Von Null bis Ich liebe dich

This is a movie about a white closeted married guy who dates a black single guy with a history of dating white closeted married guys. While the premise seems to hold the potential for an engaging story and the production is at least competent, it falls hopelessly flat in every respect. It simply isn't dramatic enough, funny enough, heartwarming enough, or steamy enough to be worthwhile. Everything here is skin deep. There's no reason for the audience to get behind a guy who seems to see his devoted wife and daughters as mere baggage, and shirks his responsibilities to them at every turn. A couple doleful piano notes as the boyfriend is left hanging again (as if he couldn't see it coming) isn't near enough to tug at my heartstrings. I'd suggest the filmmakers go out and live a little, and find something more substantial to write about. But at least they got the title right - there's plenty of Zero, a bit of I Love You, and not much in between.

Oh, and - there's not a closeted guy on the planet who'd ask his secretary to send a dozen roses to a man.

Pete, a single black man, has an affair with Jack, a married white man. Pete's father, a lawyer, is upset that Pete is dating a married man for the 4th time, and urges Pete to commit and settle down. Meanwhile, Jack has had homosexual episodes since his teens, married the prettiest girl in his class, had 2 kids, and both Jack and his wife have successful careers. Regardless of his behavior, Jack confesses to his counselor that he doesn't want to be gay or bisexual. While Pete and Jack declare their love for each other, will Jack finally divorce his wife, and will Pete be willing to wait for the divorce?

I saw this at the Inside Out LGBT festival, and the Q+A answered a puzzle I was having. The story was set in the present - Jack's brother-in-law warns Jack against leaving an electronic footprint by texting or sending "dick pics", and Jack's lawyer jokes about his "1st divorce", given that same-sex marriage is now legal. But the "don't want to be gay" attitude seemed to be from an earlier period. It turns out that the inspiration for this film came from the writer / director's experiences earlier in life, before he became too old to play Pete himself. OK, I understand, but it still means I give it a mixed review.

This low budget film makes great use of its resources due to a lot of talent behind the screen as well as in front. This is a stylish, well written rom-com about a gay love affair with all the difficulties & complications getting there as is usual for this type of film. It's a nice little movie full of very likeable actors and the characters they portray. It's smart and humorous and I was surprised at how much I liked it as it's not my usual style, but it's hard to resist despite a bit of necessary unpleasantness involving a wife and children. All the actors are good, though I never really bought for a minute that the co-lead, Scott Bailey, was gay, but like the rest here, he is likeable and appealing. I was particularly impressed by the other lead, Darryl Stephens. He's talented and attractive with a smoky voice that is killer. It's not flawless by any means, but it is a good little film that I don't think had a theatrical release, which is a shame, though it probably wouldn't have made a dime. It's not the point of this film, but bisexuality is a lot more common in this country than many would believe.

Is it your standard "Will he or won't he come out" story? Or is it more about the "other man's" fear of commitment? Or his struggle with his black identity amidst a sea of affluent white people. Even the starving artist is affluent to a certain extent.

And then there's the "Where do we stand on monogamy?" Even though most of the male characters are promiscuous. And at one point, they even touch on the crystal meth epidemic in the gay community.

That's too much to unpack. It could be made into at least three different movies.

I would love to see one centered around the black man and the potential complex intersections of his fear of commitment and how that might be related to his growing up as an affluent African American. Directed by a black director, please!

I'll leave you with one of my biggest pet peeves in movies like this. As a New Yorker who visits Philadelphia frequently, I can assure you a magazine copywriter could never afford a quaint apartment.t in Rittenhouse Square - much less move to the newly gentrified meat packing district adjacent to the West Village. Decorated with a Noguchi coffee table and a Barcelona chair!

I grew up resenting being taught to be paranoid. The folks in this story could have benefitted somewhat from a pinch more paranoia than they exercised. My only resistance in the movie was my inner counselor kept doing therapy on all the characters. OF course I know if they all made consistently good decisions there would be no plot and no movie. Well, not a problem; they were all screwed up enough to make a damned good, impressive movie! My time was well spent.