Cruzeiro das Loucas

This isn't a must-see, nor is it a should-see, but it's not bad for a film this amateurish and low-brow. Despite having watched a couple billion movies, I've never become an expert at pointing out things like continuity errors and other flubs of that sort, but you don't have to be a film scholar to notice the COUNTLESS times the boom mike appears in the shots. I've seen student films shot with more professionalism. Come on!

The script is written with almost no intelligence. Any perv with half a brain can cough up such a cheap set of gags like this. But the sense of humor don't lie. I did get a fair deal of laughs. Not only that, but I was impressed by the gratuitous shots of half-naked women! Viewers probably assume since it's a film about a gay cruise, there'd be nothing but half-naked guys, but think again! I'm glad the director was thinking about the straight guys in the audience.

Part of the film's charm is it reminds me of those late night adult comedies like "Bikini Carwash Company" and "Beauty School." Lots of women in bikinis and nothing but tasteless sex gags. You can probably see most of the punchlines from a mile away, yet you still want to laugh. There's one scene where Cuba Gooding, Jr. ejaculates out the window and his fluids land on a man's face. The man is standing next to his gay lover and he says to him, "At least kiss me first." A totally forced, brainless gag, but it made me bust out laughing!

Gooding seems to be having fun in every scene, but I can't help but wonder, "Just WHAT the hell is he doing in this movie?" I could understand if this movie were made prior to his Oscar-winning appearance in "Jerry Maguire," but he's the last actor who should volunteer to do such a low-grade film. I know he didn't do it for the money, because the film's budget must've been about 3 dollars. But as I said, he does look like he's having fun and delivers some laughs. I liked his gay dance number of "I'm Coming Out," where he's dressed up as a showgirl. Horatio Sanz, one of the few new SNL cast members who actually makes me laugh, also delivers the goods. Former 007 star Roger Moore steals a few scenes himself. And Roselyn Sanchez, of "Rush Hour 2" fame, graces the screen with her beauty. Boy, is she hot!

I've heard some reviewers complain about the film's use of gay stereotypes. Now, in a more intelligent film, you may have the right to complain. With a film like this, why waste your breath? If you want to see an accurate portrayal of gays, watch "Queer as Folk." I'm sure no one walked into "Boat Trip" with the expectation that it would be a realistic portrait of homosexuals. I know gay people don't always talk about sex and guys' sex organs, but with characters who went against that stereotype, how would we have a comedy? If blacks and Hispanics are able to laugh at Archie Bunker comically bashing their people, gays can laugh at the stereotypes portrayed in this movie.

Even for a rental, I'd give this movie just a mild recommendation, but it is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Every once in a while you feel like kicking back and watching a movie that requires no brain power. Well...look no further.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

I absolutely agree with everything in the previous review. This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

However, I would like to point out one egregious fact - the boom microphone is visible throughout about a third of the movie. You think I'm kidding.

It seems impossible in this day and age, when people spend millions of dollars on a movie (good or bad), that they would allow production and distribution of a 'film' in which there is a microphone hanging down into the shot in many scenes throughout. It should be illegal.

However, it made the movie far more watchable. Rather than pay attention to the cheesy dialogue, offensive characters, and lack of plot, my friends and I watched the top of the screen and cracked up every time we saw the microphone come into view. Thanks, Brian.

When Jerry vomits onto his girlfriend when trying to be romantic, he finds himself dumped and depressed. Weeks turn into months and his best friend Nick decides to help him out of his funk by getting them onto a cruise together. However a fight in the travel agents see them being "accidentally" booked onto a gay cruise. Unfortunately for them they only realise this after they have set sail. With no land in immediate sight, things look bleak but both Jerry and Nick find more opportunities than they had expected.

If there is a warning noise in comedies (ie a cinematic fire alarm) then surely it must be any film that has the main character dancing alone in their flat to a James Brown song. So when this film opened with that I immediately got on edge – a feeling that didn't change for the rest of the film. With a foundation of homophobia, bikini wearing models and loud humour this is very much a comedy that aims at a teenage market and probably does enough to satisfy them if not anyone else. The gags are obvious and simplistic and are unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't think that cum jokes are the height of humour, homosexual men are 99% clichés and that large breasts are the most important thing in a woman. I don't really think these things so I only laughed once the whole time – and even that was cut short as a good joke immediately turned into crudity. Without laughs the story is exposed for the predictable, puerile mess that it is.

The cast don't help the material and seem to just accept the level that it is at. Goding Jr mostly mugs his way through it and to his credit at least puts his all into it – a "lesser" actor would have shied away from some of his scenes but Cuba seemingly has no shame. The one good thing to say about him is that he does have an easy chemistry with Sanchez, although that may be more to do with the fact that she is sexy and natural and is easily the best thing in the whole film. Sanz is a typical "fat funny guy" but I use the word "funny" with reservations as he is nothing special. Fox may get a hard time from Boondocks but films like this hardly help her case – she is poor in a small role. Moore puts his heart into his role but at times he does himself no favours and pushed it too far. Why people like Gunton, Silvstedt and Roundtree bothered is beyond me.

Overall a very basic comedy that has very, very few laughs and will probably only appeal to the male teenage market that it is squarely aimed at. The stereotypes are flying, the crudity and homophobia is rampant and the only thing missing is entertainment value. Sanchez dominates with a sexy and natural performance but that is mainly down to just how very average everyone else is.

Man I don't understand why people come down so hard on this movie and personally, I thought that is was a good but not a great movie but it doesn't deserved all the negativity that you hear, anyway it's about Jerry (Cuba Gooding) who proposes to his snotty girlfriend Felicia (Vivian A. Fox) and he and his unsophisticated friend Nick (Heratio Sanz) decide to go on a cruise so they can meet some beautiful woman but after Nick cussing one of the cruise agents out, they wind up on a GAY CRUISE!! There's a funny appearance by Roger Moore who was a former James Bond and there's a funny scene by Felicia who tells a guy to be careful with her luggage cause she claims that they're worth more than what he makes in a year.

When I saw this movie in the theater, they're was only 8 people, only 8, can you believe that.

If you ask me if I would watch this movie again, the answer is yes but I'll wait till it comes out on DVD or the video.

Boat Trip succeeds where countless films have failed in providing insight into the multi-leveled complexity, ambiguity and tension inherent in gay/straight social interactions. Moreover, it brashly implies such interactions should be encouraged and even celebrated.

Boat Trip is both more and less than a sensitive but hilarious portrayal of the gay sex cruise industry. It must be recognized as a clever commentary on the often overlooked fact that gay men and straight men differ in sexual preference but are similar in some other respects.

The subtlety in the pretense of presenting what superficially appears to be a dreadfully juvenile and unfunny film as a means of illuminating the prejudices of the audience is utterly brilliant. So brilliant in fact that many of the more literal minded among us might leave the theater unaware of the profundity of the film and think they just endured one of the worst movies ever produced.

That would be their loss. Approached on a more open-minded level this film will reveal startling truths such as the little recognized tendency for some gay men to behave in an effeminate manner and the even less explored reality that such behavior makes many straight men uncomfortable. Even more revealing is the film's shocking premise that being in the company of gays does not inevitably cause a straight man to desire to perform fellatio. By exploding this myth this film may do more to strengthen the ties between straight and gay men than any development since the advent of unisex hair styling salons.

Most movingly, but with adroitly comedic undertones, this movie boldly suggests that, despite these hidden truths, gay and straight men can co-exist even within the confining environment of a seafaring vessel. Of course, the cruise liner is itself not merely the setting or "environment" in which this cinematic exploration occurs but indeed a metaphor for our ever more crowded society and the ultimate verity that we are all adrift in this mad world together.

The failure of this film to receive its due from critics only shows the dangers of daring to break new ground in Hollywood.