Geography Club

When everything about a movie is equally bad, it's interesting what stands out the most.

In this uniformly bad movie, it's the makeup. The actors are wearing SO MUCH MAKEUP, and there are so many extreme closeups in unnatural light and unnaturally saturated color photography, that all I see is the heavy lipstick, mascara, eyeshadow and blush on a guy who's supposed to be a macho jock and definitely is NOT supposed to be in drag. And that's on my TV - God knows what he would look like on the huge screen in a theatre, probably like the garishly made-up troll-woman on the old Drew Carey sitcom.

The heavy makeup is so distracting that it would completely sabotage any drama or comedy that's supposed to be going on, even if the writing, directing and acting weren't just as bad as the makeup. This is definitely one ONLY for dreamy-eyed adolescents and their middle-aged admirers, people who see life just as it looks in this movie - thick, cartoon-colored and all on the surface.

Russell is gay and is in the closet, he is keeping his head down to study with the hope of living up to his parent's dreams and actually getting into Yale. He is also playing it straight by dating girls and being the wing man for his best friend Gunnar.

Then he goes on a field trip and gets entangled with Jock footballer Kevin. His secret is now out but he still isn't. What follows is a 'nice' coming of age tale that will have no surprises but is warm and human enough to satisfy most viewers.

This is not a sexathon either - nothing to frighten the horses here - there is some humour, there is some bullying and abusive behaviour but that is essentially a story about growing up and being honest about who you are. I have seen some very negative reviews of this and was initially put off from seeing it; after watching it I actually felt good for having seen it - so this is one I can easily recommend.

Like several other reviewers before me, I just happened upon this movie and therefore had few expectations. And, like them, I was pleasantly surprised. As a mature gay man, I think the topic of bullying in schools is an important, yet complicated one: it is easy to sit back from the action and judge, but to experience it -- especially at such a confusing time of life -- isn't quite so black and white. So. ultimately, I thought it was a good film and was happy to have discovered it.

Then I went to IMDb to offer a rating - perhaps a "7" - and learned that the film was based on a series of books written by Brent Hartinger. So, I ran over to Audible.com and purchased the first and, upon completion of that, the remaining three books. Then, my opinion changed a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I think that the acting was actually quite good and that (for a small film) the production quality was higher than one might expect. However, the liberties that the screenplay writers took with the book's rich content were mind-boggling. As a life-long fan of both books and movies, I fully understand that strict translations of page to screen are nearly impossible and often fall flat when they do occur. However, the extent of the changes were so pervasive that it is nearly impossible to recognize some of the characters - in fact, reading the book helped me understand my confusion over the conflicting actions/statements of some of the characters in the film, who it appears were patched together from other characters in the book.

I think what bothers me more than anything is that I fear several of the liberties taken by the screen writers will really threaten any possibility of screen versions of the sequels in the book series. It's a shame, because the journey of these characters is a good and honest one that I think many teens would find compelling.

I awarded 5 points for tackling the topic in a realistic and accessible manner. An extra point for the nice portrayals by the young cast. It's still a good movie, but could easily have been a better one had the writers taken better care and trusted the original author. I encourage anyone interested in this movie or its topic to look for the books (hard copy, e-book, or audio book).

I sat down to watch "Geography Club" without having read the synopsis, just thinking this to be another one of those teen comedy movies. I was surprised when I found out what it actually was all about.

Surprised, yeah, but not in a bad way. This movie is actually rather entertaining, but at the same time it is quite compelling and riveting. This is the kind of movie that you get swept away by, because the story is realistic and the characters even more so.

The story is about Russell (played by Cameron Deane Stewart) who is coming of age and is struggling with his sexuality. Standing at a crossroad of his sexuality, facing a very difficult social situation by outing his gay sexuality. He gets into a secret relationship with Kevin (played by Justin Deeley) who is on the college football team. Caught between his own morals and his friendship to Gunnar (played by Andrew Caldwell), Russell lives a double life.

Now, don't expect to be flat out laughing yourself to tears from this movie, because it is not that kind of comedy. This movie is more of a subtle comedy that is very realistic and tied to events that we can relate to in one way or another.

The movie is nicely told and directed by director Gary Entin. But even more importantly, it is so nicely acted out on the screen by every one on the cast list.

"Geography Club" is a very nice movie that you should take the time to sit down and watch.

That's right: I'm seven minutes and forty-five seconds into this movie, and I'm already declaring it a 10/10.

Why? Because these kinds of gay movies are joyous, a breath of much-needed fresh air, and---I daresay---IMPORTANT.

Currently---and despite our much-lauded progressive attitudes---watching a "gay romance" is a bit like walking a Vietnam-era minefield: You're never quite sure if the characters and relationships you're rooting for are going to catch AIDS, be lynched, and/or commit suicide by the end... because they usually do. (Consider: The most mainstream "gay romance" at the time of this writing ends with one of our heroes being tire-ironed to death on the side of a freeway.)

So: "Living happily ever after" is one hell of a risky bet.

Admittedly, there's an undeniable place for such poignant, melancholy fare... but sometimes... sometimes... I just want to watch a cheesy, happy movie! Does that make me a bad person?! That was a rhetorical question: NO! No, it does not!

Dammit, I want to watch a movie where I know, going in, that the muffin I'm smiling for isn't going to suffer horribly and then die alone! No one likes minefields!

And seven minutes and forty-fives seconds in, this movie told me I wasn't in a minefield.

That is one HELL of a rare treat in the desolate, self-immolating landscape of despair to which we're so-often subjected.