mgold-8
I really enjoyed this movie. Even to this day, it seems like it's so hard to find a gay-themed movie that doesn't end in some horrible tragedy. I love the way this one ended! I think the director would be better off staying behind the camera, but the other 3 stars of the film (Candy, Adam and John) were great. As others have pointed out, the chemistry between Adam and John was almost palpable. And Candy practically stole the show; she was simply awesome.Besides the ending, the thing I like most about this movie was how it didn't take itself too seriously. It was genuinely funny in many places and I laughed out loud a bunch of times. It's the first movie I've seen in a really long time that just left me smiling at the end. I will definitely watch it again, too.
jery-tillotson-1
With just a few deletions, this predictable non-erotic movie could play on the Hallmark Hall of Fame or the Disney Channel. Both the title and the box-cover photo of our bare-chested hero convey the unmistakable message that we'll at least enjoy some beefcake and maybe other naughty business in this independent effort. Alas, you finish watching this snooze-fest and realize that you never saw or experienced anything sensual. I'm not saying that this should have been a Falcon Studio sexcapade. But when you see major male movie stars like Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, James Franco, etc. showing complete nudity, then you would think an independent movie--free of a big studio censorship--would at least give us a brief glimpse of our hero. Turn on True Blood and Sons of Anarchy on cable and male nudity is the norm. And this is why I keep harping on the lack of eroticism that killed this movie for me. Our storyline finds the hero moving to L.A. to start a new life. He finally wounds up as the number one gay porno idol in the world, on the magazine covers and box covers of his X-rated career. Yet, you're never given any reason to think this. For instance, when he auditions for a porno role, we see him in bathing trunks. Just when he begins to slip them off, the scene cuts to another one of him fully clothed. When he's filming his first porno scene in a shower, we see him filmed from the chest up. And that's it. So much more could have made this movie exciting, arousing, hot, charming, but instead we're treated to a vanilla opus that might appeal to viewers who don't want to have a hard-on.
John Chavez
Viewed at the Brussels Gay Film FestivalA very engaging story of lust, libido and love in LA. The film was a very good take on LA - its quirky reliance on trendy remedies for modern woes, on drugs and on its special brand of eternally hopeful American aspiration as embodied in Candy and Adam - the one moving from opportunity to opportunity, the other sticking to some level of honesty, no matter how hard won.The opening sequence of Adam driving through LA set the tone perfectly: brown skies, fabled landmarks, grungy strip malls and fabulous estates. Candy and Adam - old film school friends - are each determined to make it big as actors, faced with the deadening reality of too many actors for too few roles. What they are really after, though, is family: they have their fraternal relationship, they long for a married one.Matthew Ludwinski deserves a special mention for managing to be extremely sexy in a porn- fantasy way and at the same time extremely romantic in an honest way. In this type of story it is often hard to see what the more successful character sees in the less successful character. But the film took the time to make Adam credible as an intelligent, interesting person and the chemistry between Adam and John was immediate and believable.The film could have been a pat puff piece for the film industry, and the portrayal of the porn industry was a little soft-core: my one caveat. But the film it showed the downside of life in LA - drugs, hucksterism and sex - in a very real and sad way. The comment about not being able to come out of the closet because of the people whose livelihoods depended on a straight actor's persona, really touched a cord. The ending gained credibility from the gritty reality of the body of the film. The audience - mostly European - roundly applauded the film.
oaksong
This is Casper's best effort to date. The film is beautifully shot and directed. While there may be a misstep here or there, they are easily ignored given the level of acting. Candy (Allison Lane) and Adam (Matthew Ludwinski) make a warmly klutzy pair of friends who met in film school and have eventually landed in Hollywood. Candy has an apartment, paid for by her boy friend, with a room Adam can crash in until he's got a job.While some the story is cliché, much of it is original, based on Andy Zeffer's semi-autobiographical novel. Again, while some of the plot points about getting involved in the porn industry aren't particularly new, the tale of a love affair gone awry, with the hope of redemption, rings true.I found the connection between Adam and John quite convincing. Judy Tenuta as Zinnea, an old friend of John's with secrets of her own, is particularly comical, if over the top in Judy's trademarked manner.This is not a heavily dramatic story, but is sufficiently entertaining that I heartily recommend it. Having Bruce Vilanch pop in for a cameo was an inspired bit of casting.
AD
