Say Uncle

This film is about a gay man who likes interacting with children, and hence being mistaken for a paedophile.

I find this film very impressive. The cinematography is excellent, the set designs are very well composed and visually attractive. The most important thing is that the plot is outstanding.

It deals with many social issues. It looks at how one person jumping into conclusions can cause so much bias and distorted viewpoints. It looks at how one vocal and persuasive person can influence the crowd, creating a herd effect not dissimilar to what Hitler was able to do. It examines how people are protective of children in such a way that they would rather accuse the good than to miss one bad guy. It also looks at how gay men are robbed of their rights to adopt, or to be near children because of the mistaken idea of "homosexuals have to be paedophiles".

I am immensely impressed by this film. It touches me and I am sure it will touch you too.

Technically, this film is well done, avoiding the usual genre clichés of most first-time gay directors. However, overall it is an uncomfortable mess. What is it trying to say? We are supposed to feel sympathy for a lead character who performs one act of stupidity after another? Anger for a mother who has every right to assume this borderline-mentally-ill man could harm her child?

What grown man in his right mind would hang out in playgrounds with children, and not expect the inevitable results? The lead is just plain creepy.

Supporting roles are uneven. The co-worker/admirer goes from bitchy to "honey" in ONE week? Najimy portrays a concerned mother as a stereotypical gay-hating shrew. The "boss" is a cartoon character. Then we have the very grounded best female friend. (Well, not so grounded...she gives this borderline retarded man a NUDE picture of her own toddler - dressed up in cowboy gear??!!)

Paige is a talented actor, but I question his writing skills, and the actual intention of this film.

Peter Paige's enthusiasm for his film is contagious only there are parts of the film that are uneven. There is good pacing , but at times the pace moves so fast that some of the storyline seems forced. The general premise is already addressed in the tag line and so there is a constant sense of uneasiness. The main character is believable but the denouement feels saccharin sweet and that minimizes the seriousness of the threat to the main character.

If you are a fan of Emmett on QAF, then you'll find that Paige is quite a talented actor. In the end, not bad for a first movie. The premise is original and touching and even with all its faults is capable of conveying the state of American culture of fear.

Some funny lines and smart commentary in this low-budget comedy about a young gay man--an overgrown kid in an adult's body--who is left rudderless after his best friends move to Japan with his beloved godson; totally enamored of and devoted to children in general, our hero starts hanging around the playground, where a single man with no kids causes red flags to wave in front of the resident moms. Writer-director-co-producer-star Peter Paige has some interesting things to say about unmarried men in our society who adore--and can relate to--the innocence of childhood yet no have little ones of their own. Unfortunately, the film's second-half is pretty much consumed by the rampant paranoia of the playground flock; this material is all too real for a little comedy to handle, and one tends to recoil from it even though the satiric points Paige makes are thorough and justified. ** from ****

i don't know where this guy got the balls to do something like this. to tackle suburbia, fear, profiling, gays, children - in a comedy. i love how they never tell you what to think or how to feel. everybody's screwed up, just like in real life. there's not one bad performance in it. kathy najimy is awesome - totally different than the way you think of her. peter paige is great - sad and funny and weird. and gabrielle union and anthony clark are great, too. oh, and melanie lynskey is freakin' hilarious. it's worth taking a chance on - seriously. it won't be everybody's thing, but if you're tired of movies where everybody's perfect and you already know how it's going to end, check this out. i loved it.