Clay Farmers

I think the premise of this story was a good idea, however it seems to play around the storyline without letting you get inside and get a good feel for it. The adult characters are pretty flat, they could use more character development. The relationship between the two lead males leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

Even though this 'Brokeback Mountain' wannabe has its heart in the right place, it falls short on so many levels. Michael Moore, 'Clay Farmer's' director needs to go back to writing school. He 'Californiaizes' his awful script giving the actors very little to work with. Their west coast vibe actually helps to derail this cinematic junk. We've seen this before, boy meets boy, falls in love, and must endure the bigotry, verbal and physical, of the haters. Friendships and families are fractured. However, the predecessors such as 'Brokeback' and 'The Wedding Banquet' dealt with similar themes, but were far superior to this Cali nonsense. I gave 'Clay Farmers' two stars because I feel sympathy for the actors who tried their best. It's regrettable that they hitched the professional wagons to Michael Moore and this talentless writing project.

Yes, there are obvious flaws: sometimes the acting is a bit stilted (especially the boy who is so enamored of the two "clay farmers."); and, yes, the townsfolk and the "villain" came directly from central casting, but this film manages a real depth of feeling with great economy. The leads, especially Todd Fraser ( Dan), are excellent. The feeling that grows between the two men is obviously homo erotic; in fact, I think they are very clearly in love. But it's the accusation of just that fact upon which the whole movie turns. A lesser film and lesser writer would have drowned in the cliché. This film doesn't do that because the characters remain who they are, and self knowledge comes at a price. Their frightened silence (well, Dan's silence) becomes devastating.

There are some real surprises here, too, that lift the plot above the ordinary. This is definitely worth seeing.