Is It Just Me?

I just attended the Canadian premiere of this movie at "Inside Out" (the Toronto LBGT Film and Video Festival) and was quite surprised at how good it was. Normally, with gay romantic comedies I don't expect too much because they true too hard, but this film was endearing without being overbearing and (in some instances) it was downright charming.

The actors were well-cast, with an especially good comedic performance by Canadian Bruce Gray, and the story is something that I think many gay guys can relate to --- trying to fall in love in sea of sexual conquests in the big city. Based on the overall reaction of the audience in attendance, I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it either.

If you this film rolls through your local LGBT film-fest or when it eventually pops out on video, it really is worth seeing it....

Yes 'is it just me' is a well intentioned little film. But when did watching a gay movie become like watching a Christian film, or even worse a Tyler Perry movie! So many gay films of the last 10+ years have been so limp and predictable and this one is no exception. You know exactly what is going to happen and it features the usual gallery of gay indie clichés, the fag-hag, the slutty friend and the dryly funny/ miserable old queen. Thankfully the performances are good and characters likable. Believe me I get it, there's little money in gay cinema and we need our rom-coms too but we need more genre benders like Hellbent and Another Gay Movie, I can't keep watching the same story just to support gay indie films. Shelter did it best, that felt like a 90s movie, the glory days of gay cinema. Is it just me? I don't think so.

I really like this romantic comedy! The story is really engaging. I find myself feeling so connected with Blaine's pain and sorrow. I love the ending as it touches me a lot. I enjoyed watching it a lot!

Some 5 minutes in the movie, our main lead, Nicholas, went to order a coffee, being treated extremely rudely by the coffee-bar boy, just because he is - at least the movie wanted us to believe - ugly enough to have a complicated coffee order. And instead of showing a spine, he acted as it was a completely normal thing. He also has a bi*chy straight girl-friend and annoying flatmate.

I disliked literally all of the characters of the movie in the first half - including beautiful but pale Xander (the second lead), for smiling like an idiot all the time, his old flatmate for being too curious about his life, Nicholas' boss and his secretary, basically, all characters that had any screen time.

However, somehow the movie turned out to be watchable, even enjoyable and cute. It's not, by any means, a great movie, but it's good enough to give you some emotions and stay entertained. The plot, despite being a bit stupid and easily solvable, still made some sense. And it shows the search for true love from the perspective of a guy most of us tend to believe we are - average, cute, romantic one. 5.5/10

This sweet, small indie movie was very well-received at a Midwest film fest. After seeing it, I chatted with a father who brought his teenage daughter, some elderly folks, as well as gay friends, and everyone loved the way it portrayed gay men seeking romance and love in the same way that straight characters would. It's not that the experience of being gay isn't different - it certainly can be - but in the end we're all human and we want mostly the same things, such as love, respect, the ability to take care of our families and live our lives openly and as we want to live them.

The movie was charming, funny, and ultimately emotionally fulfilling. The lead character is played with empathetic charm by Nicholas Downs, and Bruce Gray is delightful as an over-the- top sentimentalist. This movie treats gay men as "ordinary people" - and that's a delight in and of itself. The twist is that it's a good old-fashioned rom-com... with two men falling in love instead of a woman and a man. Highly recommended.