More Than Only

My biggest criticism is that it's obvious this film was directed and written by a woman. The plot and interaction between the gay leads did not ring true. It felt like a Hallmark movie, and was not at all a realistic representation of young gay men falling in love.

I really wanted to like the story, in spite of its sophomoric contrivance, but the painful, wooden acting had me checking the progress bar again and again to see how much more there remained to endure. The characters don't engage in dialogue (or convincingly engage, period), they speechify *AT* one another. What might otherwise have been seamless, natural conversations were instead a litany of jarring transactions, periodically punctuated by the plot device of notebook scribbling accompanied by a preachy, anodyne voice-over. Given the commendable cinematography, the most enjoyable parts of the film are when the characters aren't saying anything.

It's just too contrived, too melodramatic and overacted for what it is, and the music/singing is just bad.

More Than Only is like, if Mormons teamed up with Hallmark and made a gay baby. That's NOT a negative thing, it just is what it is. It's the clean-cut, child-like, sweet, (with one monstrous experience, told off-handedly) gay movie you could watch with your conservative parents. As long as your parents aren't like Justin's controlling, mentally abusive father.

My main criticism would be: the dialog and acting could have been a little more natural, but it was a story with a lot of heart which made up for its flaws.

I have viewed this film twice and it is still very watchable. I found the whole story very believable and quite touching. I am impressed by actors and production staff on all fronts. This is a very highly recommended film. Shame it is not on DVD