Hold Your Peace

I wasn't sure during movie, the first half or so, what was bad, what was good. (From the beginning, the music was terrible and didn't fit) But near the end and by the end and what happens at the end, this movie was dreadful, bad, stupid, lacking any talent. As another reviewer here on IMDb about this movie, the one big ending was SOO AWFUL and BAD and done in a flash. Geeez it was so bad! And even the little closing after that was edited just as bad. Bad directing, awful script, bad acting, terrible editing, etc. DON'T WASTER YOUR TIME AND MONEY if you haven't yet. Whew!! It stinks!

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You can have a very decent idea on paper and it does sound very exciting when you start working on it. But when it comes to execution, the impact goes completely missing. This is exactly what happened with this film. On paper, it would have sounded quite new and nice, and to an extent it came out fine on screen as well but in totally this film was missing a lot of things, the main thing being the connection with me. I just was not able to connect to the film. I will write more on why it failed to do so.

Its been 2 years since Aiden and Max broke up but Aiden is still hung up on his old love. Meanwhile Max found Forrest and they are about to get married. When Max's best man bails out at the last minute, his only option left is Aiden who after initial reluctance agrees. He realizes that he cannot go to the wedding alone and he needs a boyfriend. With help from his female roommate Janice, he convinces blond, cutie twink Lance to go with him. But things are not exactly what they seem. Soon it i evident that Max doesn't really appreciate everything that Forrest does for him. Aiden cant stop thinking about Max and lance is falling in love with Forrest. Max finally confronts Max who categorically makes it very clear that it is only Forrest whom he wants and Aiden's chance is lost. Lance in sot so many direct words lets Forrest know about his feelings for him who doesn't reciprocate because he is getting married. And ow the wedding is about to happen and with a sudden twist, the real lovers unite.

This end comes so sudden that I was life WTF. Despite having so much discussions and arguments, no on was ready to give in and now suddenly when priest asks if anyone has any objection, Aiden and Lance just say they do and then suddenly Max is with Aiden and Forrest is with Max. It was so absurd and weird and came out totally bizarre. I man we all knew it will happen, but so sudden? C'mmon. And what was up with Max. His acting was so lame and bad that I cant describe it. His facial expressions wee so forced be it with any of the characters. The only real connection seemed to be just between Janice, Aiden and Lance. Even Forrest was shown a just a sugar sweet guy which just so did not suit his personality. This was one of the reasons that film looked so fake. It just did not connect with me at all. I mean I really did not even feel that Aiden really cared that much about Max, so after a point it rally didn't bother me on who ends up with whom. There were definitely some funny moments but they were all because of Janice and Lance who did decent in their characters.

This romantic comedy falls much short in expectations.

While most gay films try to incorporate some sort of shock value (i.e. sex, drugs, party lifestyle, etc) "Hold Your Peace" gives the "middle America" view of gay culture. Now, whether it actually exists or not is another story, but it was good enough for this light-hearted film. The story centers on the protagonist, played by Chad Ford, who not only finds out his former boyfriend is getting married, but is also invited to be the "best man". Not wanting to show up alone, he invites his sister's "gay best friend" to pose as his boyfriend, and love triangles and hilarity ensue! Well, not really hilarity...I never so much as cracked a smile throughout the film as the dialogue was very stale, poorly delivered and badly written. While there were a couple of good (but typecast) performances (namely Scott Higgins and Aleisha Force), the biggest problem was the fact that Chad Ford is not compelling, charismatic nor a very strong actor to carry of the lead role to this film. Good for a "safe" first gay date.

It took a little while to get into this, but after about 24 minutes the plot really starts to get gripping. The ending was a little bit unexpected. I liked it. Classy. Recommended.

.....at least a Couple of Feet...when I watch a Gay Romance movie.

Sorry to say...this film moved me barely an Inch. Even after a couple of watchings. And here are just a few reasons WHY (I exclude any comment on the storyline, which "itsvivek4u" has already done a good job of providing here on these pages):

• None of the (shared) 4-Leads struck me as being anything other than average actors (tho Blair Dickens, as Forrest, would get my vote for "Stand-Out" in this particular group---and not just because of his above average tallness).

• Lead characters' LIKABLENESS was pretty much Nil for me: dour acting...close-mouthed...whiny...taciturn-looking are just a few of the negative personal traits given these characters by writers and actors (tho, again, Dicken's role was written as more upbeat, more understanding).

• Storyline is stale....having been done 100s of times in heterosexual wedding movies, throughout the history of film.

• Ah, yes...lest I forget The Girls. Since most Gay Romances must give us the B(Girl)FF / Adviser, I'd have to grant that Melissa McCurley, as Samantha, does an OK job. She only butts in, obtrusively, a couple of times (wait...maybe that's supposed to happen---Ugh). The other 3 females on board help stretch out the action...but are not there for much more than that.

• The last minute of the film is a Whirlwind...and I will, again, cede to "itsvivek4u's" (see above) take on that.

Two of the 4-STARs awarded above were added only due to decent cinematography and the acting of Blair / McCurley

I will NOT be keeping this film in my Gay DVD Library.

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