Amor de hombre

The Spanish dramatic sit-com, AMOR DE HOMBRE (Is translation necessary?) is a fresh and (for non-Spaniards) foreign take on what is becoming a deluge of "the perfect gay man as a girl's best friend" movies. To be objective, one must remember this movie was released before THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, and RELAX, IT'S JUST SEX (to mention but a few) and two years before Madonna and Rupert Everett started playing the story out in the "real" world, and on film next year. The plot of AMOR has just the right number of interesting (stereotypical can be interesting) characters, and believable situations (the gay caracters DO have sex lives) to make the movie work on comedic and dramatic levels. The unusual depiction of gay men as "normal" yuppies (doctors, lawyers and teachers; no hair dressers or designers here), who like straights, have lives of their own, lends crossover appeal to the arthouse crowd.

There's very little in this movie that makes you film that you didn't waste your time. While you are seeing it there aren't no surprise elements. A promiscuous gay guy whose best friend is the closest person he has and the relationship that develops between them.

Kudos to everyone involved in this production. Spain's "amor de hombre" is depicted with great wit, style, humor and compassion. As usual, Andrea Occhipinti as the fickle lawyer Ramon stands out. Loles Leon as the ever hopeful, helpful and aptly named Esperanza is his perfect foil. Throughout the course of the film it becomes evident that even with a basic sexual incompatibility these two people genuinely care for each other so much that it is unlikely that each would ever find a better mate. The sequences where each tries to fix the other up with a lover are hilarious and touching. Even the most minor characters are well drawn including the lowlife Roberto who is such a disappointment to Ramon.

For one thing, I found the movie terrible verbose, dialog heavy. I was going crazy trying to read the sub-titles and watching the sexy stuff going on the screen at the same time. And in the end, I didn't feel much empathy towards either of the lead characters, especially the guy, who seemed one hell of a selfish pain in the ass to have as a friend. And it seemed weird having one single straight woman and every other character in the movie (including the one guy she's shown dating) turning out to be gay. In the final analysis, the best part of the movie was the birthday cake that was so lovingly baked during the titles - I drooled.

The directors of this film wanted to present a funny take on a serious subject. Yolanda Garcia Serrano and Juan Luis Iborra, who also wrote the screen play, show us a side of the gay life in Spain, which depicts their life as a mature way for them to interact in their world and lead social lives that appear to be rewarding.

Into the equation, the directors have thrown a woman, Esperanza, who is a typical "fag hag". Her friendship with Ramon, the man at the center of the story, is an uncommon one. Ramon basically depends on "Espe" as a means of support and friendship. In fact, their friendship seems to be deeper than what it appears on the surface, and Esperanza is a true friend that will be there for Ramon all the time, something that he takes for granted, as proved when he gets involved with Roberto.

The film has a few laughs because of the humor the creators have given the production. Loles Leon makes a fun Esperanza. Andrea Occhipinti is the hunky Ramon. Armando del Rio appears as Roberto, who undergoes a change from not being interested in Ramon, and suddenly throwing himself into his arms, but he has an agenda that will be revealed at the end.