jm10701 For about the first twenty minutes I thought I was going to hate this movie, but it got better. Then it got better. Then it got even better, and it just kept on getting better all the way through to the end.I strongly disagree with reviewers who say the adult bookends are irrelevant and badly done. They provide an essential framework for the story. The adult actors are neither as attractive nor as talented as the younger leads are, but that's fine; they don't need to be.My only quibble - and it is a very minor quibble - is that the character of Henry is just too evil within the context of this movie. I know people like that exist, people who are so mean and so stupid that they would keep on smirking when the hero is having convulsions, but no other character in this movie is drawn with such unrelenting severity. He is so evil he ends up dragging the whole movie down in a way it doesn't need to be dragged down. I suppose his being so excessively monstrous adds extra weight to Danny's accusation that Carter hurt him even more than Henry did, but that accusation didn't need such heavy-handed reinforcement; it was powerful enough in itself.The direction, photography and screenplay could not be much better - an impressive debut for David Oliveras. All the performances are outstanding, particularly Tye Olson and Kyle Clare as Danny and Carter and Casey Kramer as Danny's mother. To paraphrase at least one other reviewer, she is the mother every gay man on earth dreams of. This is a lovely, believable, extremely well done movie.

Richard von Lust OK so this is not going to grab any Oscars but I thought it nonetheless a very credible view of romance between two young men at high school.Gay art student Danny is forced to share a room at home with Carter, a hunky swimming major who lodges there during difficulties at his own home. Carter needs help with his literature classes and Danny provides it in exchange for life drawing modeling. A love develops that is fully realized and expressed by Danny but utterly denied by Carter who cannot even bring himself to be seen at school with his lover. The results are examined with sensitive dialog and quite acceptable acting. The love making scene in the rain is a triumph of art direction that would make many heterosexual movies appear vulgar. Tye Olson is excellent as Danny. Well worth a try.

dalek69 i was very moved by this film, it is tragic but with a hopeful ending as well. i felt the performances were very believable, the tender, sensitive Danny, (GREAT acting!) , the troubled, messed up carter, Danny's mother was great. as opposites attract, i liked the two opposites coming together, later on you just knew it was going to go wrong... carter's anger/feelings were heartbreaking, but from his point of view more or less understandable.some flaws: it was a bit unclear why *exactly* carter came to stay with Danny. a bit of a shady/forced explanation. and we never found out the reason for or manner in which carter died. but it was tragic. I liked the way the movie ended though, a positive note, ***Spoiler*** with Danny finally patching up his not so easy going new relationship with new boyfriend in the end. he had to let go of (dead ) carter in the end.yes, i think this is a believable gay drama and again , very touching. well done.

JetBoy "Watercolors" played at San Diego's FilmOut today. I have to say, when we read the synopsis in the FilmOut guide, and watched the trailer, we both thought this was going to be just dreadful. We weren't sure we wanted to even sit through it. I'm so glad we did -- it would be a mistake to miss -- to our amazement, this is a terrific film! First-rate acting all around, with special note to the dad's demonic smoking, the art teacher's facial expressions, the mother's nuanced looks. The writing, while melodramatic, is well-done. Nice cinematography, with cool underwater shots of the swimmers, long shots of outdoor scenes, and so forth. The casting, for the most part, fit nicely, especially Tye as Danny. It was fun seeing Greg Louganis as the coach, although I think it would be have been terrific to cast him as the anti-swimming father.I especially liked the relationship between Danny and his mother. Very funny, touching, warm. The dad character could use more depth, but the mannerisms were nicely done. Tye as Danny looked so small and vulnerable (he's taller in real life, as we saw during the cast Q&A) and had such a perfect geek haircut.This really didn't feel like a "film festival film", although it could do with a bit more editing to tighten up some of the scenes and cut the running time by 10 or 30 minutes.