Is It Just Me?

I just attended the Canadian premiere of this movie at "Inside Out" (the Toronto LBGT Film and Video Festival) and was quite surprised at how good it was. Normally, with gay romantic comedies I don't expect too much because they true too hard, but this film was endearing without being overbearing and (in some instances) it was downright charming.

The actors were well-cast, with an especially good comedic performance by Canadian Bruce Gray, and the story is something that I think many gay guys can relate to --- trying to fall in love in sea of sexual conquests in the big city. Based on the overall reaction of the audience in attendance, I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it either.

If you this film rolls through your local LGBT film-fest or when it eventually pops out on video, it really is worth seeing it....

Young Nicholas Downs is an early 30 something gay man who is a successful on line columnist who can't get himself a date. The anonymity of the internet works well for him because he lacks a lot of personal self confidence. His roommate Adams Huss makes up for more than enough. He's a part time actor between gigs and earning nice money as a go go boy in gay bar where nightly his cowboy boots are stuffed with folding money.

One day his blog is answered by David Loren a really nice and charming Texas kid with the accent to match. Only he thinks he's answered the roommate's ad.

Cutting to the chase this is a 21st century version of the John Alden/Priscilla Mullins romance with a bit of Cyrano de Bergerac thrown in. It's nicely packaged in every sense of the phrase and the players are charming. There's a nice performance by Bruce Gray as the older gay roommate of Loren. We should all have a wise man like him in our gay lives.

And who could not fall in love with Loren's Texas drawl.

Yes 'is it just me' is a well intentioned little film. But when did watching a gay movie become like watching a Christian film, or even worse a Tyler Perry movie! So many gay films of the last 10+ years have been so limp and predictable and this one is no exception. You know exactly what is going to happen and it features the usual gallery of gay indie clichés, the fag-hag, the slutty friend and the dryly funny/ miserable old queen. Thankfully the performances are good and characters likable. Believe me I get it, there's little money in gay cinema and we need our rom-coms too but we need more genre benders like Hellbent and Another Gay Movie, I can't keep watching the same story just to support gay indie films. Shelter did it best, that felt like a 90s movie, the glory days of gay cinema. Is it just me? I don't think so.

This sweet, small indie movie was very well-received at a Midwest film fest. After seeing it, I chatted with a father who brought his teenage daughter, some elderly folks, as well as gay friends, and everyone loved the way it portrayed gay men seeking romance and love in the same way that straight characters would. It's not that the experience of being gay isn't different - it certainly can be - but in the end we're all human and we want mostly the same things, such as love, respect, the ability to take care of our families and live our lives openly and as we want to live them.

The movie was charming, funny, and ultimately emotionally fulfilling. The lead character is played with empathetic charm by Nicholas Downs, and Bruce Gray is delightful as an over-the- top sentimentalist. This movie treats gay men as "ordinary people" - and that's a delight in and of itself. The twist is that it's a good old-fashioned rom-com... with two men falling in love instead of a woman and a man. Highly recommended.

I liked the concept for this movie and the poster makes it look like a fun romantic comedy with-a-big-load-of-misunderstandings, which caused me to have big hopes it would live up to that.

Unfortunately everything from the main characters performance to the (honestly awful) dialogue to cutting and editing reminded me of the amateur movies of the sort you'd see high schoolers upload to youtube. They are fine and fun in their own medium, seen for what they are, but it did not do well as a full length film pretending to be professional. Unfortunate, because had the same movie been made with a better writer I think it would be a lot better.

Also, worth to notice: there are exactly three women in this entire movie. I don't mean characters, I'm talking out of everyone, background characters and all. That is honestly a little bit hilarious. Where does these people live?