Kiss the Bride

I'll admit that on first watching I was mightily disappointed, particularly in view of what I consider C. Jay Cox's much better, gay-related work, "Latter Days." However, repeat viewings of "Bride" have resulted in my initial impression taking on a somewhat more positive spin, as you may gather from other of my comments, below. In this work it seems the director and writer are trying to tell.....no, make that show.....us that sexual preference (if not also orientation), is not just a black or white, a yes or no thing; rather it's a continuum and can change over time. Still, even if you consider that theme to be well handled, in no way does this production come close to achieving/maintaining the high interest levels being attained by that other recent gay film, "Shelter" directed by newcomer Jonah Markowitz.}

If by now you're wondering, this movie......if it's anything......is a "seriocomedy." It is NOT a gay romance (although at an earlier, teenage time in our two male leads' lives, there might have been the beginning spark of romance----no, come to think of it, even then it was more likely to have been just youthful lust). So, with that out of the way, you might ask how this production works as a semi-serious comedy. On this, all I can say is that in such a genre, comic timing is everything, and I suspect that comedy performance has not been the background of either of our male leads (but older, supporting cast members Tess Harper and Robert Foxworth keep the chuckles coming fairly reliably). Karner / O'Shea almost get it on the button at times.......but a successful comedy needs more than "almost" when it comes to timing. Still, what Philipp Karner (Matt) does do well is deliver sincerity---and you're going to like him for that. And then there's James O'Shea (Ryan), who effectively gives us a "confused sweetness"---you'll fall for that as well. Oh, yes, and he also "puts out" for us in the form of a good looking face and an excellent body (and er, ahem, that includes a great ass and a nice package---more than enough there to have shared with a Karner, who could stand a "boost" in those departments). As for Spelling, I'm not a "Tori-fan," but she does come across as miles better here than she was in another gay film, "Trick." Along with secondary character actress Amber Benson, we also have Steve Sandvoss, and both are "carryovers" from "Latter Days." Sandvoss' character and a "buddy," played by Michael Medico, are given fairly frightful parts in the opinion of this viewer. Even so, it's too bad that whoever put together/approved the Cast List for the film's Closing Credits didn't know enough to realize they'd gotten these two player's character names reversed (that must make one feel good as an actor).

One last point, for those of you who might keep up with such things: Karner does get from O'Shea a lot better lip-locks (both in quality and number) than does Spelling. How about them apples?

PS--This DVD won't get tossed out in the trash (as some have been)----but it's hardly likely to make it onto this viewer's "Addictive" list*** either.

***Other films which are habit formers: "Just a Question of Love" / "Brokeback Mountain" / "Boy Culture" / "All Over the Guy" / "Second Skin (Unrated Version)" / "The Man I Love" / "The Man of My Life" (maybe for older viewers) / "Oh Happy Day" (you just gotta take in this one) / "Fashion Victims" (only if you've got a Region 2 DVD player)

****

'Kiss the Bride' is without doubt one of the worst, bottom of the barrel pictures that ever came down the pike. It centers around two Cali knuckleheads, Matt and Ryan, who were former lovers. Fast forward a number of years and one is getting married having found, or so he believes, the love of his life played by Tori Spelling. The other character, uninvited, decides to attend the wedding, uninvited , in hopes of recapturing his former partner who he still loves. In a moment of heterosexualization, a terrible homophobic ploy, in my opinion, he tries to bed down his former lover's intended bride, making him now curious about his own sexuality. The writer, Ty Lieberman, needs a crash course or ten in creative writing. And LGBTQ+ sensitivity. The acting is a bit over the top as well, but given the awful script, you can't blame them. C. Jay Cox's direction does nothing to lift up this Cali mess.

The ending is also ridiculous and far fetched. Don't waste one minute of your life watching this because you'll never get that time back.

Somewhat overused plot. Not very imaginative. About the only thing that was of much interest was the two beautifully handsome, hot and well toned male leads. Were it not for their interactions and physical "love" scenes, I would not have watched this movie all the way through. Beyond the love between these two, the film was mostly dull and boring.

Somewhat overused plot. Not very imaginative. About the only thing that was of much interest was the two beautifully handsome, hot and well toned male leads. Were it not for their interactions and physical "love" scenes, I would not have watched this movie all the way through. Beyond the love between these two, the film was mostly dull and boring.

KISS THE BRIDE is simply one of the most outstanding romantic comedies released in 2007. It will surely bring back memories... memories that one may cherish or regret for the rest of his life. I am damn sure that a lot of normal straight guys can relate with the film except those who are in total denial for whatever reason they may have, and of course those who unfortunately didn't have the chance of experimenting during their adolescence.

Surely the film has some flaws but forgettable ones that they definitely will not ruin your viewing pleasure. The portrayals of Tori, Philipp and James are just amazing. The emotions that run amongst the three particularly during the confrontation were realistically touching. The supporting cast also made sure that their contributions added more colours to the feature and even some unimportant scenes become as important as they added certain flavours that tickle the viewers and at the same time make some uncertainties certain.

Watch out for a roller-coaster ride in the end from approximately 01:25!

This is an oft-used line, but it really sums up this movie..."If this is the current state of gay cinema, then we're in real trouble". I saw this film at SIFF because of the high IMDb rating (7.6) and if there was ever a case of vote stacking on IMDb, then this is it. Just watch the number fall over the release weeks of the film.

Easy plot...Boy finds out his high school ex (boyfriend) is getting married to a female friend of theirs so he goes back to his old hometown (still carrying a 10 year old torch) to see what happened.

First off, I liked "Latter Days", the director's last feature, despite its cookie cutter characters and plot contrivances, but you're supposed to become a better director with each subsequent release. I don't know how you get horrible supporting performances out of so many TV veterans (Robert Foxworth, Joanna Cassidy, Tori Spelling), but somehow he managed to. The writing was Lifetime Network quality (way back when they were REALLY bad) and the situations were unbelievable AND uncomfortably hard to watch. I kept reaching for a non-existent remote control to fast forward, but ultimately made myself stay to the end, hoping for a decent ending. Ugh...no. Even the gratuitous male nudity that popped up during the movie was so blatantly gratuitous that it seemed to be there to keep people in their seats.

To be fair...the 2 leads, especially in the gratuitous nude scenes, were gorgeous. There was also a real sweetness between them during their rekindling friendship as they uncovered how they went separate ways. And the film looked great...good quality and color saturation for an independent film.

How is it that network TV can give week after week of great, entertaining weekly episodes (Like "Ugly Betty", "Desp. Housewives", etc.), but so many feature releases in similar genres can be as bad as this?