The Curiosity of Chance

This film can't seem to figure out where it's taking place. The awful accents were enough to make me quit watching.

I will preface this comment with the fact that this was an indie film and low budget.

That being said, bravo. I was amazed how close the characters in the movie to the aspects of mine, and probably every gay man's, life. Tad and Brett borough the characters to life with such a brilliant portrayal of the outcast and the in-crowder stepping out. I will admit there were a couple times the dialog seemed a bit interesting and/or almost forced, but overall, i would recommend this movie to anyone. The gay aspect is not shoved in your face, so anyone who enjoys teen comedies can enjoy this.

Easily the best thing about "The Curiosity Of Chance" is that the Devo song "That's Good" accompanies the opening credits.

The rest of the film is really quite lame, barely entertaining, and highly forgettable.

The screenplay is far too apparently contrived and self-consciously striving to appear witty - and it is delivered with a distinct lack of passion or conviction.

I don't like that the main protagonist is a cruel smart-arsed vile little body fascist and yet he's presented as someone whom we ought to feel empathy for as he struggles for non-judgmental acceptance.

Chock full of tired gay movie clichés, there is particularly unforgivable opportunistic and abusive stereotyping in the portrayal of the school principal - who is targeted relentlessly for our supposed amusement as an overweight woman with no self-awareness of her body odour problem.

Noticeably placed eye candy in the form of actor Brett Chukermen is diminished by the fact that Brett doesn't move outside of the range of facial expressions which are almost trademarked "Jake Gyllenhaal".

I really can't see any reason to recommend this film to anyone - not even the Devo intro saves it.

This had the potential of being a really good film but unfortunately falls flat because it doesn't know what kind of film it wants to be.

Had this been a comedy set in the US during the 2000s about a gay teen finding himself through drag it might have worked well enough to scrape a 7, as is. But it is a borderline 6 for me. For starters it is difficult to believe schools like this existed anywhere in Europe like this back in the 80s.

It wasn't awful I watched it to the end and there are some nice touching moments. Unfortunately, it doesn't develop any of the myriad themes it tries to include. The actors do work hard at it, to their credit.

A culture clash movie about an out and proud drag queen from the US in a conservative 80s school in Belgium would have made for a more interesting and ultimately satisfying film. The Belgian actors could have spoken mostly in Dutch/ Flemish or French even, depending on where it was supposed to be. The accented English dialogue distracts us from the narrative. Subtitles in this case would have been less of a distraction.

Equally, a teen romance movie about 2 boys coming together to face their bullies through music or drag would have worked very well too. It needn't have had to been a romance either to work. It subverts the usual trope of the out kid bringing the closeted kid into the light, I suppose but it just isn't believable.

A more recent film like Handsome Devil, proves that it could work. Returning to this film I don't understand the bullies motivations to behave the way they do and the inconsistent reactions their victims have.

There is enough drama going on with the football team without shoehorning the trauma at home too. I recently rewatched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure first as a grown up and the Dads' are a class act in trying/failing to deal with their respective kids delinquency. The premise is totally idiotic but nothing feels implausible whilst watching it.

I'm not exactly a fan of Perks of Being a Wallflower but it established all the above themes using secondary gay characters in only a couple scenes. Unlike the Curiousity of Chance this was a very serious and sombre undertaking. They worked a lot better and were believable reactions from all the players.

Here we had a whole film fo develop something along those lines and I just think what a waste.

It is important to note:

Considering its budget, it's not bad.

At the beginning, it was not well established that it is in Europe, in an American-style, English- immersion high school, which is not uncommon for cities with larger U.S. military bases nearby. They are free to U.S. military dependents and any remaining availability is open to local citizens wishing greater U.S. and/or English language exposure.

Also, being in Europe, the drinking age in most places is 16, and it is why seeing high school students in clubs that serve alcohol isn't too unusual. Unlike the U.S., by high school, a student in Europe is expected to be a responsible adult, and are given the rights of an adult such as drive, drink and legal sex.

"The Curiosity of Chance" is a good movie for young (questioning) Gays, from about 12 to 18. The lower ratings given here are from egocentric wannabe critics with an inability to see a movie through the eyes of its intended audience. It's sad these home critics cannot remember the struggles of being a Gay teen. This movie gives very good advice, albeit in an unsophisticated way… but, it's a teen movie. Other good Gay teen movies are…

"Beautiful Thing" (1996), "Edge of Seventeen" (1998), "L.I.E." (2001), "Cowboys & Angels" (2003), "Dream Boy" (2008), "Were The World Mine" (2008), "Noordzee (North Sea) Texas" (2011), "Struck by Lightning" (2012)

For our Gay Mormon, older teen, brothers, see "Latter Days" (2003) and "The Falls" (2012)