Boy Meets Boy

This starts off rather unpromisingly as we see a man leaving the hotel room of "Harry" (Matthew Morrison) after a chat-free random hook up. Unsated, he heads to a club where he meets "Johannes" (Alexandros Koutsoulis) and the two hit it off. It's been a two-day bender for the former man and when his flight home to London is pulled forward, he's in need of some help to print off his boarding pass. His new friend offers to help him to find an internet café and as the two men then still have some time to spare, they spend the day together exploring, chatting, eating and generally getting to know one anther in quite an engaging fashion which we share. There is actually a semblance of chemistry between these actors that I found worth the watch for 75 minutes as their characters develop. (OK, and there's a wee bit of not at all graphic sex too!). A bit of effort has gone into the (maybe a bit too plentiful) dialogue and though it doesn't always hit the mark, the delivery and ease of the pair with each other helps nudge this just a bit north of the mediocrity bar. Some nice photography of Berlin does it no harm either, and though I'll admit I won't recall it in a fortnight, it was an easy watch.

After sharing a kiss while inside a 24-hour dance club, Berliner Johannes and weekend visitor Harry meet outside, and Johannes offers to show Harry around, on Harry's last day in town. In between various incidents, they explore their pasts, their dreams, and their divergent life philosophies, even if they both enjoy dancing in a music booth to an instrumental Ode to Joy..

This film reminds me of Paris: 05:59: Theo and Hugo, except that it is 2/3rd the length, and the incidents more random, so it gets a lower rating. I did like the double bookends: the (ironically selected) song Please Don't Go for the opening dance sequence and final credits, and within that the bathroom scenes.

I was very happy to see this in digital format, at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ film festival. Not only could I rewind / re-view, but I turned on the optional extra subtitles (for when Johannes was not speaking German) and found out more of what was going on. By also paying close attention to the end credits, I finally figured out Harry's opening scene.

It is easy to figure out why this movie is so bad. It is not about acting (which was surprisingly very good), nor is it about its intention to bring to the front some really important issues faced by the gay communities around the world. It is about the storyline or, better, the lack of it. There was nothing to keep you interested, there was no feeling, no mystery, no romance, nothing. Just plain boredom.

This was actually much better that I'd anticipated, given the current rating here.

It almost felt like a gay, modern version of the before sunrise/sunset/midnight trilogy where two people are passing like ships in the night and looking, perhaps even without realising, for some meaning or understanding in their lives.

The two actors did have chemistry and that is what kept me engaged throughout. It felt almost like a loveletter to the backstreets of Berlin, and a chance for these two relative strangers, with such different backstories, to connect with someone in a way that they had never really done in their lives.

It didn't actually ever feel forced or fake to me; just felt almost like one of those days in your life that happen too infrequently, when you know something could happen. I won't ruin the plot for people, but overall I found it worth the watch and would recommend.

We've seen similar movies like it before but it's still enjoyable because of its great screenplay, it has beautiful deep dialogues and tackles many interesting topics. Performances are very good and the chemistry between the leads is so likable. It's a simple yet sensational well crafted movie.