Encontro no Café

I just loved "COFFEE DATE" , It makes me what to grab a cup, just kidding. Its nice to see that an independent feature can look great, be well acted and be enjoyable to watch. Child star Wilson Cruz makes a great transition from awkward teenager to sexy leading man with actress Elaine Hendrix as the surprise favorite "hag" to Wilson's character. Stewart Wade has the touch on romantic comedy. He creates character's that i feel Like I know. However,my favorite gem in the movie is Jason Stuart. Who starts out as the"office gossip" makes the transition as the dependable shoulder to"lean on" and the voice of reason in the film. It really showcases his talent as the go to character actor.

This film is so nearly there. There are more than one or two genuinely heart rending moments in it. There are several characters of almost three dimensions. A little more work and it could have been all the things it almost is - subtle, touching and funny. It's just slightly amateur. Not much, but enough to take the edge off what it could have been. TLA Releasing seem to put out a fair number of movies a bit like this. Sweet tales of modern gay life. Gay movies you want to love, that sometimes bring a tear (just the one) to the eye and have you laughing (a couple of times), but that don't quite cut deep enough to make them memorable or watchable twice. This coffee-date does have charm and looks, but he lacks substantial charisma.

(There is also a technical problem with Coffee Date; the sound mixing is all over the place. One minute the background is high and the dialogue low, then an angle changes and it's all different again. This is a pretty basic requirement these days, decent sound design and mixing).

This film will not be too much of an attraction to a straight guy (because I have no idea how their mind works) but it sure captured my attention from the very first scene until the end. There may be a few occasions that are too good to be true or unrealistically light-weight along the way but overall it will surely capture you too if you are gay or into gay films. There is one particular thing that makes this film stand out is the ending or shall I say 'the closure'. It does not end the way a conventional gay film ends and which makes it more appealing. "Coffee Date" really made my day.

If you have a couple of free hours on a lazy afternoon and you are not looking for anything too challenging to fill them, you might try watching this low-budget comedy on cable. It certainly wouldn't be the worst way to spend your time, but the problem with this little film is that it certainly wouldn't be the best way to spend your time either. Jonathan Bray and Wilson Cruz are certainly competent actors who play likable and attractive leads who meet-cute in the setup for this sweet and goofy comedy of errors. Along the way, the film even manages to achieve a couple of touching moments and a few small laughs. Nonetheless, the story suffers by the screenwriter taking a premise best suited to a movie short and stretching it thin to fill a feature length film. The film piles improbability upon improbability to keep the plot trudging forward and it throws in tired clichés and cheap laughs as a poor substitute for genuine wit and sophisticated character development. The sincere effort of the two lead actors keeps the whole flimsy story together for most of the film, but eventually even their strong acting skills can no longer compensate for the ridiculous plot developments and trite dialog.

Although Coffee Date got a little too weird for me it does have a definite amusement value. I'm so jealous of Jonathan Bray because I have a brother and he never fixed me up with Wilson Cruz whom I actually met many years ago.

Jonathan Silverman who is Bray's brother fixes up Bray with a computer date whom he has to meet in one of those Starbucks type coffee houses. It's with someone named Kelly. Expecting a woman Kelly turns out to be Wilson Cruz. Bray then spends the rest of the film first denying he's gay and then trying it on for size.

Before the film is over a whole lot of people wind up doing a lot of soul searching and genders are bent to a considerable degree. I won't say more, but it gets too weird and coincidental for me.

But with Wilson Cruz's presence, that's always a plus sign.