jchudson-93052 Windham Beacham - interesting new actor for me with some potential I hope.Matthew Montgomery - seen a handful of his movies and about the same skill level here (which isn't a bad thing necessarily) . Buzzed cut not a good look for him.Wish the ending had gone beyond the hospital scene with at least a glimpse of where their relationship may have been headed.

John Nail (ascheland) My partner first became smitten by Matthew Montgomery after watching him in the Internet "Star Trek" series/homage "Hidden Frontiers." Montgomery's appeal is easy to understand: he is an attractive guy with considerable screen presence, and he can act. My partner's growing Montgomery crush led him to watch "Back Soon," a movie he liked so much that he suggested we include it in our intermittent Matthew Montgomery "Film" Festival."Back Soon" is the story of a Logan (Windham Beacham, who really should trademark his name), a young actor mourning the death of his wife (Maggie McCollister), who becomes friends with – and the lover of — Gil (Matthew Montgomery), the ex-gang member who buys Logan's house. This is all promising, setting the stage for a thoughtful exploration of grief, love and the nature of attraction. But writer-director Rob Williams reneges on that promise with some bad writing, made worse with some "Touched by an Angel" supernaturalism coming into the story by act three. A more gifted writer could've pulled off this divergence into the spiritual, but Williams' script has a hard enough time making the physical world convincing without exploring ghostly realms. A more gifted writer—especially one doubling as the director—might have realized that Montgomery just wasn't gruff enough to pass as a former Latin gang member (not to mention the street gang back story just didn't work) and rewrite the part to better fit the actor. A more gifted writer might have been able to make Spencer, Logan's Mexican-hating brother-in-law, seem more like an actual racist instead of a parody of one. A more gifted director would have realized Artie O'Daly playing straight Spencer as if he's a bitchy queen telegraphs a story twist miles away.Most of the cast are capable in their roles, even if they don't always fit them. Beacham is appealing as Logan, though it's interesting that in portraying an actor he is rather flat in the scenes featuring Logan auditioning. Even though I never bought Montgomery as a former gang member, he was another bright spot in this movie. I never believed Maggie McCollister (billed here as Maggie Foster) and Beacham as a couple, either, but McCollister's performance showed her as one of the more polished actors in the cast. Not polished but better than anyone would expect is gay porn star Bret Wolfe as Gil's flamboyant – and improbable – best friend. Wolfe's performance here suggests he could fill the roles that used to go to a pre-op Alexis Arquette.I can't be totally dismissive of "Back Soon." Beacham and Montgomery have some nice moments together and it's clear that the people involved have their hearts in the right place. Plus, the movie earns points for featuring mystery novelist John Morgan Wilson in a cameo. I really wanted to like this movie as much as my partner did, but the story's potential is botched by an amateurish script, clunky directing and spotty production values. Still, I'm looking forward to continuing my explorations into the works of Matthew Montgomery and hope that eventually he appears in a movie that's actually shot on film.

billy_dana I'll confess I have a thing for the movies I've seen Matthew Montgomery in over the last few years. Gone but Not Forgotten, while not brilliantly acted, is such a strong story, with heart-felt acting, that it is difficult to not love. Part of what makes that movie so engaging is the character M.M. plays as the man with no memory running from his former life. He carries it off brilliantly, and strengthens the rest of the movie with his effort. (I also think that Aaron Orr does a great job - both actors seem to suffer from less-than-optimal writing and some limited directing.) So it is difficult then to watch Matthew and his co-star Windham Beacham struggle through both Long-Term Relationship and Back Soon. Both stories should work (although Back Soon is too willing to explain things not needing explanation.) Both actors (whatever else you've read here in the reviews for Back Soon) are solid, even gifted actors. But in both films they seem to, at points, limp along, again (I assume) crippled by directing issues and some dialogue problems.Which is not to say that I don't respect Rob Williams for his story-creating skills! As stated, both movies should work. It feels like (to this indie and gay-themed movie fan) that Mr. Williams doesn't always trust what should "gel" and what shouldn't in a movie. Both actors, in both movies, needed more fire, more energy, more passion for their characters. I would argue that Matthew Montgomery is better in Back Soon than Long-Term Relationship precisely for (a great deal of the movie)this reason: he is more involved, more "wearing the head" of his character.Bottom-line: watch all 3 movies. See the interesting stories, grieve for the lagging moments, and wish for vehicles and directors that will give these actors and these kinds of stories the platform to achieve lift-off. Looking forward to both men's future work. And to Rob Williams too!

Daniel Alderman This was a first for me. A movie that was about equally good as it was horrendous. The story of two guys who find themselves in love. It's nice. The two actors have really great chemistry, which is pretty rare when you get straight guys playing gay roles. (I just have to assume both actors were straight, because they almost always are in this type of movie.) The story is interesting and wants so badly to be heartwarming, but then the writers and actors take turns messing it up. The two main actors are pretty good. The supporting cast, specifically the gay best friend (Bret Wolfe) and the wife's former working buddy (Kelly Keaton) were not so great. Wolfe took the gay stereotype into the offensive and Keaton just didn't play emotion well at all. The bad acting by those two, as well as by the prostitutes and the wife of the dead wife's brother (Bethany Dotson) lifted me entirely out of the flow of the film. I can't necessarily blame the actors. It looks like the film was very poorly directed in some spots and very well directed in others. The writing followed the same some bad/some good path. The ending was a let down and couldn't have been more predictable if it had been typed on the box. Not a great movie, not a horrible movie. I'm glad I watched it, all I can say is that I wish it'd been better.