If You Only Knew

This romantic comedy has a heartfelt touch that is missing in so many studio attempts at this genre. My wife and I loved this movie as we laughed and cried. It reminded me of "Tootsie". It reminded her of the first time we fell in love. What a great find.

It's just a movie, folks. But it was a fun experience and I would recommend it to a few friends that like romantic comedy. The movie never pretended to be something else. It is a woman's movie - but - there is enough for guys to enjoy, too.

I loved this film! It works equally well as a romance and a comedy. Sam (Alison Eastwood) lives in her own apartment and is looking for a room mate. Parker Concorde (Johnathan Schaech), who falls in love with Sam from afar, would do anything to get closer to her and win her love. An opportunity arises, for Parker, when he finds out that Sam is looking for a new room mate. The only problem is that Sam only rents her spare room to gay men! Parker then leads Sam to believe that he is actually gay!! He then ends up becoming her new "gay" room mate.

The words "low budget" are written all over this film. This, however, actually works to an advantage for the film as a whole. Too many "high budget" films end up focusing too much on the visual and too little on the plot. What ends up happening is that audiences are left with a pretty package that is empty inside. Where this film is concerned, this is not the case at all. In this case, the audience is given a film with plenty of plot, humor, and romance.

Johnathan Schaech plays the role of Parker Concorde perfectly! This particular role, for him, is a bit of a balancing act; however, he pulls it off quite well. Parker is rather naive and nerdy, but he's also caring, considerate, and sensitive; still, he lacks the confidence to just "be himself". On the other hand, he's got the face and body of a Greek God!! Normally, these conflicting traits are not found all in one man. Johnathan Schaech is absolutely gorgeous!!! He manages to create the "perfect man" in the character of Parker Concorde. A man who is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. With his glasses on, he is obviously meant to look a bit like a nerd; nevertheless, he is still quite handsome. Without his glasses, he looks like a fashion model (There are actually some scenes where, when caught at the right moment, Jonathan Schaech looks ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!! He has, by far, the most gorgeous face and body ever caught on film!!!)!!! Are we to believe that he would ever have trouble attracting women? He would have a lot more trouble keeping them away!! Nevertheless, Parker is unaware of what a good catch he really is. Is this unrealistic? Of course not! Many beautiful men and women are actually in this same boat. This aspect of Parker's character is what sets the plot in motion, and makes it believable as well.

Alison Eastwood gives a solid, yet subtle performance as the likeable, "gay friendly" Sam. Her character is a bit more worldly than Parker; she is nonetheless, a perfect match for him. The good chemistry, between both Alison Eastwood and Johnathan Schaech, makes it seem all the more clear that these two are meant to be together.

Along for the ride is a strong and very funny supporting cast!! Watch for the scenes that include Parker's gay coworkers, his female militant boss, and his oversexed "straight" best friend. They're hysterical!! There are numerous scenes that I rewind and watch over and over and over!!!

This is a definite must see!!! Don't miss this one!!!

Parker (Johnathan Schaech) is an aspiring writer who is still looking for his big break. In the meantime, he works as a telephone adviser for a Manhattan psychic hotline. One day, most unfortunately, his apartment building burns down. Parker and his cat make it out alive but are now stuck with the arduous task of finding affordable housing in the Big Apple. Word comes to Parker that a lady, Samantha (Alison Eastwood) is searching for a roommate but will only accept a gay male. Since Parker is straight but the price is right, he decides to pretend that he is gay. Samantha likes him from the start and welcomes him as her new cohabitant. But, poor Parker. Sam is lovely, intelligent and very desirable. How will he be able to keep his true nature under control? Besides, doesn't Sam have a successful businessman-boyfriend anyway? This is a sweet, likable, and humorous film with two very attractive stars in Eastwood and Schaech. Naturally, the plot is a string of "how can I keep up this ruse" scenes, with Sam asking Parker for shampoo while she is showering or pleading with him to hold her in bed when she receives bad news. Also, it is necessary for Parker to produce his own "fake" gay mate, Boris, when Sam insists upon fixing him up with a man she knows. Hopefully, the gay community will not find this too offensive, as this viewer thought most issues were treated with sensitivity and subtlety. For a small scale movie, the costumes, sets, and camera work were quite nice, also. Therefore, if you love those funny tales of love, get this one soon. You will like what you see, I know it.

There's nothing new here. All the standard romantic-comedy scenes, even down to the taxi sprinting to the airport to stop the woman flying away. The only thing that saves this is the acting of Alison Eastwood & some of the minor characters (blink and you'll miss Gabrielle Anwar), who obviously had some fun.

Turn it off when the pair are in bliss, and you won't have to go through the inevitable plot pain.