29th & Gay

James Vásquez wrote and stars in what seems to be an autobiographical musing on the life of a plain, conflicted, wannabe actor who is trying to cope with his unsuccessful social life as he approaches his 29th birthday. Presented as a movie within a movie, Vásquez speaks as James Sanchez directly to the audience, sharing his background, his parents (Annie Hinton and James Synjyn) who progress from shock at his outing to overindulgent to the point of intrusion, and his best friends - the wacky Roxy (Nicole Marcks) and circuit guy Brandon (David McBean). The general idea is how to make the almost closeted James into a happily paired man and how his friends and family go about making his happen is written with a lot of snappy dialogue and with the introduction of some really fine character actors - Kali Rocha as an hilarious HIV Nurse and Mike Doyle as the super hunk coffee house waiter who is to become James' payoff! Directed by Carrie Preston the film moves along with a fast clip despite the elected technique of 'instant replay' used to define James' illusions from his reality. The production values of this low budget film are modest to say the least, but the premise of showing the life of a gay man who is not on the top of his life is worth watching. And there are some very good performances by newcomers who seem to have a future. Grady Harp

I could understand it if this film had been made in 1975, or 1985, or even 1995. To think someone would actually make this in 2005 is not to be believed.

It is the story of a 29-year-old gay unemployed actor looking for love and meaning in his life. James, the actor character, can only be described as a shlub so lacking in any positive attributes that we not only have no empathy for him, we start to wish he would just shut the F up.

This movie consists primary of James whining about his life. Whining and whining and whining. He has a fag hag who's nearly as shrill as he is, and the cause she's involved in was so poorly described as to be unintelligible to me. His best friend is the stereotype of a stereotype. There is nothing in the relationship between the best friends that reveals any reason for them liking each other.

The dialog is meant to be witty, clearly, but nothing struck me even remotely funny, or even original for that matter.

I can usually find something to admire in a gay-themed movie. But I can't think of a single thing I liked about this movie. It has absolutely NO redeeming qualities.

Unless you are a gay filmmaker who needs to see what NOT to do, 29th and Gay is a complete and utter waste of time.

This is another of a new genre of "self indulgent" gay films where the writer or director also casts himself as the lead actor. He's usually not very attractive, but hey, he's in every frame of the movie, trying to be endearing instead. He's definitely clever, in a Woody Allen kind of way, but ultimately gets so annoying as the film drags on and on, you want to punch his face. One peculiarity of this genre is that the looser hero invariably gets the young dream hunk in the end, without even trying. In this film, it's a gorgeous coffee shop waiter. Through most of the film our looser just pines for him but can't summon up the guts to speak. In the end, this hunk seems to just fall in love with our blabbering looser. Why? Because it so happens that he wrote the script!

This "no-budget" film was a labor of love, clearly, but the warmth and sense of humor of the writer/star James and his friend and director Carrie Preston shine through in every single moment of this adorable film. I saw it at the NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival...it is showing at BAM Rose Cinemas this weekend and has been accepted at the Seattle Film Fest. It is worth a peek and then definitely worth distribution.

The film is chaste enough for straight audiences but has enough gay cheek and some right-on bar scenes that will appeal to the G&L crowd. James is so sweet and funny you'll wish you knew him, and his friends are Will and Grace with an edge. The local San Diego scene is shot with love and the special effects are pretty impressive considering that, we were told at the NC festival, the money for the project came out of the stars' pockets.

Having heard good things about this small independent labor of love, I drove down from Los Angeles to see it at the Temecula International Film Festival. I'm glad to report that 29th and Gay absolutely lived up to my expectations. Writer/star James Vasquez has fashioned what must be at least a semi-autobiographical comedy about a gay Everyman (also named James) who can't seem to get either an acting job or a boyfriend.

Luckily James has two very loving and supportive best friends: straight female Roxy, winningly played by Nicole Marcks, and gayer than gay Brandon, portrayed by handsome and adorable David McBean. Both keep pushing James to get out more; unfortunately Brandon doesn't realize that while he may arrive at a club with buddy James, ditching him to go home with tonight's trick is not the kindest way to treat a best friend. (Luckily Brandon (and McBean) get to show a deeper and more sensitive side in one of the film's later scenes.) James also has very (a bit overly?) supportive parents, especially an uberPFLAG mom, brought to three dimensional life by the delightful Annie Hinton. (You have to be VERY gay supportive to buy your son a sling for his birthday!)

As he searches for an acting break and Mr. Right, James discovers the Internet and has a perfect first date with Michael, all the while longing for coffee bar server Andy (the oh so cute and talented Mike Doyle, whom I had never heard of before but turns out to be quite a deservingly busy actor with Hollywood leading man potential). James can't seem to avoid becoming a superklutz whenever he's around Andy, leading him to feel there is no hope for Mr. Average to win the heart of Mr. Perfect.

29th and Gay is filled with funny scenes and superb supporting performances. Gorgeous Adam Greer, who wasn't quite believable enough for me as a gay man in Straight Jacket, is spot on perfect in a funny/poignant scene as an old school friend of James who's been with Mr. Right for five years already, all the time James has been Mr. Eversingle. Another superlative Straight Jacket alum, Michael Emerson, once again steals scenes as an "acting" colleague of James. Finally, there's funny girl Kali Rocha, hilarious as the blood-drawing nurse from hell (with a heart).

Carrie Preston (the adorable star of the wonderful aforementioned Straight Jacket and one of the two slutty cousins in My Best Friend's Wedding) is 29th and Gay's director, and it's an auspicious debut for her. Out actor/singer Malcolm Gets sings the lovely end title song. Finally Vasquez' real life boyfriend Mark Holmes not only co-produced but assumed perhaps a dozen other hats behind the scenes, judging from the number of times his name popped up in the end titles.

There are those who will say we don't need yet another story about a gay man's dating woes. I'm not one of them. For me, there can never be enough ways to tell and retell our stories, and the uniqueness of James Vasquez' point of view and the talent of his cast and crew make this film an absolute winner for me.

As a writer, James Vasquez has fashioned a film for those who may not often see themselves represented in "queer cinema." As an actor, he has not a false moment, and like many a star, can look absolutely average in one scene and take home to mother handsome in another. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of Vasquez' work in the future.

I laughed. I cried. I loved it!