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Happy Endings Sleepover (2019)
Strangely appealing
I honestly couldn't (and can't) tell if this film is meant to be taken seriously, or is it a parody? I was sure it was as parody until about 3/4 of the way through, when it suddenly became a little too "serious" to be a joke. I had been enjoying it immensely up until this point. A love story wrapped up in a parody seemed like a pretty unique concept. The two main actors are very likeable. (And as an aside in response to one of the other reviewers -- who cares if the actors are actually Norwegian or Danish or American or Martian in real life!....But I do agree that there was a lot that could have been, and should have been, cut.) Something that shouldn't have been cut was the first two-thirds of the song "I Hope that I Don't Fall in Love With You". Something that I found very thought-provoking was the issue that caused the "disagreement" between Johnnie and Sander near the end. It would never have occurred to me, to react to Johnnie's reasons for not wanting to tell his mother about Sander, the way Sander reacted. But I can actually see Sander's point of view. It really made me think. It also made me like this film even more than I did when I was taking it as a big joke. On the whole, it was a strangely appealing movie that I would recommend without reservation.
Beneath the Skin (2015)
At least no one dies
This movie, as others have already noted, is simply terrible. It really deserves only one star, but the fact that no one is gay-bashed to death, nor does anyone kill themselves, merits an extra 4 stars in my book. It also doesn't hurt that the 2 boys from Alabama are easy on the eyes. I can't think of anything else that's nice to nice to say, and there's no need to belabor the ludicrous plot; the heinous writing; the atrocious acting (although I thought the (former?)star was the only one who showed flashes of non-woodenness); the overwrought piano soundtrack; and (above all) the revoltingly preposterous "uniform" to which no actual British public school would ever subject its pupils!
So yes, if you watch this film in its entirety, you'll have wasted an hour and a half of your life. But, kudos to the creator(s) for not adding to the already way-too-long list of movies where the gay protagonist meets the Grim Reaper.
Life Like (2019)
Fascinating concept but it just wasn't executed very well
This movie brings up some fascinating ideas that really make you think.
Unfortunately, there are certain logical fallacies that ruin the entire film.
Specifically:
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
1) During all of the months that he was their servant, Henry had to have peed and pooped every day! Surely James and what's-her-name would have noticed this at least one time?
2) When did Henry eat?
3) Surely Henry must, at some point, have coughed, or sweated, or sneezed, or gotten sick, or cut himself, or been allergic to something.
The movie would have been a lot more "believable" if they had foregone the "plot twist" and just let Henryt be a "real" robot. It's impossible to take any of it seriously because of things like what I mentioned above. I wish I'd not watched the last 20 minutes.
And yes, the wife has to be one of the most annoying characters ever conceived. She was so irritating that I've already blocked her name from my memory, and I just saw the film 2 days ago.
Sex, Lies & Depravity (2012)
A Winner
This is the first movie I've ever watched on "Amazon Prime" that not only wasn't awful - it was actually totally engrossing and thought-provoking. I especially loved Hannah's accent, and Ethan's boyfriend. The actress who plays Lisa is particularly good, but all of the acting is vastly superior to what one typically finds in a low-budget film. (Or even most high-budget films, for that matter!) Anyone with personal experience of living in a home where domestic violence is the norm, will agree that the scenes between Hannah and Jake are disturbingly realistic. Very well done. I do concur with the other reviewers who have commented that the script could have benefitted from some tighter editing. I also felt that Arran's Jekyll-and-Hyde-like behavior in his interactions with Julie didn't ring true. It's hard to say if this is due to the acting, or the writing. Aside from these minor issues, this is a well-written and brilliantly-executed movie that held my attention from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
Eden's Curve (2003)
Avoid unless you're a masochist
It has already been noted by other reviewers that this is yet another "gay-themed" movie with a horrible, depressing ending. For that reason alone, I would never recommend that anyone waste their time on this drivel.
One also can't help but wonder why the casting director failed to hire real 18-year-olds to play the characters who are supposed to be 17 and 18 and 19 years old. The actors in this movie are all in their late 20's and early 30's. Trying to pretend that they're college freshmen is laughable at best.
Furthermore, I don't care if the plot is "based on a true story". It's still stupid. Just because something stupid happened in real life, doesn't mean it automatically needs to be made into an even more stupid film. Avoid unless you're masochistic.
Beautiful Something (2015)
The Last 20 Minutes of Beautiful Something is Truly Beautiful
10 or 15 minutes into this movie, I was pretty disinterested. I kept it on in the background but started answering emails and paying bills and doing other tedious minutiae that I've been putting off. So as not to feel like I wasted an hour and a half of my life watching what seemed to be yet another mostly forgettable gay-themed film.
Well, it turns out I was totally wrong. The scene with Bob and Jim that starts at about an hour and 10 minutes into the movie - and especially a few minutes later when Bob tells Jim about Mike -- that is one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen in any movie, ever. The actors are perfect but the main reason they're perfect is because their lines are perfect. The reason I'm writing this review is to say to whoever wrote this scene: you absolutely nailed it. You touched my heart. I watched the last 20 minutes of Beautiful Something 5 times in a row and it made me cry every time.
Boy (2004)
Totally unique short film with the best soundtrack ever
Initially I thought this amazing short film was probably taking itself a little too seriously. I might have even felt that it was bordering on pretentious. Yet, there's something about "Boy" that really grows on you. That's how it was for me, anyway. I first saw it probably 2 or 3 years ago. The film definitely made an impression on me, but the impression was that it was trying too hard to be artsy or "deep" or symbolic or all of the above. I wouldn't have given it a second thought (or a second viewing) except for the song that plays off and on throughout the film - "Anchor Me" - got stuck in my head and I found myself watching "Boy" over and over again just to hear "Anchor Me". The funny thing is that with each subsequent viewing, I noticed new details that I hadn't noticed before. I don't claim to understand any of the symbolism in this film, and I'm honestly not even sure I understand half of the things that actually happened. What I do know is that I've never watched any other movie 30 times and liked it more the 30th time than the first. As you might have guessed, I got seriously, disturbingly addicted to the song "Anchor Me". But aside from that, the movie itself is addicting, too, if you give it a chance. It's totally unique and never boring. Highly recommended.
Desert Son (2010)
Really Annoying Common-Sense Questions
I have to ask these questions because I don't understand how anyone could have read this script or seen this movie and not wondered about these things.
1) If I were planning to rob a house with my 2 cohorts, the 3 of us would certainly not just leave our bikes lying (or standing) in the driveway of the house we were robbing. Nor would be throw them down in the street in the front of the house we were about to rob. There were obviously neighbors; someone would notice the bikes and wonder what was going on.
2) How is it that Phillip and Jack and the girl were able to bike to this suburban neighborhood, and back to their "home" in the middle of nowhere, and never even break a sweat. How did they transport the things they stole, when all they had was bicycles? 3) In the second robbery, where Jack hacks up the housekeeper, how could they not have known that someone was home - the garage door of the house was open. Obviously this means someone's home, and likely will be returning to the garage very soon. People don't leave their house, and leave the garage door wide open while they're away. So of course they were going to encounter at least one person in that house. Why not simply choose a different house? 4) Towards the end, when Jack tells Phillip to "just go" and explains that civilization is just over on the other side of "those mountains" -- well, they were just in "civilization" committing acts of robbery earlier that day. Or maybe it was the day before. Either way, did Phillip already forget which way they rode, when they found civilization in the form of the suburban neighborhood? Also, why would Phillip just walk away on foot when he knows where the bikes are, and could have easily taken one.
I don't see how it's possible to watch this movie and not wonder about these glaring issues. To me, these things ruined what otherwise might have been a decent film. It had great atmosphere and seemed so promising for the first half of the movie. Unfortunately, the fact that Jack devolved in to a one-dimensional nut job, combined with these ridiculous lapses in logic mentioned above, made me come away from this film feeling like I wasted an hour and a half of my life. Hardly the end of the world. It just seems like with a little more thought and effort, Desert Son could have been a whole lot better than it was.
Denied (2004)
Amazing Gay-Themed Film (but the lighting and sound are awful)
I just wanted to thank all the reviewers who took the time to say what a great movie this is, in spite of the awful lighting and the even worse sound quality.
I never would have given this film the time of day, had it not been for these reviews. And I'm so glad I did - this is absolutely one of the best gay-themed movies I've ever seen (and I've seen a ton of them!)
I've watched DENIED four times and each time, I notice new nuances that I hadn't previously observed. The 2 lead actors are fantastic. The plot is totally realistic and one of the reasons I can say this is because I had my own "Merrick" in college and for several years after. Moving beyond a completely dysfunctional relationship like this is a lot harder than it ought to be. Troy made the right choice to get away from Merrick. Unfortunately if there were a sequel, it would probably show Merrick seeking out Troy a year or two later and destroying whatever progress Troy might have made in terms of getting a life. Luckily, there is no sequel....
Vampire Boys 2: The New Brood (2013)
Why Did They Get Rid of All the Original Actors?
By the end of the first Vampire Boys movie, I had finally gotten used to how bad all of the actors were, and in fact had become quite fond of them. They were so bad that they were actually good. The original Caleb was especially annoying. Yet, I found myself strangely looking forward to the prospect of watching the sequel. I was particularly looking forward to seeing how awful Caleb would be this time around...
Unfortunately I'll never know how bad the original Caleb would have been the second time around. It was a crushing blow to learn that Jasin and Caleb are played by different actors in the sequel. The new Jasin totally sucks. The new Caleb isn't nearly as grating as the last one. He's just cute and boring. I don't understand why they bothered making this sequel when they couldn't even get any of the actors from the first movie to come back (except the girl). Because of this, I found Vampire Boys 2 to be a huge disappointment.
Dream Boy (2008)
This Film is Great if You Only Watch the First 50 Minutes
WARNING, SPOILER ALERT.
I read the book when it first came out almost 20 years ago, and I despised it because of the ending. I don't really care what psychobabble mumbo jumbo symbolic whatever the author was intending to convey by ending the book the way he did. To me it's nothing more and nothing less than the usual typical gay-themed book or film where the gay character has to die in the end. Yes, obviously real life isn't all gumdrops and rainbows but regardless of the author's intentions, did the world really need to see a movie where this kid gets brutally raped and murdered? Personally I think not.
In any event, I had no intention of ever watching this movie, having read the book and strongly disliking it as I mentioned above. But then quite by accident I stumbled across this totally beautiful video http://tinyurl.com/la7w4mq which gave me the hope that perhaps the screenwriter re-wrote the book by getting rid of all the violence and death and ambiguity. Unfortunately that's not the case at all, but in fact if you watch the first 2/3 of the movie and then just shut it off, it's a really beautiful love story and you can pretend that the 2 boys live happily ever after.
Ethan Mao (2004)
Easily ranks in the top ten of my all-time favorite gay-themed movies
Having read the other reviews of this movie, I feel compelled to add my opinion. Let me first say that I know none of the people involved in making this film, I have nothing to do with the film industry whatsoever, and the only reason I'm writing this is because I really loved this movie. And just as those reviewers who felt this was one of the worst films they've ever seen, couldn't understand why anyone would like it, and claimed that anyone who gives it a high rating must be a shill -- I feel the opposite, I don't understand how anyone could dislike it so much. I thought the acting was good. And the story itself is better than great, totally original and unique. I've watched literally hundreds of gay-themed movies and there is no other like Ethan Mao. Without reservation I rank this in the top ten of my all time favorite gay-themed movies. I've watched it three times and liked it better the third time than the first. (I do, however, agree with the person who found it totally implausible that Ethan would allow his stepmother to go to the bank by herself after being held hostage by him all night!!)
You Should Meet My Son! (2010)
Hilarious, Uplifting and Inspirational Classic
It's not often that I watch a movie, and then look at the cumulative IMDb rating for the movie, and find myself totally baffled as to why the rating is so low. YOU SHOULD MEET MY SON! is definitely one such film. I just don't understand how the average rating of this movie could possibly be 6.6. This was a hilarious, original, refreshing, unique, engrossing, well-acted, well-written, and well-directed film. I have watched hundreds of "gay-themed movies" and I'd easily rank this one in the top ten, maybe even top five. Certainly not as "deep" as BEAUTIFUL THING or NORTH SEA, Texas or SHELTER or LATTER DAYS, but just as uplifting and inspirational as these other favorites of mine. There is also HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH which kind of defies classification but is without question one of the best of the best as well, both because of the second-to-none soundtrack and because the scene where Hedwig and Tommy kiss with that awful Whitney Houston song playing is the most beautiful and touching make out scene ever captured on film. Although actually the scene in BEAUTIFUL THING where Jamie and Ste make out while that Mama Cass song plays is also the most beautiful and touching make out scene ever....
Getting back to the point, if there is one: although YOU SHOULD MEET MY SON! does not have any poignant and compelling make-out scenes like the ones I just mentioned, it is nevertheless, on the whole, as poignant and compelling as these other wonderful gay-themed movies because its overall tone and point of view are so different from the rest of the genre - and I mean this in the best possible way. I like this movie so much that I bought 5 copies of the DVD on Amazon and had them sent as gifts to my 4 friends, and of course 1 copy for my mother. Who, I am happy to report, has never tried to set me up with anyone, male or female. And I made it very clear, in the gift card, that my giving her this DVD should in no way be interpreted to indicate a desire on my part for things to change in this regard!
Going Down in LA-LA Land (2011)
Really Enjoyable Movie, Highly Recommended
I really enjoyed this movie. Even to this day, it seems like it's so hard to find a gay-themed movie that doesn't end in some horrible tragedy. I love the way this one ended! I think the director would be better off staying behind the camera, but the other 3 stars of the film (Candy, Adam and John) were great. As others have pointed out, the chemistry between Adam and John was almost palpable. And Candy practically stole the show; she was simply awesome.
Besides the ending, the thing I like most about this movie was how it didn't take itself too seriously. It was genuinely funny in many places and I laughed out loud a bunch of times. It's the first movie I've seen in a really long time that just left me smiling at the end. I will definitely watch it again, too.
Monster Pies (2013)
Disappointing at Best
Did we really need another gay-themed film where the gay kid kills himself? What kind of message does this send to actual real-life teenagers who are suicidal? If they'd just ended the movie at about 69 minutes in, with Will and Mike falling asleep next to each other under the tree, I'd have given it a 9. As it is, this movie is at best a huge disappointment. At worst, what's to stop a very depressed gay boy in Miami or Melbourne or Manchester from watching this movie and coming away from it with the perception that it validates what he'd already been contemplating, i.e. that suicide is, indeed, the only way out? This is a very possible real-world consequence that the people responsible for making this film apparently didn't consider.