Third Man Out

I'm used to seeing under-achieving gay movies, with laughable acting, unbelievable writing and downright bad directing. But not "Third Man Out"! The plot is excellent. The actors are believable - and really good. The directing is second to none.

The only disappointment is that too many gay stereotypes were used - not stereotypes imposed on gays but stereotypes created by gays. That is, evil cigar-smoking Republicans hiding their hypocritical deeds, and evil church officials ruining the lives of others. But, the movie was so good, I can forgive the writer for injecting his own bias. Good job overall!

I also get tired of seeing gay lovers always fighting. For once it was refreshing to see two characters really love each other - portraying what we all seek. In addition to that, the two characters really had different lives and different tastes, yet they made the relationship work. It was a good match.

Thank you and congratulations to Chad Alan, Sebastian Spence, Ron Oliver, and Mark Saltzman.

I watched this film simply because First Wave's impossibly handsome Sebastian Spence was in it. I wanted to see what other roles he might play. His character here is completely different from Cade Foster, and completely charming. The plot has as many twists as an Agatha mystery novel, constantly keeping you guessing, and pulling the rug out from under you when you think you have finally figured it all out. However, it is also a thriller. The protagonist, Chad Allen as private eye Donald Strachey is neither tough nor particularly intelligent, though his body ripples. I was on the edge of my seat worrying about what would happen to him next.

It is a movie about gay people, exploring all kinds of issues from blackmail, to outing, to spying, to HIV, to gays in the military, to sexual abuse. The main pair of characters have a loving, domestic monogamous relationship. It is nice to see a gay couple portrayed realistically. Sex is not the #1 priority for most gays. They are both clean cut, pleasant and sympathetic. At times Spence reminded me of Cary Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace. The lead gay couple don't take drugs, go to orgies or commit suicide as seems mandatory in so many other movies about gays.

There is a touch of frontal male nudity, and a short tasteful scene of a male-male couple in bed caressing gently. It is not a sleasy film despite some of the subject matter. There are also photos of the bad guys engaged in S&M.

This is a film unlike any other. I never could guess where it was going next. It is delightfully entertaining, every last minute of it.

Chad Allen is perfectly cast as Donald Strachey, a slightly haggard and totally "out" gay PI who lives with his Brooks Brothers hubby, Timmy (played by Sebastian Spence). Set in Albany, New York, of all places, Strachey investigates the attempted murder of gay activist John Rutka (Jack Wetherall), who has made enemies by "outing" still-in-the-closet VIPs.

The film's final ten minutes transform what had been a mildly interesting story into a blockbuster whodunit that even Agatha Christie would be proud of. It's been quite some time since I have watched a film wherein the plot twists were so startling and stunning. The film's writers give you the clues you need to solve the puzzle. But those clues are so subtle that the probability that you will latch onto them is slightly greater than zero. It's worth every bit of the viewers' time to endure a tangled, serpentine plot, and some minor plot holes, one of which could have been corrected by the use of a different camera angle.

The somewhat muddled plot conceals a substantial theme. But again, that theme does not appear until the final ten minutes. This is the kind of film you have to stay with, to appreciate its significance.

Apart from the great story, "Third Man Out" exudes a classy, cosmo-chic style, reminiscent of 1940's crime noir, by way of the sultry jazz sounds of "In Heat, In Love" and "Martinis By Moonlight". At appropriate intervals, shadowy induced suspense punctuates the trendy atmosphere, consistent with what viewers would expect, for a whodunit.

The film's cinematography, especially the lighting, is excellent. Production design and costumes (love those black suede jackets) render high quality visuals. Overall, acting is adequate. And some of the dialogue sparkles: "You know, I'm starting to wonder if maybe life isn't always so black and white, in Kansas maybe, but not here in Emerald City".

Despite a slightly tangled plot, "Third Man Out" is a terrific film that can be enjoyed by viewers, gay or straight, who revel in stylistic murder mysteries.

The story seemed somewhat hackneyed and predictable, filled with the staples of the genre, but that struck me as more intentional than accidental. The dialogue was awkward at times, but I enjoyed the performances. The production values are good, and the music helps carry the story during its weaker moments. Overall it seemed like a reasonably good pilot for a series. I'd enjoy seeing where they could take this, once the actors and writers had a chance to settle into their roles.

The biggest weakness I found was determining how seriously to take it. It seemed to ricochet between overly-earnest and tongue-in-cheek. But overall I enjoyed it and would look forward to seeing more.

(Keep your eyes open for interesting gas prices.)

Which would be worse if you're a gay detective based in Albany, New York...slugged in the kisser by an irate blonde who doesn't care for the photos you took of her husband or being called "Nancy-boy Drew" by the corrupt and catty manager of a hotel who secretly films the doings of some of the guests? Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) doesn't much care for either, but this is nothing compared to what he is about to get involved in. Fortunately, Strachey is a happily married man, or as close to it as a gay man can be. His partner, Timmy Callaghan (Sebastian Spence), is a smart, affectionate political assistant to an elected New York state assemblywoman. Strachey's latest case brings him a client that both he and Timmy are repulsed by.

John Rutka (Jack Wetherall), an aging, self-righteous gay demagogue, publishes a cable expose program called The Rutka Report. In it he outs closet gays, especially well-known married public homophobes who promote family values and sponsor anti-gay legislation while secretly making nighttime visits to highway rest stops and wearing their leathers at, ah, small, intimate parties. After someone breaks into his home and shoots him in the leg, Rutka goes to Strachey for protection. Strachey turns him down. Outing people, Strachey and Timmy agree, is one of the lowest forms of human activity. But the need for Strachey to earn an income changes their minds. Even though Strachey has to hold his nose, he takes on the job. It's not long before a charred corpse turns up and is identified through dental records and that gunshot wound by the cops as Rutka. Strachey took the man's money; now he's determined to find the man's murderer. There are three prime candidates, one of whom Rutka was going to pick as the cover-boy for his next broadcast. From Rutka's files, Strachey identifies Ronnie Linklater, the host and star of a hugely popular children's television show who enjoys using his hand-puppets in unusual ways; Bruno Slinger, a powerful, anti-gay Congressman who thinks B&D without a little pain for his partner is for sissies; and a person Rutka identified only as "the ultimate hypocrite." From there, Strachey doggedly goes through piles of Rutka's documents, financial records and computer files. Along the way he visits sleazy motels, a Catholic church, a hospital and a funeral; he encounters Rutka's body- building partner, Rutka's foul-mouthed sister, an exercising granny who puts moves on him, and various tough guys who push him around and pistol whip him. He leaves one of them limping, after Timmy gets beaten up, by using a power nailer to plow a nail into the guy's foot. Strachey also visits a porn call-in site where the owner, Dik Steele, for a fee will talk to heavy breathing call-in chumps. Even Strachey looks put off a bit at the operators posing as Steele...balding, chubby males and grannies with deep voices, all pretending to be Dik Steele in the throes of ultimate passion. Kind of like internet sites. The conclusion carries a powerful and unexpected twist which some may like and some may not.

Third Man Out is the first of what may be a series of Canadian cable movies featuring Chad Allen as Donald Strachey. The second, Shock to the System, was broadcast in 2006. It seemed to me that with Third Man Out, director and writer Ron Oliver was still in the process of finding the right balance between message and mystery. Oliver and Allen deal with a lot of issues here, some head on, some in passing, everything from hypocrisy, AIDs and the costs of AIDs medicine, the ethics of outing, gay relationships and on and on. For me, all these messages began getting in the way of the mystery, which I thought was well-constructed with clever false leads, good characters and a disturbing conclusion. With Shock to the System, I think Oliver found the formula that works...make sure you put the mystery first and keep the messages low-key. For readers, the Donald Strachey mysteries by Richard Stevenson, all eight of them, are worth buying. The plots are strong and Strachey makes for a believable, sometimes cocky private eye. They are solid mysteries that happen to feature a gay private detective; they're not simply gay mysteries.