Straightman

Here's a low budget movie that actually says something positive. We have two male leads, young and full of testosterone, one gay and one straight, who discover and reveal to one another how deep their "friendship" bond is. The dialogue, shots and settings seem very realistic as if the camera is merely a fly on the wall. The screenwriter had a great concept, but it could have been far better if the interior residential settings were not so low end....I actually thought the two leads could have been squatting in some abandoned building. Also, the use of the "f" word was way overdone. Does anyone other than the lower classes use that word that often? The gay lead was attractive, but the camera never shone on his face to highlight his male beauty. That needed corrected. Look at the movie "Weekend", filmed in a similar way. Yet, the director made sure there were a number of well lit, close ups of Tom Cullen's beautiful face. Acting was pretty good. I never felt like they were just reading lines with zero emotion. Would love to see this concept taken to a higher level.

I don't usually skip ahead in movies, but had to do it with this one. Was thanking my dvd remote for that option! Not entirely bad, just overall boring. Ben Redgrave is white trash "eye candy". The homo sex scenes are very erotic. The straight sex scenes were like watching a Ron Jeremy movie. Yuck! A nice attempt for film production. Will be looking for more movies by this novice team. If they can pull it together, lot's of potential.

While browsing the Gay/Lesbian section of an online video site (TLA), I saw a listing for Straightman and gambled with a purchase. This video is a treats amongst the usual menu of Blockbusters. The cowriters costar as best friends, presented with (pardon the much-repeated cliche) warts and all. The script (or improvisation) combines with an acting style not found in films today: I could believe the people on the screen actually exist. There were awkward pauses, looks, and dialog interruptions: all these things contribute to an air of reality. Hollywood studio productions feature spritzed actors rather than perspiring actors; never is a strand of hair out of place; no one reaches for the "right" words. Such is not the case here. We need more films by Ben and Ben. I hope they do another very soon.

Straightman is not without its merits, first and foremost the fact that it shows a kind of gay man not usually seen on the screen, a blue collar, scruffy, fashion-clueless everyman. It also depicts a friendship between a straight man and a gay man which doesn't unravel when the gay friend comes out, but is instead greeted with a matter-of-factness that hopefully happens more often in real life than movies would have you believe. Both Bens are well cast and the real life bond between them is obvious.

What I find hard to believe is that this film won the Best Screenplay award at Outfest, my "local" gay/lesbian film festival. Why? Because there is no screenplay, just I would guess a brief description of what each scene is to be about and the words: Improvise.

That improvisation is the same as real conversation is a huge fallacy. Improv sounds like improv, and is no substitute for well written dialog performed by talented actors who make the audience believe that their words are spontaneous.

Had the writers/director/stars used improvisation as a starting off point, and then written carefully thought out dialog, this film would have avoided the many boring and repetitive moments that others on this site have criticized.

Memo to filmmakers: Get a script, have your actors learn their lines, rehearse, and say the words. You'll end up with a much realer film than this one.

Great storyline, but the execution was a bit strange -- almost feels like they are improvising as they go along, lots of pausing and repeating while we think of what we're going to say next. Dude is best friends with a straight couple, and when they bust up, the two guys move in together, which (of course) will have its own challenges. the BENS... Ben Berkowitz and Ben Redgrave star in Straightman. and they wrote the script together, as well. it's pretty good, but the actual execution needs some tightening up. (Lynn Redgrave DID have a son ben, but its not clear if this is the same guy...) the men are everyday guys, no fawncy models here, but the women are all pretty foxy. it's pretty good, if you overlook some of the silly, rambling discussions, and part of THAT can be chalked up to the drinking going on a lot of the time. This one is directed by Berkowitz, and the two Bens will collaborate again on Polish Bar some years later. showing on Filmrise channel.