Slutty Summer

Although ambitious, this film doesn't quite pull it all together. Telling the tale of newly single, Markus complete with "homo-in-the-big-city" treatment. Every stereotype is represented, even the single and looking gal pal (played quite well by Virginia Bryan). Most scenes are acted as though everyone is aware they are making a movie rather than playing real-life characters. There are some stand-out moments where the characters come through, but overall the attempt seems self-serving. The worst acting performance hands down is Lance Werth as Kevin, the restaurant manager. I couldn't help but think how fitting this role would have been if it had been played by Mink Stole of John Waters fame. Although Werth gives it his best, it isn't enough and he embarrasses himself, and the rest of the cast with this lousy performance.

This is an awful movie !! Full of sexual teasing, pseudo philosophical type discussions and moody, pensive poses by the male lead (who also wrote it : natch) it seems little more than a mindless vehicle for he and his friends self promotion - and of course to show us how "cool" they are. At best one might say it is all very adolescent, although it is full of clichés and badly acted on top of it all. The "profound" philosophical discussions are about as deep as a gold-fish bowl and would at least be silly if they weren't so pretentious. Portentous Wittgenstein type dilemmas like when to use "sleeping together" and when to say "f***king* and the ongoing "sociology 101 debate" of whether men are capable of monogamy are all conducted on a level that would embarrass a High School class. There is even the obligatory snide remark about people who are "fat" or "over-forty", of which you can be sure that there are NONE in this movie. This is clearly not a movie any "non-trendy" gay man is going to find himself represented in. As a movie specifically aimed at the gay market (whatever the promoters might say) I would say frankly we deserve A LOT better.

I like gay movies and I liked a lot about this movie. The guys were very cute especially the guy who was the director who was also in it. I also liked the woman who was very funny but the movie is obviously pretty cheap and the story kept going over the same thing over and over again and it started to get a little dull. i am really glad I have netflix because this is a perfect rental but not really something to go out and buy. one other thing was how it seems like it would be a comedy but mostly it is very serious. If it is a movie about serious relationships then don't put a guy grabbing another guy on the cover. it just makes you feel a little ripped off.

"Hey now, summer in the city, independent film looking dull and gritty..." It's no wonder that SLUTTY SUMMER is one tired film, it's creator Casper Andreas wrote the script, directed, edited the film, played the lead and provided the craft services. He's exhausted and distracted and it shows. He enlists his friends to play along, and the acting ranges from 'godawful' (Lance Werth as restaurant manager Kevin, in a turn that makes Charles Nelson Reilly look like Lord Olivier) to passable (Catherine O'Hara-like Virginia Bryan as the only female and resident fag hag). Andreas' only 'new find' is Jeffrey Christopher Todd as a prudish gay aptly named Peter (wink wink). Sadly - with the exception of Todd - most of these folks are not especially attractive (or at least not attractively photographed) which can be the saving grace of a lame film like this.

Production values are poor, at best, with horrible sound, made worse by noisy exterior locations and geographically untraceable accents from some of the principals, including Andreas. The cliché-ridden script breaks no new ground ("You can't fire me, I quit!") and contributes nothing to the genre. The tone ranges from high camp comedy to soap opera seriousness, without much success at either end of the spectrum. If viewing SLUTTY on DVD, go directly to the SPECIAL FEATURES section for a series of on the street interviews by cast member Jesse Archer. On the summer streets of New York's Greenwich Village, Archer (a hundred times more winning here than he ever is in the film) asks folks the definition of a 'slut' as well as some of the key questions the film's script clumsily throws out. Now, THIS would have made an interesting film - SLUTTY SUMMER: The Documentary.

Sometimes the title of a film has connotations that put people off, preventing them from viewing a film that has a lot of good points just because the title is tacky. Such is the case for SLUTTY SUMMER. This low budget first film by writer/producer/director/actor Casper Andreas may not have the substance or finesse that other independent films have, but taken as a whole it is an entertaining outing that deserves more credit than it has received. One wonders if a different title and cover image would have resulted in a larger more attentive audience.

Summer in Manhattan and new writer Marcus (Andreas) has just terminated a relationship with unfaithful Julian (Christos Klapsis) and finds solace in his man-hungry but gay-friendly friend Marilyn (Virginia Bryan) who lands him a waiter position in a small restaurant where all waiters are various stereotypes of gay men: ex-model sleeparound Tyler (Jamie Hatchett), hopeless romantic wannabe actor Peter (Jeffrey Christopher Todd), nellie flamboyant one night stander Luke (Jesse Archer) and the obnoxious manager Kevin (Lance Werth). Through a lot of visits to bars and hangouts the crew try to soften Markus' hurt and in doing so open Markus' eyes (indeed, everyone's eyes) to the significance of relationships in the flippant world of gay Manhattan.

Yes, the story has been done before but life keeps repeating the same stories, too, and it is fine to have a different take on same sex ways of life and philosophy in the big city. For a film shot in 14 days there is a fine amount of attention paid to small details of conversations. Markus proves an economical director. The cast of mostly inexperienced actors does well, and even if they do seem to be parodies of stereotypes, they do establish understandable characters. For a first film this is a pretty successful outing. With different packaging perhaps it could have had a better chance in the theaters. Grady Harp