The Last Straight Man

It reminded me of a gay version of the old hetero play, "Same Time Next Year," and I liked that part about the story the most. I always wondered what a gay version of that play might be like...with obvious differences because both lovers are men. And I think it worked. It was honest and it showed the dilemma that so many gay men face.

I tried really hard--several times--to watch this movie, but it's just so bad in so many ways that I finally had to give up.

The two guys are not at all attractive, but I've seen both actors before separately and not thought that, so it's just something about their pairing in this movie. I cannot believe that anyone would want to spend even a few minutes with either of them.

But that's not all. Every word of the dialog is stilted and coy and totally unnatural, and it's delivered in weird, almost screechy voices that make my skin crawl. On top of all that, the very first scene (and it's a LONG one) is of a female stripper giving lap dances at a bachelor party, with either her boobs or her thonged butt bouncing about six inches from the camera most of the time. That is NOT what I want to see in a gay movie, or anywhere else.

Another reviewer said he's willing to give Mark Bessenger (this movie's writer and director) another chance, but I can't go along with that. Life's too short.

A beautiful story, seductive told. A story about friendship becoming love, about attraction and about 12 years period , one night, a hotel room, talks and drinks and sex and doubts about the other.

The best virtue is the impecable simplicity.

Second - the acting.

And the fair, gentle exploration of relations, fears, responsabilities, decisions and shadows of ambiguity game.

The second good point remains the lovely realism. The book, the shots, the talk, the crumbs of humor are just beautiful pillars of a story pretending be only a confession about hidden side of near reality. It is more than a romance but a wise crafted portrait of choices.

The end - obvious, one of the provocative ones. But, in essence, just this is the point.

Over the last week, I've seen a few gay-themed movies, and oddly several containing Mark Cirillo; well...I can honestly say this is the only one I liked. He is of course type-cast as "the gay guy" (not sure he can overcome his "gay voice") and his long-time friend is played by Scott Sell, who absolutely comes off as a virile, sexually curious man who struggles with his feelings for his friend on the eve of what for most is a lifelong commitment. The pace of the film is perfect as we see the "progression" of their relationship from year to year. If you can tolerate the sex scenes (and warning: they are very blunt...think Brokeback Mountain), there really is a good mix of character-revealing dialogue, to the point where you start asking yourself who is really being honest to whom...more by what ISN'T being said. The only negative is the odd insertion of rambling, sappy monologues (can't blame Mark for this...he didn't write it). All in all, this was a very well-thought, entertaining "fluffy" work, which can actually be thought-provoking if you read between the lines.

The overall storyline is, as far as I know, quite original, but it depends on dealing with denial of & confusion over sexual identity and the consequent subterfuge that results from the constraints that society attempts to impose on our "acceptable" behavior and our permitted relationships, none of which are ground-breaking themes.

The film is almost entirely made up of conversations between Lewis and Cooper as they have their annual reunions, which means that the quality of the movie depends almost entirely on the scripted dialogue and its delivery by Mark Cirillo and Scott Sell … and both range from moderately good to mediocre. Often the conversations have flat-lined long before they end and the occasional slapstick in the hotel, presumably included to regain the viewers' drifting attention, seems more ridiculous than funny.

The situations and dialogue often seem contrived, labored, sophomoric, inconsistent and sometimes illogical. There are some moderately amusing moments and I suppose the whole concept of Cooper living one life for 364 days a year and then something quite different one day a year is humorous in a sad way.

Watchable, but not especially noteworthy or engaging.