Suradit
After watching about half the film I kept thinking that an educated, intelligent, successful person would never so easily hook up with some guy he had a chance encounter with at a liquor store, let alone almost immediately claim that he "really loved" the guy. And, if that wasn't sufficiently incredible, he certainly wouldn't stick around once the guy started hitting on him for money for drugs, followed by making a scene at a bar proclaiming that "you don't own me" and "I'll do whatever I want." I even checked in this forum at that point to see what others thought about the plausibility of all this
and initially agreed 100% with a reviewer who wrote several lines beginning with "There is absolutely no way any sensible person would
" and who concluded "The implausibilities in the story are the film's major weakness." That's exactly what I felt too.But I gave it some further thought and watched the rest of the movie
with a bit of fast-forwarding. There are a lot of people, intelligent or not, educated or not, sophisticated or not, who sometimes do totally irrational things when driven by infatuation or, more bluntly, by lust. It may imply a degree of vulnerability but people who seem to have their act together can still be vulnerable as well.I doubt at this point in life I'd be so easily drawn into doing something so stupid, but then opportunities to be irrational with someone as sexy as the character Denny don't come my way
for reasons other than my sensible, world-weary personality.Real people do incredibly stupid things when it comes to sex. If they're lucky, they're not too badly hurt by the experiences and they do return to making sensible choices
as was the case with Rusty. Quite often people in movies do things that we would never do and act in a way that seems irrational to us, but most of us know real people who do such things. The news often reports on famous, supposedly well-respected, sensible people who do incredibly reckless things because of sex. We may even look back on our own lives and recall some amazingly implausible things we did
because of sex.Nonetheless, even after accepting Rusty's illogical behavior as realistic for some emotionally fragile people and also noting that the two main characters in the movie are definitely easy on the eyes, it is still by no means a great movie. There was never any sense of Rusty being driven by his infatuation for Denny, we were just told that he really loved him and had to believe that was what was making him act foolishly. Neither the story nor the acting helped to make us understand why Rusty did what he did.
donwc1996
The two male leads in this film, both of whom are nude most of the time, are so outrageously hot that the fact there is virtually no story really does not matter. You just do not get tired of looking at these guys. And their acting is pretty good too with what they have to work with which isn't much. In fact the storyline is so thin it never intrudes on the visual pleasure one has gazing upon these two Greek gods. It's set in LA so there are some great shots of that fabled city where I once lived and married and divorced in a typical Hollywood story. I was a writer and she was an actress/model - not a recipe for successful matrimony. Eventually she gave up the business and married a plastic surgeon, telling me she liked the idea of being young forever. As well as the posh seaside estate in Zuma. My shack over a garage hardly compared that's for sure. Oh, and as far as the film is concerned the title is never explained.
purban
This was an excellent film that I didn't expect to watch. I thought I'd give it a try, as I have with many other gay-themed films, and turn it off in 15 minutes. But I couldn't. It is a very remarkable character-driven story. Other reviewers here have pointed out that the characters are at times unlikable or that their actions don't make sense. To that I would respond...that's life. And this film was extremely life-like. Certainly, there's some moments of weakness, but the dialog is very well-written and delivered. Dale Dymkoski in particular is captivating. His character is quite unlikable. At different points in the film, you want him gone, and yet your heart breaks for him. That's a great performance. The character growth in this story is something that's rare to see in any film, particularly one on this budget. Story-wise, everything comes full-circle.As an aside, it irks me to read in some reviews that people were observed to "walk out of the theater." That's a cliché here on IMDb. Every time I read that, I know the review cannot be trusted. It's not a reaction I would expect at a film festival. I'm a lover of film, and I've never seen people leave a theater en-mass, especially one like this. Reviewers should post their review without relying on on others to back up their point of view. People that walk out of a theater do not lend credibility to a review, as they can't review something they didn't bother to watch. And maybe they were just getting snacks.
vitaminbee
This flick screened at Outfest in Los Angeles two nights ago to a completely sold out audience. Many standing in line were even turned away. They were the lucky ones.The storyline, in a nutshell: When his boyfriend leaves town, architect and restorer Rusty quickly hooks up with a sexy drifter named Denny. Rusty's already unsettled life is set on its ear when he discovers that Denny is a crystal meth-addicted hustler.Beginning about 20-30 minutes into the film, audience members started walking out in droves. I'm not sure of their reasons, but I would have left had I not been stuck in the middle of a crowded row of people involved with the film. I would have just felt bad disturbing their experience.Why would I have left? I found both the storyline and the characters unbelievable and unlikeable. Rusty is described as a success, but I couldn't figure out why anyone would use that word to describe him. Unable to make a decision or take a stand, he lets himself get pushed around professionally and emotionally throughout the film. Had there been some kind of hook or insight in either the writing of the character or the actor's performance, I might have wanted to root for the guy, but he just kept going back for more and never earned my respect as an audience member.The two lead actors are gorgeous, so that was what largely what made the film semi-bearable for me. And Dale Dymkowski, who plays the hustler Denny, did the best he could with what he was given, so he's pretty much what earned the two stars in my rating.Technically the film is kind of creaky as well. The color was terrible in the print I saw, and the sound was extremely tinny.Recommended for home viewing only, where you have the fast forward option and the ability to give up on it easily if you're so inclined.