All Over the Guy

I saw this film last evening at its premier in Boston at our Museum of Fine Arts. It is a well told story, set in a gay context. It is entertaining and has guts to it. It is a good addition to a growing genre of films, which deal with human issues about relationships in a gay/lesbian/bisexual context. The film's writer/leading actor, Dan Bucatinsky, was at the screening. He explained that the film is actually a screenplay version of his own play, which was produced in Los Angeles. The original play was not written in a gay context. The translation works and, as Bucatinsky shared at the screening, it actually expands his work in ways that he found quite fulfilling as a writer/actor. The film's pallet is much lighter than the recent "Urbania", but its themes are just as powerfully portrayed. It is not as goofy as "The Opposite of Sex" (written by this film's Executive Producer, Don Roos), but it has a lot of great laughs. The acting is evenly engaging, with cameo appearances by well known actors. I have intentionally omitted a plot summary. This is a project of love on a small budget. I think anyone who reads this comment can be guaranteed a good film and should go an see it to experience its warmth, humor and intelligence about people in love.

Eli (Dan Bucatinsky) and Tom (beautiful Richard Ruccolo) are both gay and attracted to each other but while Eli wants a firm commitment, Tom is afraid. The movie chronicles their on-again, off-again relationship and the effects on their family and friends. There's nothing new or ground-breaking here--just a very pleasant, occasionally hilarious story. The leads are attractive, there's a very strong supporting cast (Doris Roberts, Sasha Alexander, Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow in a great cameo) and it's all well-done. Sometimes the characters get a little whiny (Eli especially) and do real stupid things (Eli again) but the film works regardless. There's also a straight couple thrown in for the straight people in the audience. So, nothing great, but pleasant.

Well, I wonder: if it had been about two male/female couples (as the play it was based on was), would "All Over the Guy" have gotten such a critical reception? More likely it would've been seen as an honorable, at times sparkling, addition to the screen tradition of romantic comedies -- which is what I think it is. Sure, the characters are wildly neurotic and frequently annoying; so are people in real life, especially when they're in love. Is it distracting that Richard Ruccolo (who does indeed give an exquisitely tuned performance) is so good-looking? Actually, I thought it was necessary; Tom is so screwed up that we need the physical beauty to help relate to him. Do the women steal the movie? Well, with the likes of Andrea Martin, Lisa Kudrow, Christina Ricci and Doris Roberts in support, what do you think -- and how can you lose, especially since Dan Bucatinsky's script is so frequently sharp?

Forget the nay-sayers and see this one. It's a very good romantic comedy, at times maybe even a great one.

Very nice, easy-going and consistently charming. And still ,looking back, I find it hard to find that something special to remember from the movie. There is simply not very much to make it stand out from every other `romantic comedy' except the fact that the story is about two men! The performances are nicely turned and Ruccolo is charming in his part, as is Doris Roberts, who ultimately makes the biggest impression even though she is only on-screen for about 15 minutes. For a gay-themed movie, there is quite a large budget at work here (at least it looks that way) and that certainly is a nice change from all the grainy, blown-up indy-movies that is too common when the subject is homosexuality. And it has a script that is witty and sympathetic towards its characters, gay or straight, with some hilarious comedy from Eli's psychologist parents as portrayed by Martin and Abatemarco. But nothing new is on display here. Eli, as portrayed by Dan Bucatinsky, comes over as somewhat annoying, even though he should be the most sympathetic of the two main protagonists, mainly because he is unnatural in his wittisisms and one-liners. These lines are penned by Bucatinsky himself, by the way, and while they often are very funny, sometimes they come over as too contrived. And I couldn't escape a certain feeling of shallowness. The movie constantly touches on an interesting issue or storyline, but chickens out before anything goes too far away from the mainstream (as in the story about Tom's parents and his sister, alcoholism). And the biggest damage is done from the fact that nothing very special happens. The plot must have been written on the back of a stamp because basically Tom meet Eli, walks out of Eli, comes back to Eli and so on. But what am I complaining of? It still is nice to see a movie with gay characters acting as normal people. It is sweet, good-natured and watchable. Just not very memorable.

I watched this movie last night for the second time, and I got to say that I really enjoyed it. Like a lot of reviewers have said here, it's nice to see two gay men viewed in the true representation of their lives. I mean come on, who really wants to be like their parents. These two guys came together and brought so much garbage with them that they couldn't see each other and the love that they had for each other.

I really don't have that much to say about this film, except that I truly enjoyed it and I would watch it again anytime. Oh and by the by, I've seen Richard Ruccolo on the street once, and trust me, he is that handsome, in every sense of the word.

Rent It!!!!!! You won't be sorry.