Eating Out

EATING OUT is a good looking film. It's young stars are hunky, sexy guys who look great on camera and turn in credible performances. The gal pals are a gay man's fantasia, however - as one character says "a reality show without the camera crew". The film manages to neatly hide it's low budget roots. After a few establishing shots of Tuscon, we forget the rest of the film is basically house-bound. The centerpiece of EATING OUT (the title has nothing to do with finding a good restaurant) is a phone sex scene that manages to be quite sexy despite it's extended length. The film's biggest disappointment (and disservice) is it's idiotic dialogue. Characters speak in a "Clueless" slang that is both annoying and unreal. The fatuous dialogue turns the likable cast superficial. It might be cute to occasionally say 'parfait' for 'perfect' and 'Fabio' for 'fabulous' but when every line contains something like this, it gets annoying. There are also a lot of 'jokes' and 'one liners' (a truly appalling one about being HIV positive) that don't contribute much. If this is Oscar Wilde, he's slumming. Turn off the volume and just watch EATING OUT - then it'll be nearly parfait - maybe even downright Fabio.

This little film plays more like a French farce than a Hollywood film and if watched with that in mind it is sure to entertain. So many writers have mined this vein of boy playing girl playing boy in the web of catching the designated lover that it must be one of the more durable lines for comedy success through the years. Adding the contemporary slant of gay proposing straight posing as gay so that straight can get girl and gay can get lover works...but you have to stay with this one to catch all the double entendres that make it fun.

Classical music student Marc (a new 'Brad Pitt' like Ryan Carnes!) is a popular gay hunk who lives with Gwen (Emily Brooke Hands) who thinks she is the one responsible for making straight boys turn gay (!), so convinced is she that all the good men are gaily unavailable to her. Caleb (Scott Lunsford) is a straight guy who lives with jazz music student gay Kyle (Jim Verraros) in a purely roommate situation. Caleb, after an hilarious opening physical setup encounter with Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan), is convinced that gay men have an easier time of getting partnered than straight men. At a party Caleb meets Gwen who thinks Caleb is with Kyle, Caleb wants Gwen, and Kyle wants the apparently aloof Marc. Kyle convinces Caleb that if Caleb poses as gay he will gain entry into the Gwen/Marc abode and have access to Gwen while Kyle will have access to Marc. A spur of the moment telephone sex call (Gwen is attempting to turn on Caleb in front of Marc) results in Caleb and Marc 'hitting it off' much to the confusion of everyone. Add a dinner party for the four people involved which Caleb's ever-so-accepting family also attends and the whole situation explodes. How this whole schema plays out is the punch line of the film and all's well that end's well! The cast is young and inexperienced and in need of a heavier directorial hand, but they are unanimously lovable and the men are certainly eye candy. As written and directed by Q. Allan Brocka EATNG OUT sails along breezily and provides enough fun for all audiences. Grady Harp

I just saw this movie on the last day of the 2004 Newfest in NYC. It won my highest ratings of the festival. Structurally it is based on all the classical lovers comedies of Shakespeare or Wilde. The dialogue is funny. The film is well cast and well acted. The audience was laughing more than at any other of the ten or so screenings I sat through during the festival.

Synopsis: a straight man, Caleb, who is striking out with girls takes a tip from his gay roommate to pretend he is gay in order to score better with women. Trouble starts when he is 'outed' to a party of people and then becomes the object of a feral sex hunt by both gay men an fag hag women who want to 'turn him around.' Ridiculous situation after another ensue culminating with an emotional and hilarious 'outing' at a dinner party to his parents. Just as the ruse seems to overwhelm him, there is a resolution and happy ending for all (sound familiar?) I hope this one makes it to wider release.

I agree with the 50% of viewers that gave it a 9 or 10.

I saw this movie even after reading all the horrible reviews. Expecting the worst, this movie really isn't that bad! It's a funny, light, fluff comedy. Everyone seems to have hooked-up with everyone in this tale of boy-wants-girl-who-wants boy-who-wants-boy. It's reminiscent of the teen comedies of the past decade, but with a gay twist. There are a lot of unspoken elements to the plot that add to the Ralston's of the gay world - such as the flamboyant "straight" boy who's girlfriend doesn't catch on. Caelb's oversexed ex-girlfriend is hysterical and under-used.

The much-hyped phone sex scene is very well done and will make most audience members (gay or straight, male or female) squirm their seat - and likely the reason this movie isn't rated. If you are going for the full-frontal male nude scene of Ryan Carnes and Scott Lansford, don't blink or you'll miss it! If you are looking for a fun way to spend 90 minutes, check out Eating Out. And stay for the hidden scene after the credits!

This film has to be one of the worst Gay Cinema train wrecks I've seen in some time. The dialogue is so raunchy it would make a truck driver blush. I won't describe the plot, there really isn't any. One unbelievable scene is where a straight guy lets a gay guy give him oral sex. The nudity was exploitive and it was obvious it was there for titillation and not the plot. I felt bad for the actors in this mess. The only chuckle I got out of this was in the beginning when some blonde actress in a fur trimed bikini top looked like she was doing an impression of Jennifer Coolidge. Even that was probably not intentional. AVOID THIS MOVIE LIKE THE PLAGUE, unless you are a masochist!