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| Directed by Jim Fall; Starring Christian Campbell, J.P. Pitoc, Tori Spelling, Steve Hayes, Brad Beyer, Lorri Bagley, and Clinton Leupp |
About nine weeks ago, I came to the side of a film entitled Get Real. I found it to be a well acted and well made film from two genres that are almost always lacking: teen comedies and gay comedies. It seemed to me that the film was simply a love story of old Hollywood grandeur, just with two boys in love instead of a heterosexual couple. But in coming to support the film, I found myself with letters thinking that I was an advocate for gay comedies. The fact of the matter is that I could care less whether the film is hetero- or homosexual, all that matters to me is whether the film is any good. When I saw Gods and Monsters last year, I found it to be a touching portrait of what happened to a Hollywood figure, not as a testament to the under-appreciation of truly talented homosexuals in films throughout the years (a letter I received after that film’s review seemed to think that it was my political stance on such). The same thing with Get Real, my B rating for it went beyond She’s All That because it was a superior film not because I thought that the old boy meets girl formula needed to be changed to be politically correct. The whole meaning of this is that even though I have given recommendations to two gay oriented films in the last year, I still dislike the genre on a whole, in the same way I dislike sophomoric comedies. I’m not going to just forget that I was unfortunate enough to see Kiss Me Guido or Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss or The Sum of Us or Jeffrey or Totally F***ed Up or…
Since the last film of such that I had seen was a good gay comedy/drama, I was not too fearful as I stepped into trick, I should have been. The film could be a comparison to the classier Get Real like comparing Black Sheep to An Ideal Husband. When there were moments of men running around in thongs just so that men could run around in thongs, I was lost on the true use of the moment. Was it supposed to be a statement on the lives of those portrayed in the film, or just a chance for a bunch of gay audience members to get off. The film has little purpose beyond that leaving me in the cold as to why I’m sitting through it. I’ve been uncomfortable in films before (i.e. Billy Madison), but never this uncomfortable. I’d hate to think that my complete objectivity in reviewing this film may be forfeited due to my lack in interest in the film’s subject matter and targeted audience, but that very well may have happened (Roger Ebert did not ever review this!).
If you have not actually given up on the film yet from my less than enthralling preview into the subject, I guess I had better say what the film was about. It is practically a gay Eyes Wide Shut, with two men cavorting around New York trying to find a place to have sex. Taking place over one night, the film shows the uncertain musical playwright (Campbell) in what he thinks is a one night stand with a go-go dancer (Pitoc). They cannot go to either of their homes, so they just try other people. One friend that they encounter is an aspiring actress (Spelling) that is constantly trying to help the playwright, but is not ready to truly confide in him what he does for her.
I could go on much longer as to why the film is a waste of time (my one concession as to why I did not give it a D- or F rating is that I did like the characters), but if the film still sounds like a worthwhile film, then have at it.
