Testosterone

David Moreton and Dennis Hensley did a fantastic job with their screen adaptation of James Robert Baker's novel 'Testosterone.' David Moreton's second-only turn in the Director's chair is impressive, as was his choice of locations. Buenos Aires is one of the most striking and remarkable cities on the planet. The Argentine people are sophisticated and intriguing -- exactly what this story demands. Wonderful costume design highlights the Porteños' eye for fashion. In addition, the original music is light and amusing when it should be, turning dark and captivating just when it is vital.

The casting was virtually perfect. David Sutcliffe and Celina Font bring 'Dean' and 'Sofia' to life as if they were born to play the characters. Antonio Sabato Jr as 'Pablo' IS the quintessential Latin lover. As always, Jennifer Coolidge offers us laughter, this time giving us the take-no-crap 'Louise'. Leonardo Brzezicki's 'Marcos' takes us from distrust and contempt, to empathy and compassion. This guy is a true 'find' -- let us see more from him soon. Then the amazing Sonia Braga delivers 'Mrs Alesandro' at a level of outstanding few others could achieve.

'Testosterone' will make you a bit sad, let you have a few laughs, remind you we have all made at least one bad relationship choice, offer one mans decision on how he will reach closure, and will keep you thinking for days to follow.

'Awful?' 'Dreadful?' 'Terrible?' Harsh for a film that never claims to be an epic blockbuster. Moreover, if this was such a bad project, one wonders why do so many have rather deep questions into the characters, their motivations, and interconnections. Not to mention the seemingly endless quest to figure out the true meaning behind this films ending.

If you are looking to be entertained and a bit challenged, with a sufficient amount of foreign culture and 'eye candy' to ensure your attention is held, you need to see David Moreton's 'Testosterone.'

Testosterone started as a gay novel written by a gay author suffering from depression. It's a VERY grim, dark tale of Dean who is deserted by his lover Pablo. But it seems Pablo has left him a gift--an HIV infection. He spends the entire novel driving around Los Angeles meeting various dark, disturbing characters and circumstances to track Pablo down. The ending is very bleak.

This movie took the basic story, threw out the HIV angle completely and has Dean tracking Pablo to Argentina to seek closure!!!! There he encounters various hot men while trying to see Pablo. It ends (almost) the same as the book--but this version seems to be a light-hearted black comedy! I know that sounds strange but the tone kept shifting around. I was never sure how to take this. The script meanders all over the place, moves VERY slowly and (more than once) I wanted to hit Dean and tell him to get over it! As an adaptation of the novel, it's worthless. But on its own it's not that good either.

I'm giving it a 5 because David Sutcliffe was very good (and very hot) as Dean; it was great seeing Sonia Braga again (looking fantastic); it was fun to see Antonio Sabato Jr. out of his clothes--he can't act but has a great body (and has a brief frontal shot!); and has a real HOT Latino guy (Leonardo Brzazicki). Also the frequent shirtless shots of Sutcliffe are nice and there's some real hot man-on-man kissing (Sutcliffe and Sabato are straight but they seem very at ease in the kissing scenes). But the meandering script does everybody in. And Sabato is hardly in it (maybe 10-15 minutes).

I really can't recommend this film. I am wondering what they intended--if they weren't going to be faithful to the novel why bother? As it is this film is bombing. I saw it opening night in Provincetown during Mens Weekend--including me there were THREE people in the audience!

Hard to think of any other film where the putative good guy and the bad guy are uniformly repugnant. That the setting is Argentina reminds me of that country's major cultural contribution to the world -- the tango. The dance evolved from a musical entertainment for men only in which the participants combined hard-bitten, menacing moves with unmistakeably erotic passion. The soundtrack of this film, including some modern Astor Piazzolla, reinforces an impression genuinely Argentine.

The problem encountered here is one already noted in several comments, namely, that the story is out of focus. A rather preposterous ending compounds the offense. It's really too bad, because otherwise I found myself drawn to the underlying notion of finding resolution to a dramatic theme by moving the scene to some exotic locale. "Flying Down to Buenos Aires," as it were.

Noir and comedy mix well only in the area of satire. One comes away from viewing this apparent attempt to combine the two not with an appreciation of its cleverness, but with a sour taste in one's mouth. In some sense, I got the feeling neither the creators of the film nor possibly some of the actors were altogether thrilled by the script or the characterizations. That's a kiss of death not unlike one might have witnessed at the conclusion of a tango danced in some nineteenth-century Buenos Aires brothel.

This film was certainly flawed and missed some great opportunities to be a lot better but it really wasn't that bad. I watched it from start to finish and that says a lot about a movie to me. It was not art, but I was certainly entertained. The ironic part of this film was that Antonio was really not that interesting on the screen. All the other actors and actresses were far more intriguing and Antonio's character was probably more important than the actor himself. This movie's only true downfall was that it didn't really capture its "theme" well enough to give the movie an overall point. Also, it was probably just a tad bit too convoluted. It's worth the 90 minute time investment, though, cause it's at least entertaining..

Reading these reviews has intrigued me enough to post one.

I truly feel that those who did not like/get/understand this film have never read a comic book from start to finish. This film IS a comic book.......a story, visually told, verbally disjointed....ON PURPOSE.

There is nothing in this adaptation that smacks of the original written work....and that's OK......it would have been MUCH darker with the HIV angle...more like the twisted film "24th Day".....

This was silly fluff, and nothing more than a fun little ride through a comic book. Those that were looking for a cohesive through line.....nope, not there....and that's OK...since when do all films NEED to be told in a strict linear fashion that fits into a societal mold.

The actors gave their roles a great film noir bite, and I must say that the banter was some of the smartest written for a "gay" film in a long time (or have you all forgotten the inane babble from "Eating Out"). Each character was a grotesque caricature...and I loved this movie for that...even the brother/sister relationship.....true ugliness done up right.

The DVD did offer a not so satisfying alternate ending, wherein Dean is conversing with the ACTUAL head (the cooler lid is off) and ASjr. is responding....not so good...much better to have him drive off into the sunset with our imaginations doing the gruesome dirty work.

Finally, the "meandering" storyline everyone is bitching about.......are you kidding......101 minutes...BLAM...flew by....and I've seen this film maybe 20 times...always show it at dinner parties.....those in our circle who get film noir, and who "get" the comic book mode...LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!