What Happens Next

How come I never go for a walk in the park and meet an eligible CEO who is just about to sell his company? Well that's what happens when the young "Andy" (Chris Murrah) is sitting on a bench with his dog and he is joined by "Paul" (Jon Lindstrom) who has just acquired his new pup and they duly bond over doggie stories. Over a period of time, they begin to get to know each other and we quickly establish the former is a gay lad whilst the latter is constantly being harangued by his sister "Elise" (Wendie Malick) to meet a nice lady. The more she pushes, the more he finds himself drawn to his new young friend but having been so dedicated on his business for his life so far, has he the faintest idea how the whole courting game works - boy or girl? It's got the look of a television movie about it from start to finish, has some terribly cheesy dialogue and is about as predicable as the sun coming up in Jamaica - except possibly, for Malick who brings a little hutzpah to this otherwise routine drama. It does focus a little on age-gap politics, and on assumptions ill-informed people can jump to but sadly it does nothing particularly originally and leaves us with little of substance. Daytime fodder, sorry.

Wendy Malick, who plays Elise (and for some reason I can't see credited in the cast list above … maybe she didn't want her name associated with this movie??) was about the only central character in this film who was believable, although at times even she seemed to be overplaying her role.

Paul is in his fifties and has no inkling that he's gay. Right. He's been a successful businessman who just sold his business and is a bit at a loss as to what he's going to do now that he's retired. He meets Andy, who is in his twenties, in the park. Andy strikes up a conversation with Paul. Paul acts like this is the first person he's ever met. He's unable to respond to even the simplest questions without long pauses. I mean does it really take 15 seconds for a successful businessman to come up with a response to, "ok if I sit here?" and other things normal people can react to without a thought? And the twenty year old Andy falls in love with the 55 year old Paul who can't seem to carry on the simplest conversation, seems to be really uptight & uncomfortable about anything gay, is nearly twice his age and Andy isn't even sure Paul is gay … right.

The characters, their interactions, the dialogue and the inconsistencies in their behavior are all difficult to believe. What happens next or in this case what happens at the end of the movie, is a bit difficult to swallow as well.

Some funny moments … the dogs are cute … but I spent most of the movie feeling uncomfortable about it all and, what I assume was supposed to be a happy ending didn't relieve this discomfort.

A good cast and good acting is what kept this story afloat, as unlikely as the plot seemed. Most young gay guys would never consider dating a much older man. Here we have an age gap of at least 30 years. So what we end up with is a very contrived romance comedy of sorts. Many gay themed movies have had "out" characters who insist that anyone they intend to date has to be totally comfortable with public displays of over affection. I think it's completely rational to expect discretion in public spaces by refraining from strong statements of affection. As is typical, in this movie, we have the young gay character demanding that his older, romantic partner be willing to publicly display their affection for one another, or else it's a no go. Sounds more like an unreasonable spoiled brat to me. Still....a cute movie with good acting, good production values and worth watching at least once.

I've been waiting for this movie for a long time. It is far from stellar execution, but certainly not the worst for a low budget film. The script could be cleaned up a bit. The acting isn't great and a few shots could have used a few more takes to make them more real and believable.

Overall, I can't complain about the total experience. The main content of the film should be familiar to absolutely anyone who has been apart of a gay relationship. The reality is that different people are at different stages of coming out given any couple. This puts a strain on the relationship.

This movie explores how this can evolve and how both sides are responsible for the problems caused by having a justified unwillingness to compromise on how public the relationship should be. The pacing may feel slow to people used to blockbusters, but it suits the film just right as it lets the relationship develop and breathe at the appropriate speed considering the circumstances.

Maybe in today's age this is becoming less of an issue, but any gay couple should easily relate to and find real truth in this unique romance.

This movie by no means will win an Oscar, however, it is a sweet story that I found very refreshing. They don't rely on sex or your typical "hot guys" and nudity, as most gay movies do. There are some continuity errors (they are forgivable) and some of the dialog may be a little forced. The story however is the saving grace. I like the message it has and I like that they didn't make any of the characters victims or whinny. You know going in how this movie will end and it doesn't disappoint. I thought the main cast did a very good job Wendie Malick was great to watch and you could see she was having fun with the role. Jon Lindstrom played the part very uptight as it should be. The Character is in his 50s and was a CEO if you expect him to be anything but conservative and uptight then you haven't worked with many CEOs (Tech Company CEO's don't count). Chris Murrah was very good and again it was nice to see a younger gay character that I would consider a more normal slightly above average in looks person. He was something that I think everyone could relate too. If you want to watch a good movie with a nice story and characters that you can relate to then definitely watch this.