Dog Tags

Written and directed by Damion Dietz, Dog Tags opens with "Nate" (Paul Preiss) getting ready to head off to the army. We see that he is close to his mom, but not really so close to his girlfriend Trish. At the same time, we meet "Andy" (Bart Fletcher), serious and sad, who isn't sure what he wants to do, and doesn't fit in with his peers. Then we go to flashback, and see how Nate and Andy meet up, and THAT is an interesting story. We learn things about BOTH of them that they themselves hadn't known before. They have both come from extremely dysfunctional home-situations, with major gaps in their family histories. We "flash forward" here and there, and sometimes it takes a minute to figure out what's going on, but overall a good script and good story. Some nudity and sexual situations - definitely not for the kiddies. The only drawback I found was that there are no-subtitles for the hearing impaired. I see there is a director's commentary track, so that might be fun to hear. Impressive first starring role acc to IMDb (is that right??) for Paul Preiss. Fun and tastefully done.

This films has some very good and very competent actors. Unfortunately, the script, directing and editing don't match the caliber of acting. There was never any connection between the main characters and those around them. They just popped in and out of the story. Sure, we know how they're related to each character. But we are never shown any reason for them being in the script. Some expositional dialog only makes it worse.

The story moves way too slowly. Too many moments are built up, only to be let down by an unfulfilled scene climax. For instance (being very general so as not to give anything away) a soldier comes back from boot camp to discover something that should send him way over the top. Instead, the script has him easily dismissing this situation with nothing more than a sigh. What?????

There are too many cross shots that really don't do anything to impact the story. Such as a shot of an abandoned drive-in screen to a shot of a garage door. There's no significance to it. This is just one example. The cross shots seem to be nothing than an exercise you'd do in college while trying to discover your vision and voice as a director.

And lastly, if you're going to have a stand-in for the intimate man-on-man sex scene, at least find somebody who actually looks like your star! That guy had longer hair, long sideburns, a different profile and different body shape! It was glaringly visible that he was a mis-matched stand-in.

I would have rated this film a "1" except that the acting kept me from doing so. The actors were the only reason I watched the entire film ... over 3 nights. There's no way I could have done it at just one sitting. There are some real stand outs in this film.

Okay. So this movie was by far not one of my favorites, but it wasn't that bad either. But what really got me was the person reviewing who complained about "body doubles". Dude - the intimate scene between the two main characters actually was a hark-back to one of the main character's PREVIOUS intimate encounters. He was with the guy that initially got him interested in military men - NOT the guy in the room with him. Watch it again, catch the audio clues about the guy's first love, and then watch that sequence and you'll see it.

Overall, it was not a bad movie. It was well done for what it was - a movie about two strangers that somehow make a connection. The character development was actually done well. It was the acting, and some of the cuts to the story (probably during the editing process) that left the end result jagged and mis-connected - which probably led to the previous person's confusion about the supposed 'body double'.

It is hard to find this genre and have it acted well. I found DOG TAGS to be one of the best I have seen in recent years. The story is moving and believable. The characters are well drawn. Brad Fletcher is fantastic as Andy the carefree gay guy. On the surface, he is free-wheeling, but underneath he is vulnerable. Paul Preiss is amazing as Nate the marine recruit who is trying to find himself and his long absent father. He is strong and sensitive. After Nate and Andy meet in a less than ideal setting and a bad experience happens for Nate, the two form a bond. In the end, they are left with hope for better lives. I think it is wonderful that we are getting some better gay genre movies of late. SHELTER, LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP, BACK SOON and OUTING RILEY to name a few. I am glad to add DOG TAGS to my recommendation list. See it, I don't think DOG TAGS will disappoint.

But not such an interesting movie.

The story slowly unfolds before you and you discover two guys that come from completely different backgrounds and yet both find in each other something the other needs emotionally and psychologically.

Maybe actors with a better creative range in character development would have helped this film. The story is the star here and each character pales beneath it. By movies end you simply don't care and you sort of suspected the big revelation all along. I don't want to give this movie a completely bad review because it does offer up a different story and doesn't completely fail in telling it. The movie is just slow and frankly the Marine comes across as a bit scary! And the Goth guy is too 'together' to be living the directionless path he as chosen. He comes across as mature and experienced yet living as if he isn't.

An OK movie but I'm afraid the cover is a bit misleading.