Nearly unwatchable "romantic" "comedy"
It seems exceptionally difficult to make a gay romance (or any gay-themed film, it seems) without delving into cheap stereotypes. There have been a few diamonds in the rough, but Adam & Steve is a painfully unfunny and extremely dull film that is neither romantic nor comedic. Aside from the throwaway sight gags, the poor directing, the mediocre acting, the spectacularly awful writing, Adam & Steve's real problem is its tonal shifts. The mish-mash of genres here keeps adding barrier after barrier to push the audience out of the picture. The film begins with an odd introduction of the main characters, complete with Parker Posey in a fat suit. Next up, we get two visual sight gags of poop and vomit in one scene (one of which is so poorly done, I laughed in spite of how unfunny it was).
There are scenes of drama, there are scenes of comedy, there are scenes of musical numbers and a choreographed dance sequence. It only takes about 15 minutes to realize how bad this picture really is. Parker Posey and Chris Kattan, along with a handful of supporting character actors, upstage the two main leads who are about as charismatic as two rocks. There are scenes where Posey and Kattan both seem to be rolling their eyes, maybe wondering how they got roped into this production.
Adam & Steve has no direction and flounders in search of one. It jumps all over the place, going from a completely screwball gross-out comedy (attempting a pale imitation of the Farrelly Brothers) to a tender love story (admittedly neither tender nor particularly loving... not even really a story for that matter). It almost seems as if the screenplay were written in segments and then spliced together. There are a handful of humorous moments, most of which come courtesy of Posey and Kattan, that prevent the movie from becoming a complete waste of time. And the final climactic moments are nicely handled, a welcome break from the maddening confusion that has preceded it all. The only reason to see this one is if you are a fan of either Posey or Kattan. And, really, if you are, both have done far superior work.
There are scenes of drama, there are scenes of comedy, there are scenes of musical numbers and a choreographed dance sequence. It only takes about 15 minutes to realize how bad this picture really is. Parker Posey and Chris Kattan, along with a handful of supporting character actors, upstage the two main leads who are about as charismatic as two rocks. There are scenes where Posey and Kattan both seem to be rolling their eyes, maybe wondering how they got roped into this production.
Adam & Steve has no direction and flounders in search of one. It jumps all over the place, going from a completely screwball gross-out comedy (attempting a pale imitation of the Farrelly Brothers) to a tender love story (admittedly neither tender nor particularly loving... not even really a story for that matter). It almost seems as if the screenplay were written in segments and then spliced together. There are a handful of humorous moments, most of which come courtesy of Posey and Kattan, that prevent the movie from becoming a complete waste of time. And the final climactic moments are nicely handled, a welcome break from the maddening confusion that has preceded it all. The only reason to see this one is if you are a fan of either Posey or Kattan. And, really, if you are, both have done far superior work.
- FargoUT
- Dec 18, 2006