of one joke that wasn't funny to begin with.
Yiannis is a straight man in a gay world, who secretly goes to straight clubs and has fallen in love with a gay woman. On the surface it seems the message of this film is that when you reverse the roles 'gay people are just like straight people', which would be perfectly fine if: a) it were true that all people are alike b) society was progressive enough to have reached such idealistic levels Equally objectionable is Yiannis' 'seduction' of Sofia. Basically he gets her drunk and sleeps with her and upon realising her confusion, kisses her until she 'turns straight'. Though this certainly isn't the first film whose would-be couples are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with nothing in common, this oral assault sequence that uses 'love' as a justification is something I find frankly disturbing.
I can't begin to explain on how many levels this movie is wrong. Just because everyone is gay and the straight people are in the minority in this warped 'comedy 'doesn't make sick bigotry any more acceptable.
When you re-invert the premise, fundamental biases in the ideologies of directional/writing team become patently obvious. Is prejudice OK when the oppressed become the oppressors? Is being gay acceptable 'as long as you act just like everyone else'? That's what this movie is trying to assert and it's not a happy feeling.
Yiannis is a straight man in a gay world, who secretly goes to straight clubs and has fallen in love with a gay woman. On the surface it seems the message of this film is that when you reverse the roles 'gay people are just like straight people', which would be perfectly fine if: a) it were true that all people are alike b) society was progressive enough to have reached such idealistic levels Equally objectionable is Yiannis' 'seduction' of Sofia. Basically he gets her drunk and sleeps with her and upon realising her confusion, kisses her until she 'turns straight'. Though this certainly isn't the first film whose would-be couples are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with nothing in common, this oral assault sequence that uses 'love' as a justification is something I find frankly disturbing.
I can't begin to explain on how many levels this movie is wrong. Just because everyone is gay and the straight people are in the minority in this warped 'comedy 'doesn't make sick bigotry any more acceptable.
When you re-invert the premise, fundamental biases in the ideologies of directional/writing team become patently obvious. Is prejudice OK when the oppressed become the oppressors? Is being gay acceptable 'as long as you act just like everyone else'? That's what this movie is trying to assert and it's not a happy feeling.
Straight to the garbage story
ak63970604 June 2007
Even though the idea is interesting (a society where the Gays are the majority and the straights are the exception), the implementation of this subject on the movie was awful. Characters without any cause of existence (the two fathers, the "funny" friend of the boy etc), a REALLY NAIVE plot, caricatures who scream all the time without knowing why (it is supposed to be funny in Greek movies), and a very bad approach lacking any comedy characteristic. I didn't laugh at all, and at the end of the movie I felt like an idiot (the end is VERY-VERY naive). At the pros of the movie I only add the photography and the good production. Don't see the movie and waste your time like I did.
Thoughtful and Entertaining
mar-has-88449 August 2014
Despite its technical flaws, this is a daring and clever addition to contemporary Greek cinema. What I like about Straight Story is that there is no clear message other than what the viewer chooses to project onto the movie. Nevertheless, this film inevitably critiques the xenophobia and homophobia that underlies the new, supposedly more progressive Greek society. As a story, it has its narrative flaws, but I don't think that's the point of this film. The point is to critique certain aspects of Greek culture without getting too preachy, and also providing entertainment. Nevertheless, Straight Story has a unique narrative premise, and a twist at the end that might make you frustrated. For me, though, that frustration and disappointment is indicative of how far (or not) we have progressed as a Greek society.
An amazing depiction of diverse reality between two "different" traditions inside the Greek Modern Society
greekcoincircle16 December 2007
The film is extremely funny if you possess the ability to laugh ... or at least have a sense of humor. Excellent production - excellent still photography. Excellent roles with appeal to every taste sexual preference and age. Not offensive to the Gay audience not sarcastic towards the Straight audience. A huge commercial film for Greece but with equally high quality in plot - roles - and to top all that a magnificent original music soundtrack by C:real ! Funny balancing the message with humor. At the end we realize that all the happily married couple of Mouriki and Kuriakidis wanted to say to the audience is that racism has no face and we must give love and accept love with examining the other's sexual orientation ... as Epicures said thousand years ago ..."It is not the things that upset people ... but the peoples ideas about the things " so the message here is clear and it is amusing to ... free your mind "and as here" the rest will follow . Enjoy an 8+
Genius concept, whoever thought of this is a genius.
johnangelo7012 April 2009
I laughed the whole time while there was a tragic element into it. Like the old Greek tragedies. It was about time for someone to come out with a movie like this and remind a society like the Greek one that is time to wake up and be with the rest of the world. No wonder it was the best seller movie of the year, everyone went to see it including the closeted cases with their wives. A culture moves a step forward with bold moves like this like releasing such movies. The acting could have been better but the reality is this movie hit the nail in the had. Had the people talking about what is normal after all. Therefore this movie is groundbreaking, i highly recommend it. In Canada where i live gay coouples can marry, adopt children, go to the supermarket holding hands,talk to the kids' teacher and this is normal. It is time for Greece to move to that direction as well. A democratic society goes ahead not with the things that devides us, but with the things that unite us. Kudos to the ceators of the movie.
Very well made
nnenok16 April 2012
When I first read the premise of the movie, I thought it would be similar to the film "Almost normal", which had a great idea but a not-at -all good realization. That's why I was really pleased with "Straight story".
The writing is excellent and very funny, and it does include basically every aspect of what makes homosexuality problematic in the current society - the homo/heterophobia, the bars, the hiding, the violence ... Since the film is technically a parody, the acting is funny, especially Sofia stands out.
All in all, a very good and relaxing movie.
The writing is excellent and very funny, and it does include basically every aspect of what makes homosexuality problematic in the current society - the homo/heterophobia, the bars, the hiding, the violence ... Since the film is technically a parody, the acting is funny, especially Sofia stands out.
All in all, a very good and relaxing movie.
Very good, very funny
dracula_2715 March 2007
Great movie that had me laughing the whole way through it! The actors for really well in this, and the star form the hit TV series "Maria is askimy" is very very good in this film. Great mix of comedy, irony, romance, and sex. A must see! Keeps you laughing all the way through, with Yianni and Sophia having some very good moments between each other and her girl friend making that even funnier, not to mention Yiannis mates making the film just as funny. A very funny scene when he has to try act gay. From what I understand the majority are metria names in the big screen but after seen this im sure they will be big names in the near future.
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