Gayby

Gayby (2012) was written and directed by Jonathan Lisecki. The movie stars Jenn Harris as Jenn, a thirties-something straight woman, and Matthew Wilkas as Matt, a gay man who has been Jenn's best friend since college.

Jenn has been hoping to meet the right man, get married, and conceive a child. Unfortunately, the plan isn't working. Matt has broken up with his long-time partner, and isn't over the pain yet.

Jenn suggests a biologically and psychologically reasonable plan. Rather than waiting for Mr. Right, she'll conceive a child with Matt as the father. However, Jenn is into natural healing and natural methods, so she tells Matt she wants to conceive the child the "old-fashioned" way. Not an appealing option for Matt--he's definitely gay, not bisexual. Still, he agrees to the plan.

The plot of the movie is developed from this premise. The ensuing complications are very funny, sometimes in a bittersweet way. While Jenn and Matt are working on the conception plan, new lovers come and go, friendships are formed and broken, promises are made and kept or not kept.

Director Lisecki has taken the bold step of using an actor--Jenn Harris--who isn't an incredibly gorgeous woman. (Jennifer Aniston could play the role perfectly, but then the movie wouldn't work.) Jenn Harris looks like a person who could be your friend, or, for that matter, your yoga instructor. (She may teach yoga in real life, but, even if she doesn't she's obviously had experience with it.) Harris is an excellent actor, and so is Matthew Wilkas. The supporting cast--including Lisecki himself-- is highly competent. The dialog is witty, the characters are endearing, and the movie is very enjoyable.

This is a film worth seeking out and seeing. We saw it at the Dryden Theatre as part of the extraordinary ImageOut--the Rochester LGBT Film & Video Festival.

While the theme of "gay guy and straight woman decide to make a baby" has been done MANY times (The "Wedding Banquet" is probably the Gold Standard) even back in 2012, this rendition absolutely comes off as believable, with well-formed characters, great acting and a solid script. The cliché of being set in NYC is a bit of a turn-off (does anyone outside of NYC care about how neurotic and dysfunctional people are there anymore?) but the acting absolutely makes up for it. Someone here is complaining about gratuitous nudity, and I think they may be referring to a different film, since this one doesn't have any at all...which is why I'm giving it such a high rating; the script carried it without having to resort to that gimmick.

I've gotten so used to terrible gay movies (especially American gay movies made in the last 15 years or so) that it's almost shocking when a good one comes along. Gayby is a good one.

It's about lifelong best friends Matt (gay) and Jenn (straight), who had said in college that they'd have a baby together some day. Years later the day comes, and they get to work. Meanwhile, each of them has an active work and social life, a miserable love life, and an entertaining and diverse set of friends of various types and stereotypes.

Unlike some in the gay audience, I don't hate stereotypes, because there are some wonderful people who fit most of the stereotypes... except one - the hairless gym boy with blinding white teeth and a perfect tan on every square inch of his totally shaved body. There are NO wonderful people who fit that stereotype, which is one reason American gay movies in general have become so stupid that 99% of them are unwatchable. The only gym bodies in this movie have hair all over them, teeth the color of teeth instead of chalk, and tans (if they have tans at all) only where people naturally get tanned from being out in the sun - all of which is delightful.

This movie has a likable and able cast, a very smart and entertaining screenplay, one of the sexiest men on earth in a tiny role (Tommy Heleringer, who plays Adrian, one of Matt's abortive dates; he also plays Scruffy in a web series called The Outs, and he's so delicious I'd eat him up if he ever came to my door) and (thank God!) New York City. The worst movie ever made in New York is better than the best from LA, and Gayby is far from the worst. It may be the best; it's certainly one of the best. Very much worth seeing.

Comedy-drama about two 30-something friends--Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas). They decide to have a baby--the natural way. Problem is Matt is gay. This leads to very predictable situations and a big old happy ending that I didn't believe for one second.

The two leads are good actors and attractive (especially Wilkas) but this has been done before. The script is predictable, the minor characters are more caricatures than real people (especially Jenn's VERY vicious sister) and I was not that entertained. However it DOES have some funny moments, some hot guy-on-guy kissing and it does have a sweet easy-going feeling about it. I just found it a little too predictable. I can only give it a 5.

I feel a certain obligation to check out gay cinema from time to time. Both for my own pop culture knowledge, and just because I like to see if things have improved any since my last visit. Most independently produced gay-themed movies are amateurish and cheap looking. Sometimes that kinda works, and the material rises above its humble origins. Most of the time, the films are a struggle to get through.

I wanted to see this one mostly because Matthew Wilkas, the male lead, is very cute, and the girl looked atypically ordinary (in a good way). This was a case of being sold by the poster, and for a change, it was truth in advertising. I did note that the director/writer couldn't resist casting himself in a supporting role--something common to low budget film, gay or not--but it works pretty well. I recognized the kid from Chicago Fire in there (and he kisses a guy!), as well as Charlie from The West Wing (who doesn't).

This isn't a perfect film, but the quality of it is SO far above most similar fare. The acting is much better, the sound, photography and editing is too. If this helps, it looks nothing like an early John Waters film, if that makes sense. Also, though the setup of the film may be cliché, the way it's handled is novel. There's none of that "is he or isn't he" about the lead's sexuality. I also thought the chemistry between the actors was believable, another thing that often isn't there in gay cinema.

Anyway, I rated this one an 8. I realize that sounds high, but I'm considering it a "within the genre" grade, and in that case it might even be worth a 9. Real-world grade is probably just above a 5, but think about other films in this genre, which often hover between a 0 and a 3, and I think this film deserves a high grade. Plus, I want to help its average. There are some ridiculously low grades for this one.