Eating Out

I just saw this movie on the last day of the 2004 Newfest in NYC. It won my highest ratings of the festival. Structurally it is based on all the classical lovers comedies of Shakespeare or Wilde. The dialogue is funny. The film is well cast and well acted. The audience was laughing more than at any other of the ten or so screenings I sat through during the festival.

Synopsis: a straight man, Caleb, who is striking out with girls takes a tip from his gay roommate to pretend he is gay in order to score better with women. Trouble starts when he is 'outed' to a party of people and then becomes the object of a feral sex hunt by both gay men an fag hag women who want to 'turn him around.' Ridiculous situation after another ensue culminating with an emotional and hilarious 'outing' at a dinner party to his parents. Just as the ruse seems to overwhelm him, there is a resolution and happy ending for all (sound familiar?) I hope this one makes it to wider release.

I agree with the 50% of viewers that gave it a 9 or 10.

This film is a comedy about a stunningly handsome straight man, Caleb (played by stunningly handsome Scott Lunsford). A political science major, Caleb is sleeping with the sluttish Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan, who is channeling "A Mighty Wind" actress Jennifer Coolidge). Tiffani, however, can't get aroused unless she's forcing Caleb to role-play.

When Tiffani finally tosses Caleb out for not being into kinky sex, Caleb moans about his problems to gay college roommate Kyle (played by "American Idol" semi-finalist Jim Verraros). Kyle tells Caleb that it's too bad he's not gay, for straight women like nothing better but to try to seduce gay men and "turn" them.

Kyle and Caleb attend a party at which local college girl Gwen (newcomer Emily Stiles, channeling Tori Spelling -- but with comic timing and facial expressions) is being comforted by her gay best friend, Marc (newcomer Ryan Carnes), who looks like a tall version of Jonathon Taylor Thomas -- with pecs. Caleb would like nothing better than to boink Gwen, so Kyle lies to her and says Caleb is gay. But to get to Gwen, Caleb must date Marc. Hilarity ensues. Sexy moments ensue. Wacky parents come and go.

All of this is rather unsettling. The film seems to be saying that it's funny (hence, morally all right) for women to "turn" gay men "straight" and that gay men's sexuality is simply a matter of not having "met the right girl yet."

The movie also has a major problem with characterization. Is Marc a slut or not? If he is, why would he be considered a nice guy? Marc gives a rather unbelievable explanation of his behavior to Kyle at the end of the film. Am I supposed to believe it, or not? We're told Gwen is this wonderful person. So why does she lie, cheat and backstab throughout the film? Kyle is at first portrayed as a shallow queen, but later he's supposed to be a sweet-hearted boy with a broken heart. Huh? Wha'?

Jim Verraros is cute as Kyle, but he has a bad habit of sneering when he's speaking. It makes him look like he's being cynical or cruel, and this distorts the emotional tenor of most scenes he's in. His best scene is when he cruelly accuses Caleb of being stupid. The venom is cold and dry, and Verraros plays the scene just right.

Emily Stiles is decent (albeit hammy) as Gwen. But she's more workmanlike than inspired in the role, which tends to make absurd what is supposed to be deeply emotional.

Ryan Carnes is pure eye-candy, but little else. He does nothing as an actor to help us make sense of things. Indeed, in the film's big sex scene, Carnes seems completely lost and out of the moment.

The most jarring problem in the film comes when sad, depressing music plays over lengthy images of the four characters laying, depressed, in their individual beds after the film's disastrous date. Up until now, the film has maintained a fairly blithe, manic, and comedic style and pace. You don't invest much emotionally in these characters, because they are so cardboard and comically amoral. But suddenly, the film turns into a drama. This doesn't work at all.

The shift becomes only slightly more palatable when Kyle and Caleb have their confrontation. The audience has had time to adjust emotional gears. Kyle's vicious, spiteful words are like a kick in the head to Caleb, who looks as if his heart has been broken. But then we're right back to the guffaw-a-minute laughter, as the dinner party falls apart time and time again. What th'?

It's clear that the terrible screenplay (by Q. Allan Brocka) is at fault here. While funny at times, it's not terribly witty. It lobs jokes that are softballs (the mother and father's dinner-party comments after Caleb is "outed" are so predictable that they could be put on the table of periodic elements). And the comic situations are stale, trite and not inventive.

The salvation of this film is Scott Lunsford, who turns in a superb job as an actor. Lunsford has one of those high-forehead, doe-eyed, open faces that permits us to see right into the soul of whatever character he is playing. The first reaction to Lunsford's face is that he's impassive. But keep watching those eyes! They widen. They narrow. They pop open when he's surprised. They fill with tears and intense, searing pain when he's hurt. They twinkle when he's happy.

Lunsford also has a wonderfully expressive voice. Listen to him during the film's central phone-sex scene. He's making love with his voice. His words become breathy without being breathless. You can hear the tension and base, animal sexuality in his voice rising. When he becomes startled by Gwen's instructions, the panic is evident in his voice.

Watch, too, how Lunsford's body language visibly alters when Marc starts massaging him. There is sudden, purposeful relaxation there. His breathing comes deeper, too. And the responsiveness of his body to the sensual touch is natural and easy.

You see Lunsford's strong ability to display raw, human emotion again in the scene where Kyle accuses him of being stupid. Beautiful people are often the most insecure, especially when it comes to their intelligence. Then there are those very handsome men who, by the grace of God, are smart enough to know just how stupid they are. And it terrifies them.

So when Kyle tells Caleb that he's stupid, it exposes Caleb to the thing he fears the most -- that he might actually be as stupid as Kyle says, and might not have anything inside him worth loving.

The scene works because of the two actors in it. Jim Verraros is good. But watch Scott Lunsford's face. He doesn't move. He doesn't shiver in pain. He doesn't let his jaw drop open in shock. Tears don't well up in his eyes. But there is awful pain there. Look at Lunsford's eyes when the words come out. A soul bereft of hope is there. A heart shattered by betrayal is there. GOD THIS IS GOOD ACTING.

You, like me, may well leave the theater not caring about Kyle or Marc or Gwen or Joey or anyone else in this film.

But you, like me, may leave the theater wanting very badly to talk to Scott Lunsford, dig deep into his soul, and find out what's there. Someone who can act like this is someone worth knowing and seeing more of on screen!

I saw this movie even after reading all the horrible reviews. Expecting the worst, this movie really isn't that bad! It's a funny, light, fluff comedy. Everyone seems to have hooked-up with everyone in this tale of boy-wants-girl-who-wants boy-who-wants-boy. It's reminiscent of the teen comedies of the past decade, but with a gay twist. There are a lot of unspoken elements to the plot that add to the Ralston's of the gay world - such as the flamboyant "straight" boy who's girlfriend doesn't catch on. Caelb's oversexed ex-girlfriend is hysterical and under-used.

The much-hyped phone sex scene is very well done and will make most audience members (gay or straight, male or female) squirm their seat - and likely the reason this movie isn't rated. If you are going for the full-frontal male nude scene of Ryan Carnes and Scott Lansford, don't blink or you'll miss it! If you are looking for a fun way to spend 90 minutes, check out Eating Out. And stay for the hidden scene after the credits!

At a current tally of 12 reviewers on the 1 - 10 scale above, and with a score close to 9.5 on that scale, I had to come in and give my review, which would place it at a 5.

I caught Eating Out at the London Lesbian Gay Film Festival 2004. The film was OK, it was pretty funny, but it's definitely not up there with the "greatest gay films on the planet". It's predictable, a little offensive in its insular vision of young gay life ("oh, he is so totally hot!") but overall it's an enjoyable if slightly brainless movie to catch when you need to unwind or destress. The audience generally enjoyed the comedy of the film, and 90% of the audience seemed to be laughing in the right places.

I do tend to think a lot of the hoopla over this film comes from the two model-quality leads in Caleb and Marc. However, I think this movie has a modicum of opportunity as a successful small-scale commercial release.

I'd say it's an OK movie, and Q. Allan Brocka may be one to watch, but I much preferred the infamous Legomen sketch of his, and I think that will be far more remembered than this.

EATING OUT is a good looking film. It's young stars are hunky, sexy guys who look great on camera and turn in credible performances. The gal pals are a gay man's fantasia, however - as one character says "a reality show without the camera crew". The film manages to neatly hide it's low budget roots. After a few establishing shots of Tuscon, we forget the rest of the film is basically house-bound. The centerpiece of EATING OUT (the title has nothing to do with finding a good restaurant) is a phone sex scene that manages to be quite sexy despite it's extended length. The film's biggest disappointment (and disservice) is it's idiotic dialogue. Characters speak in a "Clueless" slang that is both annoying and unreal. The fatuous dialogue turns the likable cast superficial. It might be cute to occasionally say 'parfait' for 'perfect' and 'Fabio' for 'fabulous' but when every line contains something like this, it gets annoying. There are also a lot of 'jokes' and 'one liners' (a truly appalling one about being HIV positive) that don't contribute much. If this is Oscar Wilde, he's slumming. Turn off the volume and just watch EATING OUT - then it'll be nearly parfait - maybe even downright Fabio.