The Dying Gaul, the movie, not the statue, has Robert (Peter Sarsgaard) a struggling young writer finally having a chance to sell his somewhat autobiographical script. The complication is that the producer wants to replace the character of his dying male lover with a woman to make it more sellable. Further complicating things is Jeffrey (Campbell Scott), the bi-sexual producer, starting an affair with Robert. Then of course, Jeffrey’s wife, a former screen writer, becomes fascinated with Robert and starts stalking him anonymously in online chat rooms, eventually finding out more than she really wanted to know.
Eating Out: All You Can Eat
The third installment of the “Eating Out” series, All You Can Eat, continues with the confusion of who’s who with straight guys pretending to be gay for various reasons. Casey (Daniel Skelton) comes to town and falls for Zack (Chris Salvatore). When Casey is too shy to approach Zack, inveterate fag hag Tiffany (Rebekah Kochan) convinces him to meet Zack online and further urges using pictures of her ex-boyfriend and stripper Ryan (Michael E.R. Walker) in a fake profile to get to know Zack. Then before Casey can make his move, Ryan comes back to town and the confusion begins. Amusing with lots of skin.
Redwoods
Everett (Brendan Bradley) is in a lackluster relationship with Miles (Tad Coughenour) and seems to be sticking around because of their son and possibly the fact that their small town only has about a dozen people and pickings may be a bit slim. Everett is left at home when Miles takes their son to visit the grandparents. That’s when Chase (Matthew Montgomery), a writer looking for a place to revitalize himself, gets lost and stops to ask Everett directions. Everett appoints himself Chase’s tour guide and the two start to fall for one another. Even Everett’s parents and brother Shane (Simon Burzynski) start to fall for Chase, but will Everett leave his comfortable if boring life? Good movie, but not wild about the way it ended. Redwoods.
Make the Yuletide Gay
Olaf ‘Gunn’ Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan) is out at college but straightens up when he heads home for Christmas break with his mid-western parents. Meanwhile, his boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) whose own parents go on a last minute cruise ditching him for the holiday, decides to surprise Gunn by showing up unannounced, not realizing that Gunn isn’t out to his Christmas crazed mom (Kelly Keaton) and stoner dad (Derek Long). Make the Yuletide Gay is a great movie with a humorous look at coming out at Christmas time.
A Home at the End of the World
Bobby (Colin Farrell), Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) and Clare (Robin Wright Penn) form an unconventional family. Jonathan is a gay man living in New York when his childhood friend / adopted brother Bobby comes to live with him and his roommate Clare. Clare loves Jonathan, Jonathan loves Bobby, and Bobby wants to make eveyone happy. Clare gets pregnant and the three go to Woodstock to raise the kid.
Green Plaid Shirt
Guy (Kevin Spirtas) and Phillip (Gregory Phelan) meet at a garage sale where they are both looking at the same Green Plaid Shirt. The two start a relationship which has it’s rocky moments. Set in the late 1970’s, we find Guy contracting AIDS and have a bit of a debate on whether or not fidelity is intended for gay men, which never really gets resolved. And most of the story is told in flashbacks. For a first time director, this was probably not too bad, but a bit uneven.
Grand Sons
Regine is a grandmother who’s gay grandson Guillaume (Guillaume Quatravaux) is still grieving for his now 2 years departed mother whose ashes sit in a suitcase on gradma’s balcony because Guillaume hasn’t gotten them scattered over Scotland yet. Then there’s her gay houskeeper Maxime (Jean-Philippe SĂȘt) who thinks keeping the ashes around on the balcony is just a tad creepy. Hopefully, this would have made more sense if I still remembered any of my grade school French lessons, but with just the subtitles to go by, something must’ve gotten lost in translation. And my grandma would’ve tanned my hide if I’d slouched around her house in just my briefs, but maybe it works differently in France.