Adam & Steve

What a fun, funny, sharp-witted, incisive film about the rocky road to romance. And how brilliant that it's about a gay couple-- a committed, monogamous gay couple who look very much like real gay human beings (as opposed to the broad caricatures usually seen in film and television). Is it possible that this will be the first "gay" date movie that straight couples will go to and laugh with?

Maybe that's hoping for an America more open-minded than it is, but certainly the open minded heterosexual partners are in for a good time.

Kudos to writer/directer Chester for creating what is an impressive mosaic of styles. In lesser hands the film, with everything from emotional honesty to slapstick comedy to over-the-top (and I do mean WAAYYYY over-the-top) camp, should be a mess. But somehow scenes of first love are actually made sweeter all the more by the slapstick running gag that accompanies them (sorry, no spoilers here!).

The leads are extremely appealing, the dialog is well-realized, and the realities of dating are sharply realized in a film that walks the fine line between maudlin and frank but rarely feels dishonest. That's going to sound ridiculous in the context of a film that includes a choreographed dance-off featuring a drag queen, but the movie is wise to use broad strokes of humor to help otherwise clichéd movie devices go down easier. Additional kudos to Parker Posey, who becomes the heterosexual equivalent of the "Jack" character on "Will & Grace." Her comic contributions are note-perfect.

Chester has commented that the use of comedy has a role in helping straight audiences better accept a budding romance between men. I hope that's true, because this film deserves better than the "cult" or "gay/lesbian" dungeon in your local video store.

I'm getting really tired of people who don't like a particular film genre giving bad reviews of movies belonging to that genre. I don't like gory horror films, so I wouldn't review (or see) something like Hostel or Saw. But somehow people (and reviewers) delight in putting down romcoms, not because there's anything wrong with the films, but because it would have to be something absolutely extraordinary to even merit a "satisfactory" from them.

That's why it pisses me off that Adam and Steve hasn't gotten the critical acclaim that it deserves. I honestly feel that most of the bad reviews were of people predisposed to dislike it just as they'd be predisposed to dislike any new romantic comedy, gay or straight. (That's not to say that it hasn't gotten its fair share of good reviews, and deservedly so!)

Yes, the romantic comedy genre has been done and done again, and not always well, but I can count the number of GAY romantic comedies on the fingers of one hand. All Over the Guy, and Adam and Steve, and...? How many others follow the formula of two people who meet cute, fall in love, face some kind of crisis, and then overcome it in a tear and laughter filled climactic scene? Yes, I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for a good romcom. I can see While You Were Sleeping any day of the week. But as a gay man I've been cheated of this genre, always having to superimpose my own boy/boy couple over the boy/girl couple in the film.

Adam and Steve is the film I (and others I'm sure) have been waiting for. One of the funniest (admittedly crude at times, Thank you Farrely bros) and at the same time most gloriously romantic romcoms ever, and this time it's a boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back story! The chemistry between Craig Chester and Malcolm Gets is palpable, and thank you openly gay hero Chester for casting another gay man to play opposite. As Chester says in the film commentary, he and Gets don't have to worry about "playing gay" but can simply play the characters, and when they are in bed together or sharing a romantic moment (lots of kissing in this film), you don't have to wonder if they felt odd or uncomfortable. It's obvious that they didn't and don't.

Parker Posey and Chris Kattan are along for the ride, Ms. Posey giving yet another lovable quirky performance that's made her the indie queen, and Mr. Kattan showing himself a real actor and real person, something that his usual over the top roles don't allow him to do.

If you don't like romantic comedies, don't see this movie. But if you're like me, someone who loves the genre but has felt cheated out of his own romcom, by all means BUY the DVD because this is a movie you'll be watching again and again.

The premise is this: Two gay men, Adam and Steve, meet in the 80's and have a disastrous encounter. Fast forward to the present. Adam and Steve's paths cross again and they begin to date, neither remembering their history together. Until one does. How will the past affect the future? Somewhat interesting premise, however, writer and director Craig Chester doesn't have much faith in it and decides to fill the film with a barrage of gross out humor, slapstick, and silly over the top moments. While some of these are very very funny, others don't work at all. The end result is a movie that seems to sell out for cheap laughs rather than go for something real.

Craig Chester (who also wrote and directed) and Malcolm Gets are likable as Adam and Steve but don't generate much chemistry. Parker Posey is always good for a few laughs. Chris Kattan is basically wasted in a supporting role as the best friend.

If you are looking for a few laughs and don't have expectations too high, I would recommend this film. If you are seeking an authentic contemporary film about gay relationships, pass over this one and rent "All Over the Guy."

Craig Chester and Malcolm Gets (particularly this latter hunk, who's just so winsomely huggable---he seems so right at home, so comfortable with himself) have some real warm moments, and that doesn't often happen in gay-themed films these days. Unfortunately the pluses of this are more than a few times imbalanced by some of the following minuses:

-An overage of what other review sites have called "gross-out" humor. I easily could have stood the early on diarrhea sight-gag, had its use not been later overloaded by the sometimes diarrhetic mouth of a stand-up club's master of ceremonies (Michael Panes, was it?) and of Parker Posey's character, herself, upon occasion. Why are such remarks, like the female-bestiality cracks in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" considered such fair game in humor these days? Puke!!

-Perhaps a little over-reliance on Jewish "sensibility-moments."

-Guess, overall, I just feel that Chester has been around long enough to: know better, turn out something better, just plain old be better. It can't have been inexpensive to roll out this product, so it just seems he could'a gotten a lot more for his buck (and we for ours).

WHOA.....WHOA......WHOA.........STOPPpppp! You know what? I went back and "re-looked" this movie last night, and in the midst of my millionth laugh, it suddenly hit me that I hadn't really laughed any less the first night. Say, maybe I've been trying to make something too serious out of this little production, and that's not what it's about at all. It really doesn't have to be another "Brokeback Mountain" (as great as that was). Isn't it nice, instead, to have something that keeps our spirits up? Well, you bet.

And we can have all the "sensibility-moments" they can throw at us......cause isn't there a good, old Hebrew word that just perfectly describes Adam? Isn't it something like.......Klutz (and a lovable one at that)? And being "sad-sacky," that can be funny too, can't it? Right on!

Finally, on an even more positive note (for someone like me who's always placing gay kissing scenes*** under the old microscope), I'd have to judge that this production has not been afraid to give us a goodly number of 'osculating-lips-in-action' shots. Don't you agree? They weren't all perfectly aimed, but there were some really good ones.

PS--So, congratulations, Adam & Steve, on your wedding and for being able to live in a world far removed from that of Jack & Ennis.

***And for scenes in which "lip-locks" were done as well or better, try these: "Just A Question Of Love" / "Latter Days" / "All Over The Guy" / "Brokeback Mountain" / "Maurice" / sorry, gotta stop somewhere)

This film is a romantic comedy between two men in New York City. They by chance meet each other, get along very well, until things start to fall apart.

It is great that throughout the film, the emphasis is on love, instead of sex. It is so easy to fall into the temptation to make scenes depicting gay sex in order to entice gay viewers to watch the film. However, in this film, there are no sex scenes at all. The thing that keeps the viewers watching is the real love that keeps Adam and Steve together. Coupled with the excellent character development, the love between Adam and Steve becomes convincing and touching.

The dance sequences of this film are very well rehearsed and delightful to watch. The plot is straightforward and predictable, but that's the whole idea for romantic comedies.

I hope gay romantic comedies get made more often!