Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!

OY VEY MY SON IS GAY recently had its world premier at the Montreal International Film Festival, opening to a little too enthusiastic audience. It is nothing more than a schmaltzy stereotypical Hollywood film about a New York Jewish family trying to accept their son who just came out of the closet.

Despite the lineup of famous names including Lanie Kazan, Vincent Pastore (Pussy from The Sopranos) and Carmen Electra (of Baywatch fame), OY VEY was badly acted and edited with a weak story line incorporating every ethnic cliché in the book and making this movie very painful to watch. And with its cast of shallow characters, this film fails to deliver any real message.

OY VEY opens up with a cartoon sketch introducing the characters and would have made a really cute film as an animation. It would have also been better suited for television and really should have been made into a play first in order to be adapted for the big screen.

OY VEY MY SON IS GAY was written, directed and produced by Evgeny Efineevsky, who has a few films under his belt from Israel, yet it seems like it could have been made by any film student.

I also saw OY VEY MY SON IS GAY in Montreal and was very disappointed. Full of clichés, both Jewish and gay, it was hard to believe that families would behave the way they did in today's western world. Maybe in the 70s. The acting was over the top; mugging to the cameras; gratuitous use of Carmen Electra's physical charms. The cast of characters were all stock: Jewish parents, relatives both pro- and anti-gay, opposite types as male lovers, siblings who understand but stay silent. The list could go on. One could have predicted the denouement of the movie after 10 minutes. I don't recommend this film unless you are amused by trashy, Hollywood-type entertainment masquerading as an independent movie.

I saw Oy Vey My Son Is Gay last week when I was visiting a friend in NYC. They were doing a screening of the film for amfAR.

After the cartoon intro, the actual film started off odd and very choppy. It was almost uncomfortable to even watch. As the film progressed, I had high hopes for the movie. A good cast and with so much going on in the gay community, a good chance to really talk about relevant subject matters through comedy.

I was disappointed on all levels. The film was simply embarrassing to watch. Instead of focusing on relevant subject matter it perpetuated obvious stereotypes of the GLBT community. I'm a proud parent of a gay child and I was offended that this was the best that they could come up with.

I'd highly recommend seeing something else. It was waste of an hour of my time. No good messages to walk away with. I doubt it will ever make it into a theater.

I caught this film at the Montreal Film Festival and absolutely loved the film. The writers did a great job of blending serious subject matters with humor seamlessly.

The film's cast couldn't have been chosen more perfectly. Lainie Kazan and Saul Rubinek were really great together.

The film made me laugh at times and cry at others. If you can imagine blending My Big Fat Greek Wedding with Mambo Italiano, you have Oy Vey...

The music to the film was great as well.

All around a good film.

Worth watching simply to see how far public attitudes have (or in some cases, haven't) changed regarding gay marriage and adoption. It's not a very good movie, although its heart is in the right place. The performances are good-natured and you can predict the happy outcomes. Suspend disbelief as the family is shocked to discover Bruce Vilanch is gay. To me, the oddest thing is the casting of John Lloyd Young as the gay son. At the time, Young was hot off his Tony winning role in Jersey Boys. He doesn't sing in this movie and the relationship with his boyfriend is tepid at best with a few kisses on the cheek. Both actors seem far too old for their stereotypical coming out roles. If the title makes you laugh, then you'll enjoy the movie.