Pit Stop

Am 56 and was searching for gay themed movies on Youtube when I came across this move. I have long dreamed of the type of gay movie I would like to see made..and this fit the bill in every way. You have two brilliant actors playing masculine gay men in small town America. You see an expertly crafted display of a universal theme - the need to be loved and with the one you love. The movie was low budget, but the script and performances were real and made up for any "cheapness" in the look of the movie. Although I didn't need to see the intense sex scene near the end, it was well made, convincing and served a purpose - to show how the sex between these men was more than just raw sex and a one night stand. I, too, was left wanting to see more of the budding relationship form between these two gay men...but was satisfied that the ending implied there were better times to come for these two men.

You follow th life of two broken hearted men, Gabe and Ernesto, who live in the same town, go to the same places and work 100 ft away without even knowing each other.

It may seem a little still at the beginning and by the trailer you might expect it to progress into a much more sexualized interaction between characters, but it turns out to be a nice romantic drama, which was a nice surprise.

It's not one of those "instant love" movies in which two people meet, fall madly in love and ride in a white horse to the horizon, it's a bit deeper than that, showing you about how you can "move on" how and when you least expect it.

I recommend it.

Really terrific acting by the two male leads and very well directed.

Pit Stop is a wonderful new film from director Yen Tan. It is the story of two mid-thirtyish gay men, Gabe and Ernesto, living separate but not totally dissimilar low key working class lives in the same Texan small town. Separately each man is yearning for love and emotional fulfillment while respectively struggling with his daily life and relationships. The focus is on Gabe and Ernesto but everyone in the film is a real person with a story to tell. All are portrayed in a thoughtful and empathetic way with no one casually discarded for the sake of storytelling expediency. This is a true character study of people finding their way in life and love and one cares about what will happen to them.

Gabe is divorced but trying to sustain his family for the sake of his young daughter. He has recently been rejected by a male lover who is married and now moved away. Ernesto is trying to end a two year relationship that has fallen apart and has no future. At the same time he is dutifully visiting a previous lover who lies comatose in a convalescent home following a car accident. Both men want more but their personal situations and the small town environment constrain them from being who they are and achieving the love and intimacy they long for and deserve. Both men still want to be wanted.

The film is beautifully made and the ensemble cast, led by Bill Heck as Gabe and Marcus DeAnda as Ernesto, is top notch. Pit Stop is a moving film that deserves a wide audience. Fans of Tan's earlier film, Ciao, will particularly like Pit Stop.

Odd review history here. First there are nothing but wonderful reviews followed by nothing but terrible reviews. Don't know what that means, but it seems peculiar. This is an intelligent, very slow moving film concentrating on the lives of two gay men, though one is obviously bi-sexual, that you know are going to come together for a love story, but it takes one hour for these two to meet in a one hour and twenty minute film. However, what saves it is that their individual stories are interesting and bit unusually similar. Both are nice guys still connected with their ex's. One with his ex-wife who still care and need each other as they were best friends prior to trying marriage and remain that way, along with together raising a young daughter. And the other with his ex-boyfriend who wants to get out of a small town in Texas, which I would think understandable, but the other doesn't. For a film with so many nice people, not many seem very happy with their lives. The acting is good by the four principles (I particularly liked Bill Heck & Bailey Bass) and it's a decent film, but you have to like film as even at this short a length there are many scenes in which nothing of significance occurs.