hjames-97822 Three stars for what should be one. I enjoy gay themed cinema. And I try to be generous with indie films. The strength and resources it takes to bring any indie film to any screen is an achievement. But this one is just...B-A-D.An advertising guy, his gay son, rabbits, an account presentation, rural gays met by accident and an old man straight out of George S. Kaufman. It's a silly, unfunny premise. Turned into a silly, hackneyed script with some of the worst dialog ever imagined.Then it's all directed poorly and the acting. Oh my God don't say you had to pay any of them. No better than a high school play. The actors playing the business people they are making an ad pitch to would have been better cast as domestics. Seriously. Save your time and your life.But, still, everyone showed up and they got the thing made. That deserves something.

foodaphile What a relief to see a movie about real people. I'm sick of all these gay movies about porn stars or flaming queens. This story about a rancher whose father is delusional (does he have Alzheimer's? I couldn't quite figure that out) was a lot more realistic than anything else I've seen come out lately. No it wasn't a perfect movie--yes, it was probably shot pretty cheap. But I was willing to overlook that in order to enjoy the story. The end actually had me teary-eyed. I watched it again with a couple friends and we each saw different things in the movie and then talked about it the rest of the night--so I guess it was worth the cost. I'd show it to my father, but he wouldn't understand it because he's a lot like the older character. Glad I saw it--gave me some things to think about.

gradyharp No, this is not another version on the Brokeback Mountain theme though the title might give that impression. This little Indie film made on a shoestring budget is more like an updated Farmer's Daughter story and as such it has some charm.Justin (the very hunky Thomas Romano) is an ad executive whose father sends him on his first solo run to a place in Texas. While driving to his appointment Justin swerves to avoid a rabbit in the road and his car gets stuck in a ditch that just happens to be in front of the home of Jack (Paul Bright, who also wrote and directed the film) and his loony senile father. Jack's life partner died a few years back and he is determined his plight in life is to live in solitude as caretaker for his father. Justin is invited to spend the night while his car is fixed by the local tow truck/mechanic. And the story unfolds from there into a May December romance that while it may not be acted very well at all, has its moments of warmth. The plot has enough twists to keep the attention span enduring the amateur acting status (both fathers figure significantly in surprising ways) and the cast of animals and eccentricities maintain attention. But the eye candy provided by Thomas Romano is the strong point - if only he could act.... Grady Harp

TBROUGH "Angora Ranch" is a sweetly low-key romantic movie that has plenty of animals in it. There are rabbits, goats, horses and chickens (and the cat that managed to sneak into the dinner scene). But the romance is between two men who must overcome a different kind of animal: the paternal kind. Justin (Thomas Romano) is a 20-something cutie working for his father's advertising agency, a self-absorbed manipulator whom Justin can never satisfy. (And Daddy has a few secrets on the side.) Jack (Paul Bright, "Angora Ranch's" writer and director) is a gay widower who has a live-in father, Peter (Tim Jones, the movie's co-writer), that is trying to push "his gay son Jackson" into a relationship before he slips into total senility. A chance accident and a little of Peter's meddling drops Benny the Bunny squarely into the stew and a May/September romance begins in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. While the movie is certainly not a slick affair (in the extras, Bright and Jones joke about how their budget was in "the thousands"), it does do several things the creators promise: No tragic gay man dies of AIDS. No screaming queen is running around disrupting things. No men are just straight-acting guys claiming they're gay. And most importantly - All gay male characters are actually played by gay men. The acting is not going to get any Academy Award nominations, but that isn't why you're going to enjoy this. "Angora Ranch" is a delight for the many things it isn't. Non-hyperactive, not bitter or angry, not political (other than the general wink at gay marriage) and not aimed at the tweaker circuit coming-out crowd. This is the kind of movie I am comfortable showing to friends with dinner, and, I am going to project, feel comfortable with repeat viewings. And it's worth it just to see a rabbit yawn. (For those of you who only buy "gay movies" based on skin content, Justin appears naked from the back and the two leads have a love scene from the waist up.)