Almost Love

I truly love this film. It is a breath of fresh air in the stagnant world we are currently living in. It is full of humour, and it is heart warming in the best sense of the term. It has faults and is a little bit contrived, but it encompasses both love and friendship in a way that it should be for all of us. Scott Evans and Augustus Drew as the central gay couple are realistically convincing, and at times I wanted to reach into the screen and hug them. And around them a cluster of friends who have their problems as they do, and yet somehow they all pull through and without spoilers the ending is magical. There was no explicit sex in it and it was not needed. I watched this after seeing the truly dismal ' Blue is the Warmest Colour ' and it was a relief to see good editing, perfect acting from all of the actors which was distinctly lacking in the above mentioned film. The scene between the two male lovers sitting on a bench facing the Brooklyn Bridge was a major standout and it takes a brilliant director to make that view look bright as new paint. I have a great respect for films that show goodness and a love of life, and this film is a tonic that everyone should see. I repeat; I loved every moment of it.

Almost Love starts with a few people/couples with relationship problems. An hour and half of a whole lot of filler latter and they come to the obvious answer that everyone knew at the beginning or the film or just go with the "I'm not going to let it bother me" philosophy. There is no real drama or tension which means no real character development/growth in the movie which makes it feel kind of pointless. I've seen episodes of television shows that accomplish more with less than a half hour of actual story telling than this movie did in over an hour and a half of story telling.

This movie goes absolutely nowhere, acting is mediocre at best. Kate Walsh is completely wasted in this movie. My rating of 5 Stars is even pushing it.

Mild, mindless & harmless way to pass a little time. Actors are all affable. Characters are barley a sketch of actual humans but it is a movie after all...but I don't think we even know what two of the main characters do for a living...yet they're all likably "messed up" in their own ways. Lots of highly photogenic NYC spots. Favorite throwaway line: "OMG The Whitney" as if a NY'er wouldn't know where the Whitney is (you would have to be blind not to see it before you came off the stairs from the Highline - there is an entrance up there)...did make me miss NYC for a hot second. Do a bunch of Wordle (the website not the Times) while you watch it - definitely don't need your whole brain for this. No loose ends and - shocking - everyone is happily paired up at the end.

IDKW they threw in a scene with an alcoholic parent. Is that a last ditch effort to give the character's pain some depth? Did they forget to edit it out? There is no backstory for these characters - there's barely a "now" story, unless you catch a street sign you don't even know where they live. Isn't where you live in NYC as much as your identity as what you do for a living?

I had low hopes going into this movie but it kept my interest, which is why I rated it above average. The stereotypical artsy dysfunctional gay couple with a bad therapist can be found all over LA, Chicago, and NYC. Don't get me wrong, they were a like-able couple, for the most part. I'm just glad the writer didn't make one of them battle a meth or a sex addiction. That would've completed the stereotype.

Furthermore, we have the stereotype of the overweight female friend/hag who is desperate enough to date a homeless guy. We have the stereotypical interracial couple featured in every LGBT movie over the past decade. These characters added some flavor to the gay couple's storyline but largely just there for the sake of diversity. The gay couple redeemed themselves at the end with some proper communication between adults. I'm still not sure why Karl was such a secret. Adam fell in love with Marklin's nurturing personality. Despite the plot holes and stereotypes, it was worth my time. You won't get much better out of typical gay cinema.