De Zéro à I Love You

Soap opera of fraught interracial affair between out gay and closeted gay in hetero marriage. Not terrible, the leads are pretty, some good moments, but oh my it just goes on and on and on repetitively in familiar territory. I don't for a moment believe there is any passion here -- even the betrayed parties seem like they'll be fine after a stiff drink. The script meanders, and it looks like everybody was afraid to bring any scale to the thing; acting is not just "looking natural" -- you've got to take us someplace, show us things . . .

This is a movie about a white closeted married guy who dates a black single guy with a history of dating white closeted married guys. While the premise seems to hold the potential for an engaging story and the production is at least competent, it falls hopelessly flat in every respect. It simply isn't dramatic enough, funny enough, heartwarming enough, or steamy enough to be worthwhile. Everything here is skin deep. There's no reason for the audience to get behind a guy who seems to see his devoted wife and daughters as mere baggage, and shirks his responsibilities to them at every turn. A couple doleful piano notes as the boyfriend is left hanging again (as if he couldn't see it coming) isn't near enough to tug at my heartstrings. I'd suggest the filmmakers go out and live a little, and find something more substantial to write about. But at least they got the title right - there's plenty of Zero, a bit of I Love You, and not much in between.

Oh, and - there's not a closeted guy on the planet who'd ask his secretary to send a dozen roses to a man.

Pete, a single black man, has an affair with Jack, a married white man. Pete's father, a lawyer, is upset that Pete is dating a married man for the 4th time, and urges Pete to commit and settle down. Meanwhile, Jack has had homosexual episodes since his teens, married the prettiest girl in his class, had 2 kids, and both Jack and his wife have successful careers. Regardless of his behavior, Jack confesses to his counselor that he doesn't want to be gay or bisexual. While Pete and Jack declare their love for each other, will Jack finally divorce his wife, and will Pete be willing to wait for the divorce?

I saw this at the Inside Out LGBT festival, and the Q+A answered a puzzle I was having. The story was set in the present - Jack's brother-in-law warns Jack against leaving an electronic footprint by texting or sending "dick pics", and Jack's lawyer jokes about his "1st divorce", given that same-sex marriage is now legal. But the "don't want to be gay" attitude seemed to be from an earlier period. It turns out that the inspiration for this film came from the writer / director's experiences earlier in life, before he became too old to play Pete himself. OK, I understand, but it still means I give it a mixed review.

Since the first moment I saw this picture I knew it was going to be a big compromise from me to not jump to conclusions that it was going to be a Hollywood Fake Movie. And it was! I didn't believe in the acting of any involved in this drama story where i found everything very insipid and so predictable specially from the the cast of this film! Everything sounded so annoying and honestly for me it was only a gay story where production, direction and acting was just a Big try from rescuing some Dramatic Love (Unbelievable) Scenes that did not make the movie any better!

Frankly, I could watch anything with the apparently ageless, engaging and charming Darryl Stephens in it, so I'll try to get through this review with as little bias as possible. But in truth, Spearman has assembled a talented cast that delights from beginning to end. Stephens has palpable chemistry with his handsome co-star, Scott Bailey. Keili Lefkovitz is effervescent in the potentially thankless role of the down-low guy's wife, and Stephen Bowman is a ton of fun as Stephen's best friend. Veteran Richard Lawson - trivia: his first credited role, in 1971, was "Homosexual", in Dirty Harry. He went on to appear in pretty much everything, including Dynasty (1986) and Angry Boys (2011) - plays Stephen's father, who, in a refreshing twist, is a black father who doesn't have a problem with his gay son.

Good gay rom-coms don't come along very often. From Zero To I Love You manages to be hopelessly romantic, a hoot, and genuinely insightful (the damage wrought by Pete and Jack's affair isn't merely brushed under the carpet).

Surprising, enchanting, and sexy, From Zero To I Love You is a winner. Doug Spearman: what's next?