Date and Switch

This film tells the story of two best friends in high school preparing for prom. One of them comes out as gay, and their friendship is tested.

"Date and Switch" is a fun and lighthearted comedy about a teenager coming to terms with his sexuality, exploring his life and lifestyle. The film is full of stereotypical characters and situations, but one thing that is not stereotypical is that the lead characters are not the super camp queen that is present in many gay films. The emotional climax is a little disappointing, but the fun and happy ending makes up for it. "Date and Switch" has a but of predictability and a bit of unpredictability. I guess that's what makes the film fun.

Matty (hunter Cope) and Michael (Nicholas Braun) are best friends and have grown up together. They are now approaching their prom night but are both still virgins. Well we all know the smell of desperation oozes out of virgins like a reversed effect pheromone and so they decide they have to get some serious bedroom action.

So they make a hash cake in preparation for a big celebration and go about the art of seduction - badly. Then Matty announces he is actually gay - as if this minor bombshell wasn't enough Michael starts to fall for Matty's ex girlfriend. The path to non virgindom then begins and despite Michael's attempts at helping his best bud get his rocks off, he starts to feel the strain and there inevitably will be some ups and downs (sorry awful joke that).

This is just great fun. Megan Mullally has a small but perfectly formed part as Mattys mom and the clichés are kept mostly at arms length. The jokes are really well observed and everyone puts in a great performance - maybe because they were all enjoying themselves. Either way this is a film that put a smile on my face and kept it there - I hope it can do the same for you.

The word had a different meaning a long time ago. But if we get movies with a homosexual theme (sort of, not the whole cast being that way) that are supposed to be appealing to a larger audience, it is mostly with females. In this case we do get the male perspective if you will. And it's not really telling you how to behave or not. You could actually say, that it's even so much about the sexuality (only as much as you want to make it), but how to grow up and stand up for yourself and your friends in life.

Having said that, the movie is pretty funny and light, if the subject matter is not appalling to you of course. There are no dumb stereotypes (which is refreshing) and the movie itself takes the viewer seriously. Are there still some clichés in there? Of course there are. It's inevitable, but does not really matter in the whole picture.

I've watched plenty of gay movies/series and unfortunately they always tend to stick to the same stereotype of the "queen", colourful, flamboyant gay men. This one finally breaks free from that mould and presents a consistent coming out/of age story with a non-stereotypical gay main character, someone who doesn't like musical theatre, Britney Spears and is actually on the chubby side, which was quite refreshing to see. Granted, it's still a teen/prom movie like oh so many out there, but the acting was fine throughout and the setting/location was pleasant too. It was good to see some familiar faces like Dakota Johnson, Megan Mullaly and "Ron Swanson" acting like his usual butch self, albeit with glasses this time around. I thoroughly recommend it if you are tired of the usual gay stuff and want something light and fun to watch.

As a gay man, I'm happy to see a gay-related-film without sex scenes or stereotypical characters. There's no flags, awkward coming outs, clichés or any of that. In fact, this isn't as much a gay-related film as it is about friendship. We get to see two guys, both dealing with their newly discovered difference and trying to stay friends in their own way.

For the straight audience, I believe this can be equally funny and touching. The movie really shows how a straight guy can still be friends with a gay dude. Nothing has to change. Also, it's nice to see a gay character that isn't effeminate, overly dramatic or promiscuous. An original and refreshing teen story I must say.