PrimeMates

I've seen the prescreening and was riveted by the honest conversation men have in intimate moments. Want to know why men feel more inclined to cheat than women? Primemates begins to open up that dialogue in a fascinating way. This film gives us a compelling honest and raw exploration of evolutionary psychology through the conversation of four pals who ritually meet for cigars every week. Through the sharing of stories, advice and even laughter, the men openly discuss their darkest desires and secrets. Although primal urges overtake the best of us, we quickly realize that it is not without consequence.

~ S.G. Los Angeles

I go to the movies to be entertained by the moving images on the silver screen. Sometimes a deep and meaningful message is communicated. I know this has occurred when the movie remains with me, I replay it over and over and the brain tries to piece together the newly presented clues to the puzzle of life.

An old professor, Fr. McCann said the purpose of art is to make us think and a good friend Tom D. said the purpose is to make us emote. Primates has it all. Masterfully shot on a shoestring budget in four days, the images and sounds had me deeply emote. Honesty can be dangerous. So as we navigate this life with trial and error, attempting to work out the problems of being, the most agreed upon plan- an education, a source of income, friends/a mate/ a family, give the brain plenty to ruminate about and compel us to share it's subjective conclusions/judgments with whomever will listen. When the trials in life force us to be honest and the fear of judgment is momentarily removed in a safe environment, the personal fears, which have accumulated since birth are released from their prison and lose their grip on infinite possibilities for liberty that life holds. Liberty is questioning the plan.

What more could I want from a movie? Maybe a solution to it all- IN the sequel! Primates is spectacular!! Six stars!!! > Seamus McDonagh

The film, Primemates, is an original bright star in a dulled sky of cinema repetition! I reviewed this film and give it 5 stars out of 5 stars. Rudy Luna, the director, proves that good cinema is about good story and great acting and CGI, blood and guts, and gratuitous sex is completely unnecessary. From the very beginning of the film, when the young hot girl walks in the cigar lounge, I was intrigued. Throughout the film I kept thinking that I knew where the plot was heading, but I was dead wrong which is very rare for a avid film reviewer. The cast, Joe Estevez, Leo Rossi, Ethan Phillips, and Will Wallace are exceptional and I had to continually remind myself that it was scripted because they all played the roles so convincingly. It was as if I were eves dropping on their very intimate and vulnerable conversations. This film will make every man wonder and question his desires and it will validate every woman's notions of what the real meaning of commitment and love is! I love it and so will you!

It has been said that a substantial part of a filmmaker's work is achieved with the right actors. If so, writer-direction Rudy Luna has considerably lightened his load in this perfectly cast film. In PrimeMates (2010) four friends relax in a cigar lounge.

The topic of discussion seems inevitably to turn to that of sex and desire. Ray (Leo Rossi) argues that infidelity is simply an "evolutionary" phenomenon, one that has actually strengthened his marriage. Devoted to his wife, Clint (Ethan Phillips) challenges Ray's carefully constructed, intellectual argument. Joe (Joe Estevez) seems less remorseful about his divorce than entranced by the passionate affair which brought it about. And Jim (Will Wallace), the self-aggrandizing womanizer (the "slut") of the group, serves as foil to what seems the relatively diffident, Prufrock-like, Clint.

The machismo and jousting, locker-room camaraderie suggest a certain shallowness and superficiality in the male menagerie. But as Oscar Wilde reminded us, "the truth is seldom plain and never simple." When Ray promises to reveal a secret if the others will respond in kind the story becomes at once both more disturbing and more meaningful. A conversational movie, even one punctuated with the occasional flashback, is a risky venture. On the other hand, when that risk pays off it can become that most valuable of films--raw and redemptive, yet believable and riveting. The casual tone progressively grows darker and more unsparing as these middle-aged men relate their own stark, once-told tales.

In PrimeMates Rudy Luna's first film manages to uncover the archetype beneath the stereotype. All good stories are about trial and transformation, and the one here is no exception. The unexpected narrative turn ambushes both audience and characters in a poignant, haunting depiction of the depth and integrity of authentic relationship.

Bob

I went to see "Primemates," out of curiosity, at its West coast premiere. I wanted to see how a movie about four men, talking about sex, in one location, could possibly be entertaining. It's no easy task for any filmmaker. I was riveted. Rudy Luna is the type of writer/director whose type of work I've been dying to see.

What starts as a story grounded in scientific fact begins to slowly twist into a tragic, yet uplifting end about the emotional down side to biological evolution. The film festival audience that viewed the movie talked for nearly 2 hours, with Mr. Luna, discussing the validity of this film. There were high school students attending and they never left the theater. When asked how they liked "Primemates," the young men thought it was really good. The young women with them said nothing.

Altogether it's shocking to hear the real bottom line to sex. If we want to keep the human race alive, men must have sex wherever they can get it, regardless of the consequences. See the movie. You won't stop talking about it.