200 American

I am a playwright, movie script author and arts critic for a major newspaper chain, 80 years old and straight and I believe the writer/director did an unusual job considering that it was a no budget movie made under some of the most difficult conditions.

That he did not push nude or sex scenes showed clearly that he was not shooting this for the porn community or the gay niche community alone, but was trying to make a serious statement. You may criticize the statement from your point of view, but not the artistic intent.

Instead of some of these reviews that are nothing but catty, make your own movie under the same conditions and see how well you do.

The actors were not bad at all and I give credit to the writer/director for having the guts to create, rather than be one who sits around, considers himself a "critiquer" and spews negatives.

I gave it six out of ten stars, half of which were A's for effort. The basic premise is entirely plausible, but some of the subplots are pretty silly. Circumstances revolve around an ad agency and its owner. If you've ever worked in an ad agency, and I have, this is kind of a comic book idea of what that would be like. None of it rang true for me. The photo shoot scenes were also painfully amateurish.

Nevertheless, two of the lead actors eventually won me over. The guy who plays the Australian hustler does an extraordinarily good job--very understated--with a difficult stereotype: the hustler with a heart of gold. Pretty Woman is referenced early on, but when we meet this guy, the level of trust we have for him is nothing like we instantly feel for Julia Roberts. He's slightly menacing, clearly hiding something. Through the course of the film he gradually reveals his gold heart, and it's done at just the right pace. It was a surprise to learn he's not Australian--the accent had me fooled.

The guy who plays his love interest also does well, even though he struggles with some impossible dialog in his office scenes. The guy who plays his boss is the weakest link in the chain. His performance is in that close-but-no-cigar category. Acceptable, but not much more. The other performances are a grab bag, quality-wise.

Is it worth renting? If you're working your way through the LGBT oeuvre like I am, yes. Keep you expectations low and you won't be disappointed.

Not nearly as bad as the comment "Embarrassing" made it out to be --- I've seen far worse production values and acting, and the lead (Sean Matic) is actually a fairly decent actor. Comparing this movie to porn is incomprehensible, as the movie shows no skin below the belt, and no sexual activity either. Yes, the story is weak, with parts that are both forced and cliché, but there are also parts that break the cliché slightly and a few good emotional moments that end up making it at least watchable.

The interviews on the DVD are interesting, though I haven't yet watched with the commentary track to say how well done they are, but usually the descriptions of "guerrilla film-making" are educational for the filmmaker wannabee...

Many of these negative reviews gripe about the poor production quality and the poor editing....well, try having NO budget (i.e., no money allocated, no funding) for a movie and see how high the production quality can get! I thought this film was an admirable piece of work. If one listens to the director's comments, many of the actors had to help carry the equipment around the set too! Basically, you have to compare this to a college level , purely voluntary, no budget film. In which case, this film comes out tops. One reviewer was comparing the movie to "Hitch"...umm, that movie had WILL SMITH in it, of course there was for more cash for the cinematography and music selection...millions more dollars i might add.

The actors did a great job and were all very hot. Definitely something worth checking out. Good story too, which was not cliché or overly angsty.

I went in expecting a bad movie, knowing the budget was low. But right from the start, I was charmed. Particularly by the actor playing Sean, the Australian hustler. I thought he did a great job of acting. The guy who played Conrad turned out better and better as the movie went along, until you really like him by the end. Very soon into the movie you start rooting for Sean, and you can't wait to find out how things will work out. The actor who played Micheal was also great, and it was fun watching him come on to Sean. I think everyone did the best they could do, considering no money, and although the music certainly wasn't the best, what are you going to get with no money? And at least it did set the right mood. I hope to see Sean Matic in another movie, he really did a great job of acting.Hopefully someone in the business saw him and will give him a chance. Overall, I'd say, don't go expecting a big budget, well done move, but do except that for a low budget movie, this one was pretty darn good. It's fun, easy to identify with the characters, it has charm, and there is one good kiss to make it all worthwhile.