Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss

One of the very few movies I saw twice this year, and not just because newcomer Brad Rowe is so terribly easy on the eyes. Whether you're gay or straight (although, I suspect, particularly if you're a gay man), you're bound to see yourself on the screen more than once. Billy (Sean P. Hayes) rushes headlong to a place where we've all gone before, a place where angels fear to tread: the Territory of Unrequited Affection. We've all been there; we've all done it. The desire and need for emotional as well as physical intimacy is a great and terrible thing, and Billy's struggle is one we can identify with while still seeing the humor inherent in our own all-too-human endeavors. Bright, cheerful cinematography makes the most of the distinctly L.A. locations (West Hollywood, Catalina Island). Gentle, tender, funny, for the most part honest, and not a diatribe--which meant that I could recommend it to my straight friends, too.

This movie starts as a comedy, but somewhere along the way, it becomes a touching drama. The story about Billy who is often rejected by his love interests will give you a very different view of homosexuals, whom often portrayed as a group of people who have sex a lot and always change partners. This movie will show you that that is not the case. It's worth the money.

This is another one of those "discovered by accident while channel surfing" movies that I am always grateful to have found. Before the movie was over, I was online buying the DVD. O'Haver must have summoned all his Indy Film clout to muster the likes of Paul Ganoung, Meredith Scott Lynn and the fabulous Paul Bartel to lend their talents both on and off the camera, but the coup of coups was casting Sean Hayes.

Hayes is superb as Billy, a struggling gay photographer yearning for love. He falls for Gabriel (Brad Rowe) who may or may not be gay. The rest of the film dances around the inevitable question and let's just say that things have a way of working out for the best, albeit differently from what we often expect.

Actor, writer, director and absolute gay icon Paul Bartel, who unfortunately passed away a couple of years after Screen Kiss, is deliciously unctuous as a would be mentor. Brad Rowe is passable, if a little lightweight, and benefits immeasurably from his co-star. Sean Hayes, even before the runaway success of Will and Grace, demonstrates the comedic genius that steals almost every scene. Spliced throughout the movie are several numbers by Mr. Dan, a notable drag artist and promoter from L.A., and as Petula Clark he helps generate the sheer joy of watching this movie.

If you remember Lou Reed's classic "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" you may enjoy watching Holly Woodlawn ("Holly came from Miami F-L-A" - yes THAT Holly) as the party hostess.

The DVD commentary is worthwhile, and offers an inside view of the resourcefulness it takes to make a good indie film. It does not detract from the importance of BHSK that it is not an original film. O'Haver had been toying with the basic story idea since his earlier Catalina, but in BHSK the story is more fully developed and humorous. Touching, moving, gentle and risqué, an uplifting and life-affirming message wrapped in a carnival of Angelean queer decadence.

I doubt that this film was intended to make any serious social commentary other than, perhaps, that gays are quite capable of poking fun at themselves.

The movie was funny and amusing. The singing trio that's a running gag throughout the film is hysterical. The spoofs on classic films and the movie-like dream sequences were at times side-splitting.

I thought the film possessed a certain serious subtext but it never competed with the comedic intent of the script. The actors were flawless in their understated deliveries of their often witty lines. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss is a delightful film that should be seen and enjoyed by gays and straights alike.

Considered in the context of an initial effort by a young director, I thought this was a very nice film. As a gay man, I found the characters all very believable and recognizable, and the protagonist Billy utterly charming. All in all, skillful, original and sweet. Don't go in expecting a deep cinematic experience, but accept it for what it is and I don't think you will be disappointed. However, those who are not gay or who cannot empathize with the gay experience, will probably not be moved, notwithstanding the director's attempt to show the universal character of human love and experience.