Partner(s)

I can sum this movie up using 20 words or less. Way too predictable of a story line with potential to be funny but instead falls flat on its face. See, 19 words, however, I didn't completely pan this flick with just one star but instead decided to bump it up to two stars due to the fact that Julie Bowen is smoking hot and provided just enough eye candy to keep me from ripping the DVD right out from the machine and blowing it up with an M80. My advice, take the $4.00 rental fee you would have paid to see this movie and just send it right to me as an advance thank you for saving you the time and frustration of having to sit through this train wreck, or you may want to send me the $50.00 replacement fee you would have been charged from taking out your twelve gage to use this piece of garbage as skeet shooting practice.

I rented this film at a friend's suggestion and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I was anticipating a variation on the "fake gay-fish-out-of-water" theme where a character has to (allegedly hilariously) pretend to be gay for some reason. That is not at all what this film is about. Yes, the lead is mistaken as gay, but he does not suddenly change and act differently, it is the views of others around him that change, which makes the film much more interesting. Not to say that the film makes any huge social commentary, but it also does not portray gays as "others" which was refreshing. At its heart, this simply a well made, funny, heterosexual romantic comedy which has a gay plot which is respectful to people of all sexual orientations. Some may find it a bit light in tone and heft, but I found it exactly correct for a romantic comedy. And best of all, it was actually both funny and romantic.

'Partner(s)' turns out to be a far better little film than expected. Not that there is anything original about this oft told variation of posing to be something you're not in order to take advantage of career development only to have that posing backfire. But Dave Diamond's script and direction and the presence of an attractive, bubbly and capable cast make this little piece of fluff float.

Tables are turned in a competitive law firm where an important case is to be assigned, a case involving sex discrimination over a gay employee. Dave (Jay Harrington) and Katherine (Julie Bowen), lovers in the past, vie for the assignment that will most assuredly result in being granted full partner ship in the firm. The company involved happens to include a cute young lass Lucy (Brooke Langton) who lives in the same apartment with Dave (Dave happens to room with a gay guy Christopher - Michael Ian Black - but Dave is straight). Lucy eyes Dave but mistakenly thinks Dave is gay, a fact that she feels will help her father's company in the lawsuit if they are represented by a gay lawyer (politics, you know...). Dave goes along with the charade, tells his company he is gay, wins the assignment leaving Katherine jealous, knowing that Dave is NOT gay. The remainder of the story revolves around the cat and mouse game between Dave and Katherine and Dave and Lucy's mutual attraction that interferes with his job. There are many funny side characters who constantly comment on what the gay mind is like. But the story ends well, with the film being a vaguely funny if very superficial view of what being gay is all about.

Not a great film but certainly an entertaining one. Sort of an extended au courant soap opera, it works fairly well on the big screen, largely due to the sustained light touch with which it is delivered. Grady Harp, December 05

Just watched this again, I liked it even better this time. I am a lawyer and that subplot was portrayed correctly, but this was really just a standard romantic comedy, although funnier than most. The acting was excellent, including the supporting characters. I don't think this was ever released in theaters but I see it was on TV, it looks a lot more professionally made than many other independent films I have seen and in some places is quite beautiful. There are some really funny moments that are unrelated to the love story, and there are some tender moments that were well-written and well-acted. The movie seems a bit short at 90 minutes, but I prefer that to a movie that is padded or has a lot of boring exposition.

The thing that struck me most about Partner(s), aside from the fact that it's funny and romantic and features a talented and attractive cast, is "how far we've come." By this I mean that only a few years ago one would have expected a film about a straight man who (for various plot reasons) must pretend to be gay, to have featured offensive gay stereotypes and homophobic comments/reactions by at least some of the characters, none of which is present in this delightful and charming film. Dave's roommate and best friend is a gay man; when Dave "comes out," he is accepted by co-workers and family; he doesn't try to or feel the need to "act" gay; and finally, Dave himself seems to feel no embarrassment or shame in telling people he's gay. In fact, the only reason he wants to come out as straight is because he's falling in love with a woman and pretending to be gay gets in the way. There's a funny subplot involving two male co-workers that plays with straight males' discomfort with "gay stuff," and hints that these two supposedly straight guys may be protesting a bit too much. Though at heart a boy-girl romance, Partner(s) does deal intelligently with issues of coming out to parents, gay sex roles, gay men involved in dishonest relationships with women, etc. The cast is made up of very talented and photogenic mostly TV actors, and though most likely low budget, has very much a big movie feel. If I have one complaint, it's that this is one movie which would have worked better with openly gay actors cast in the gay roles. Since Partner(s) is about a straight man pretending to be gay, the film loses some effectiveness because (with the exception of out actor Reichen Lehmkuhl, who has only a bit part) *all* the actors in gay roles seem to be straight men pretending to be gay, and to tell the truth, I didn't buy any of them as gay (especially Sean McGowan and Bru Miller as Michael Ian Black's gay friends, who registered zero on my gaydar). But other than that, a film which straight and gay people can enjoy equally, and a must see for straight men who could do with a bit more contact with "the gays."