Billed as "Based on True Events", this is a fictionalized, Australianized, watered-down version of the American documentary film Bridegroom, which was released just one year earlier. It's the story of two young gay guys who've each relocated to the big city (Sydney here instead of L.A.), meet and fall in love but are dealt with brutally when tragedy strikes, by homophobic parents and a legal system that grants no rights to gay couples. It's hard to call this a dramatization since the source material contains much more gripping drama. While the documentary was truly heart rending, this film is no more than "sorta sad" - and that applies to both the story and the production. It plays like a flaccid Lifetime Network movie.
The impact of the central tragedy is diluted by a failure to establish the guys' enduring love and strong sense of partnership beforehand, as well as the depths of despair and misery afterward. Their relationship is more cute than loving, the aftermath more mopey than world-shattering. The conflicts are brimming with trite boilerplate reactions on all sides that don't feel genuine at all. Scenes of high emotion seem beyond the capabilities of both screenwriters and cast. This is maybe the first fictionalization in film history where the good guys aren't nearly as good, nor the bad guys nearly as bad, as they were in real life.
It's also likely the first fictionalization in film history where the two romantic leads aren't as attractive as the people their characters are based on.
The film is further marred by some very strange choices - a dance number that appears out of nowhere (?!?), a couple gratuitous dream sequences. And I'm sure gay men everywhere were cringing as much as I was when the guys became engaged and launched into a much-too-long joking argument over "who's gonna wear the dress?"
But the most disturbing part comes in the superimposed text at the end of the film, which reveals that "Michael" told his story to several million viewers on YouTube and became a popular speaker and Australian gay rights advocate. Except for the "Australian" part, this is the life history of Shane Bitney Crone, the American on whom the character of Michael was based - and who received a "Dedicated To" in the end credits. It's a grossly inappropriate and unnecessary attempt to sell the audience on the idea that the story really happened to two Aussie guys - and most viewers who hadn't seen the documentary were probably fooled by the filmmakers.
Shame on them.
