Dog Tags

This film is a complete surprise. It starts out so slowly but before you know what is happening it keeps building and building until you are totally caught up in the unfolding drama which is quite remarkable in the way it is done. The cast is absolutely perfect, especially the two mothers who galvanize the story to such a degree that it is amazing. Yet there is the "missing" father in the background who in one scene utterly wraps you up in the situation that no one would want to be in yet the male lead finds himself in. The male lead, Paul Preiss, apparently has quit acting and according to his web site he is now directing commercials and short films. I can certainly understand why he would give up acting, after all, it's a no win situation unless you hit it big, yet it's too bad because he really is a natural. But the other male lead is also wonderful and the two of them together are electric. This film really is very touching.

Okay. So this movie was by far not one of my favorites, but it wasn't that bad either. But what really got me was the person reviewing who complained about "body doubles". Dude - the intimate scene between the two main characters actually was a hark-back to one of the main character's PREVIOUS intimate encounters. He was with the guy that initially got him interested in military men - NOT the guy in the room with him. Watch it again, catch the audio clues about the guy's first love, and then watch that sequence and you'll see it.

Overall, it was not a bad movie. It was well done for what it was - a movie about two strangers that somehow make a connection. The character development was actually done well. It was the acting, and some of the cuts to the story (probably during the editing process) that left the end result jagged and mis-connected - which probably led to the previous person's confusion about the supposed 'body double'.

It is hard to find this genre and have it acted well. I found DOG TAGS to be one of the best I have seen in recent years. The story is moving and believable. The characters are well drawn. Brad Fletcher is fantastic as Andy the carefree gay guy. On the surface, he is free-wheeling, but underneath he is vulnerable. Paul Preiss is amazing as Nate the marine recruit who is trying to find himself and his long absent father. He is strong and sensitive. After Nate and Andy meet in a less than ideal setting and a bad experience happens for Nate, the two form a bond. In the end, they are left with hope for better lives. I think it is wonderful that we are getting some better gay genre movies of late. SHELTER, LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP, BACK SOON and OUTING RILEY to name a few. I am glad to add DOG TAGS to my recommendation list. See it, I don't think DOG TAGS will disappoint.

This films has some very good and very competent actors. Unfortunately, the script, directing and editing don't match the caliber of acting. There was never any connection between the main characters and those around them. They just popped in and out of the story. Sure, we know how they're related to each character. But we are never shown any reason for them being in the script. Some expositional dialog only makes it worse.

The story moves way too slowly. Too many moments are built up, only to be let down by an unfulfilled scene climax. For instance (being very general so as not to give anything away) a soldier comes back from boot camp to discover something that should send him way over the top. Instead, the script has him easily dismissing this situation with nothing more than a sigh. What?????

There are too many cross shots that really don't do anything to impact the story. Such as a shot of an abandoned drive-in screen to a shot of a garage door. There's no significance to it. This is just one example. The cross shots seem to be nothing than an exercise you'd do in college while trying to discover your vision and voice as a director.

And lastly, if you're going to have a stand-in for the intimate man-on-man sex scene, at least find somebody who actually looks like your star! That guy had longer hair, long sideburns, a different profile and different body shape! It was glaringly visible that he was a mis-matched stand-in.

I would have rated this film a "1" except that the acting kept me from doing so. The actors were the only reason I watched the entire film ... over 3 nights. There's no way I could have done it at just one sitting. There are some real stand outs in this film.

Dog Tags is the story of two kids who meet like ships in the night at a porn producer's desert home. One's an aimless party twink whose fathered a child in a moment of inebriated weakness, the other is a very hunky marine who comes from a real white trash background and is unsure of his sexuality. The roles are respectively played by Bart Fletcher and Paul Preiss.

Would these two very competent and attractive leads were worthy of the film. Dog Tags is a film sending out a real mixed message. Preiss has himself a real winner of a mother in Candy Clark who's picked out a bride for him, another version of herself from the bar she tends. When he comes home unexpectedly and finds her cheating, Preiss finds out it's been with half the customers there.

As for Fletcher he's also got mother troubles in Amy Lindsay, a woman who insists on being a diva when her diva days have long passed. Preiss also due to Fletcher's influence is thinking real strongly of going AOL. Not a real good idea, that's a decision that will affect the rest of your life gay or straight.

Preiss is on a quest for his dad and for the life of me I never understood why Clark just didn't come right out and tell him who is father was. No big deal when he found out. Just part of a very confused plot. I will say the male sex scenes were handled tastefully.

Some interesting points in Dog Tags, but definitely below average.