Akron

Benny is a gay child of Mexican parents and has just started at the University of Akron as a freshman. He gets roped into playing a game of American Football with his 'besty' girlfriend and after he meets, the rather dashing, Christopher. They like each other straightaway and just go for it.

The fly in the lovebirds ointment is that deep in the past of their respective mothers there was a tragic incident that will now become a barrier to them being able to stay together.

Now that is the synopsis and there are some things that I really liked. There is no homophobia or overly dramatic 'coming out' scene which marks this as 'progressive gay cinema' apparently. I just thought it was dealing with other issues – and it really is – their sexuality is just happenstance to the plot.

The issues that the two boys face would just as equally be a problem had they been a boy and a girl. The issue with the film itself is how it is all worked out. You will love or loathe this one. This is not a sexathon either and the bedroom scenes I am being a bit generous with my marking but that is because they all do a more than above average job and I quite liked the whole thing.

A very touching story of two young college boys who find each other at a football game played in the mud. Unfortunately they share a dark past when both boys were 4 or 5. Benny the very cute Hispanic boy's older 6 year old brother is killed when he runs out after a soccer ball and is killed in front of a mini van. As one of the professional reviewers says Benny's Family is not stereotypical. His family is very supportive and loving. The tension of the past places stress on the boys relationship and families. The supporting cast is phenomenal the actors who play Benny's mother and father and Christopher's mother are very Noteworthy not to mention Benny's little sister and the small roll of Christopher' s best friend Played by Cailin Rose all make for a very good movie.

As of this writing, I have 2,371 movies in my library. And while having and having watched repeatedly many of the 2,371 movies in my library, I am not a professional movie reviewer. But I believe that I do have an informed opinion about what is good and what is not good in movies overall.

The number of low and lowest ratings that some gave "Akron" (2015) surprised me, in part because I have given "Akron" a "10". So when I was recently visiting relations in Akron, Ohio, I asked several of my Latino relations about the allegations that a heavily Latino local church may have organized a number of the church's congregants to write IMDb for the purpose of slamming Akron (2015) because Matthew Frias was Latino and had competently played a gay young man in a very favorable light, within a story line that was very favorable to a gay love affair.

One of my relations turned out to be one of the church congregants who participated in this fraud, and then happily detailed just how this fraud on IMDb was orchestrated within the church itself. This relation stated that apparently none of the congregants had actually watched "Akron" or Matthew Frias, or if they had, they had only done so for a few minutes.

The moral of this is very simple, as far as I can see. Be very careful when using the ratings assigned to movies that some might find politically charged. And be very, very careful when religious groups target movies like "Akron" (2015) for whatever reason.

"Akron" (2015) deserves a "10" rating for all of the right cinematic reasons.

Have seen lots of gay themed movies and this is the FIRST one that showcases gayness in the most positive light possible. The two leading, gay characters are completely wholesome, young and attractive. They are serious college students with families who love and accept them as they are. You won't find any smoking scenes in this movie....no drinks, no illicit drugs. And you won't hear sleaze bags tossing around the F word as their most descriptive adjective. All you'll get are two athletic, academically oriented, "normal" behaving, gay college students who meet and fall for one another immediately. All the acting is spot on. Dialogue is exceedingly realistic and natural. Finally someone out there read my mind and presented a POSITIVE image of gay people.....and I'm not talking HIV.

Great movie primarily because of the actors, especially the two who play the central characters.

The plot is a bit contrived though entirely plausible. I don't think it's necessary to look for any deep meaning in the behavior of those involved. Obviously a tragedy occurred and it was bound to have a profound effect on all involved and it was something that would not have been fully explored between parents and the very young boys at the time.

Likewise it would have been a painful jolt to all involved when it suddenly resurfaced again as the two young men fell for each other at school. Forgiveness and rational thinking are easy to expect in theory, but far more difficult to deal with in reality. One thought that never seemed to have arisen was whether blame should have been shared between both mothers ... Christopher's mother who was driving the car that struck Benny's brother and Benny's mother who apparently allowed the child to run out in front of the car.

We never know how long the relationship between Benny and Christopher lasted. The shared tragedy might have been overcome by love and forgiveness, but it would always be a burden that would weigh on them both.

It was a well done bit of drama and romance, but it was not anything from which profound meaning could be extracted.