Winning Dad

To impress his boyfriend's father, dwarf sized camp queen, Rusty, must butch it up, on a hiking trip. Rusty goes in the guise of being a potential business partner. Rusty seems to have strayed right out of Le Cage Aux Follies however, so whenever dad turns his back, Rusty minces about like a raving sissy. Father is apparently too thick to spot the tell tale signs (he sure ain't got no gaydar whatsoever).

Rusty is under the impression that mimicking a "straight dude" requires, bellowing loudly and throwing a few expletives in, for good measure. Dad listens and smiles amiably and seems to take a shine to Rusty. But to me, the viewer, it's like nails on chalkboard, a very bad drag king act. Not sure how it's meant to come across, but it's kind of comical though.

As the two men spend more time, Rusty subjects Dad (in law) to a -woe is me, I'm a poor orphan- sob story over camp fire and beers, trying to pull the heartstrings. All the while there are numerous close ups of Rusty's jittery countenance, trying hard to appear as a real Budweiser-swilling-all-American-male, but the inner "gaylord" is obviously raring to leap out.

Meanwhile dad's got some identity issues of his own, as he proclaims all men are "hairy ugly ape things that nobody wants around." Rusty is not best pleased that Dad (in law) is pinning that label on him too (pretty accurate, though, if you ask me), but he lets it slide.

Everything seems to go smoothly, until at some stage Rusty makes a very drastic and extremely embarrassing move. I won't be letting the cat out of the bag, you'll have to see for yourself. It will make watching the film worth your while.

The movie starts off fast paced and comical, and becomes a bit slower and more sentimental and serious later. At times the middle American drudgery is overkill, and I'm gagging for something a bit more queer. But there are enough plot twists to help the story afloat and interesting. There is also beautiful imagery of the great American outdoors to go with it.

This is a film that hasn't gotten the exposure it deserves beyond award-winning presence at a number of festivals. It's touching, funny, intense, well-acted, visually gorgeous, close to perfect. There have now been a very large number of excellent gay-themed films, made for varying budgets. 'Winning Dad', made on a tiny budget, ranks among the best in the genre; one would never suspect that it was made so inexpensively. It's a genuinely beautiful film in every respect. That writer-director-actor Arthur Allen seems not to have made any further films is a great shame. The film can be streamed/downloaded on vimeo, and it is recommended to everyone, especially those interested in gay-themed films of high caliber..

The idea for this movie is brilliant. And the script/screenplay for this movie really goes right for it. When you watch it you'll see what I mean. What this movie is about is something that is very hard to present very well. Many other gay-themed movies have attempted to put this into their film in some way, and many have tried to make it the central point as this movie does. No movie has yet to accomplish this task perfectly, but Winning Dad comes closer than any movie I've yet seen. It takes on the very difficult task of attempting to stand up and be honest. And the story is written in such a way that honesty is no where to be found. It offers the idea that honesty is something valuable. Very valuable.

And that family is what makes life worth living.

This movie is worth watching by everyone. Everyone.

With that said, while the story is the absolute mission of this movie, there are some clear technical problems with the acting and directing and sound editing. So, don't let those things distract you, and you probably won't be too much as the story itself takes you to such emotional places that anyone who's ever been in this situation or similar ones will recognize quite well.

And if you've never been in this situation before, nor anything like it, try and imagine what it's like to have to bear, without having any choice as to whether you want to or not, having to bear the death of your dreams for yourself and for those you love.

I gave this an 8 because of the technical problems I mentioned. I'd give it a 10 if those problems were not there. Its the story that's key.

.....Imagine what it's like to have to bear, without having any choice as to whether you want to or not, having to bear the death of your dreams for yourself and for those you love.....