The Last Straight Man

I tried really hard--several times--to watch this movie, but it's just so bad in so many ways that I finally had to give up.

The two guys are not at all attractive, but I've seen both actors before separately and not thought that, so it's just something about their pairing in this movie. I cannot believe that anyone would want to spend even a few minutes with either of them.

But that's not all. Every word of the dialog is stilted and coy and totally unnatural, and it's delivered in weird, almost screechy voices that make my skin crawl. On top of all that, the very first scene (and it's a LONG one) is of a female stripper giving lap dances at a bachelor party, with either her boobs or her thonged butt bouncing about six inches from the camera most of the time. That is NOT what I want to see in a gay movie, or anywhere else.

Another reviewer said he's willing to give Mark Bessenger (this movie's writer and director) another chance, but I can't go along with that. Life's too short.

"The Last Straight Man"

A 12 Year Long One Night Stand

Amos Lassen

"The Last Straight Man" is going to be one of the movies of the year, I predict. Director Mark Bessenger ("Bite Marks") sent me at advance copy and I watched it last night. It has been on my mind ever since. Evidently I am not alone in praising the film because this morning 8/10/14 it won the Alternative Spirit Award Grand Prize at the Rhode Island International Film Festival! This the first year they've split the features away from the shorts, into separate categories.

Now this is going to be a bit difficult to describe the film without giving something away but I will say that this is a movie filled with surprises. It is all about a one-night stand that lasts for 12 years. I must admit that after the first few minutes of the film I thought I had it all figured out but to my chagrin it took a totally different direction than what I expected. The film opens at Cooper's bachelor party and we see some exotic dancing from a hired female stripper but we also notice that one of the party guests does not get involved. Moving a bit forward we are in Lewis's (Mark Cirillo) hotel suite and with Lewis (the one who did not get involved with the lap dancing) and Cooper (Scott Sell). They are talking about life will be different once Coop gets married and he talks Lewis into having a couple of tequila shots and playing the game, "Three Questions" which is important because we will see it recur later.

In the course of the evening Lewis comes out as bisexual and he does so in the answer to one of the three questions. One thing leads to another and adding alcohol, the new men exchange oral sex. According to Cooper this will never happen again yet it does every year on the same date for the next eleven years. Over the course of twelve years, we see four additional nights that depict how the two men grow and how their friendship changes as they mature and age—Coop becomes a father, Lewis remains a loner and so on. There are certain rules to their meetings—booze, cigars, condoms and lube and eventually Lewis moves from bottom to top Cooper who never admits to being gay. He is a married man but we hear very little about the wife and I had the feeling that the reason that Coop married her was because of societal expectations.

We see a total of five nights (including the first) that the two men spend together and how their relationship changes. Sexuality is a complex subject and in this film you see how much that is true. It is also of the few films in which the leads begin as bisexuals yet we only see them act on their gay desires. In fact, when we first meet Lewis and Coop they are both closeted—Lewis has at least acted on his desire but Coop will act the first time with his best friend.

The two men decide to meet secretly in the same hotel and on the same night with the pretext of catching up with their lives but they actually further explore their sexual desires. We see the changes in friendship and relationship over the passage of twelve years.

I really believe that this will be one of the films of this year if not THE film. Everything about it is wonderful from the actors to the situations and if any of you have lusted after someone you will find yourself here. Bessenger has made yet another film of which he can be proud and we can be entertained and left with something to think about. I rarely rave about a film but this one is really one to rave about.

A beautiful story, seductive told. A story about friendship becoming love, about attraction and about 12 years period , one night, a hotel room, talks and drinks and sex and doubts about the other.

The best virtue is the impecable simplicity.

Second - the acting.

And the fair, gentle exploration of relations, fears, responsabilities, decisions and shadows of ambiguity game.

The second good point remains the lovely realism. The book, the shots, the talk, the crumbs of humor are just beautiful pillars of a story pretending be only a confession about hidden side of near reality. It is more than a romance but a wise crafted portrait of choices.

The end - obvious, one of the provocative ones. But, in essence, just this is the point.

Over the last week, I've seen a few gay-themed movies, and oddly several containing Mark Cirillo; well...I can honestly say this is the only one I liked. He is of course type-cast as "the gay guy" (not sure he can overcome his "gay voice") and his long-time friend is played by Scott Sell, who absolutely comes off as a virile, sexually curious man who struggles with his feelings for his friend on the eve of what for most is a lifelong commitment. The pace of the film is perfect as we see the "progression" of their relationship from year to year. If you can tolerate the sex scenes (and warning: they are very blunt...think Brokeback Mountain), there really is a good mix of character-revealing dialogue, to the point where you start asking yourself who is really being honest to whom...more by what ISN'T being said. The only negative is the odd insertion of rambling, sappy monologues (can't blame Mark for this...he didn't write it). All in all, this was a very well-thought, entertaining "fluffy" work, which can actually be thought-provoking if you read between the lines.

I can not agree with some of the comments I have read about this video. I know that peoples tastes in movies, sex and/or love vary considerably, so I don't condemn them for having a different opinion. I have watched it many times and continue to enjoy it every time. I do have one comment about the ending. I found it odd that Lewis and Bernie would be enjoying a seaside picnic with Cooper and his wife and son and the startling kiss between Cooper and Lewis in full view of all the others. WTF! And don't forget people that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and sometimes the personality can outshine the face and figure. Personally, I loved it.