Whirlwind

Kind of a Week in the life of a gay couple and their friends, Whirlwind was written, produced, and edited by Jason Brown. At least he didn't make the mistake of also directing and starring in it, like many writers do. Bobby (Alexis Suarez) and Sean (Bryan West) decide to give an anniversary party for an uncle, who has been in a gay relationship for 25 years. Bobby and Sean are also considering buying an apartment together, but when sexy bad-boy "Drake" (David Rudd) shows up on the scene, it appears they have different priorities. Rudd is the hot, sexy, single, dark soul,who is determined to mess with happy couples he encounters. It's kind of a "Big Chill" week, as the gang plans this party. Each person here represents a stereo-type who is stuck in a rut, and must overcome their fear of change. Mick is the talented, broody, sad guy. JD is the big drunk who doesn't know what he wants out of life, but who does, really?? No big surprises here, but no plot-holes either. The tag line on the front of the DVD cover says "Banter is witty, and the sex is hot!" ... not sure if I agree with either part of that 100%, but they do capture a lot of gay culture into 100 minutes. Cute cast. Interesting mix of actors -- some are brand new to the acting scene, and some have a longer resume. Directed by Richard LeMay, who wrote and directed "200 American".

A correct film. Not great, not impressive but enough for create some emotion, use , in smart manner, some cliches and a spoon of realism and propose a dark character testing, perturbing a group of good friends grace his impecable art of manipulation and provocative gestures , words.

It reminds old fashion homosexual films from 1980 - 1990 decade, and exactly this flavor, like the inspired construction of few characters are the good point for define Whirlwind as little more than interesting.

The personal stories are right constructed,the dialogue is far to be desappointing. So, just correct film.

This is a film about a group of five gay men in New York and how their lives are affected by the arrival into their social set of a "nasty type". Unfortunately, the "nasty type" is so transparent and two dimensional that it is difficult to believe that anyone with intelligence would allow themselves to be taken in by him. But then the other characters are two dimensional, cardboard cutouts too. The plot was entirely predictable from the very beginning. The "wit" was nonexistent. The sex scenes were flaccid. The acting ranged from the competent to the wooden. Frankly, it was difficult to care what happened to most of the characters. It had the moral vision of a Victorian novel and just about the same grip on reality.

This is a very predictable, cliche'-ridden gay morality play (yes...oxymoron) filled with over-acting, camp and not much else. The punch-line of every scene seems to be someone pulling out a joint...which is of course hiLARIOUS the more times it happens. The "villain" is beyond Vaudeville expectations, and the real tragedy is you really just don't care about any of these characters. Unless you're related to one of these actors (or slept with them apparently) then you can safely let this Whirlwind blow right past you.

The first part of the movie was meant to ensure that we knew the five main characters were great friends, so we get to listen to them exchanging supposedly intimate jibes and charming repartee. We also get a little insight into flaws in their personalities & relationships as well as some potential issues, all of which suggest their shared intimacy and charm are somewhat fragile.

Handled well, all of this insight would have served a useful purpose in developing the plot. Unfortunately neither the acting nor the script really rose to the occasion. It was pretty heavy-handed & obvious and I don't think many viewers could be expected to feel any emotional connection to any of the characters or any concern for what would happen next. It all was pretty predictable and no surprises lay in store.

When the "bad guy" appeared he was not wearing a black hat, but there was still little doubt that his mission in life was to sow the seeds of discord amongst the happy band of brothers and that he would, theoretically, be a force to be reckoned with. I doubt anyone in the audience could fail to see what he was up to, although the characters in the movie were utterly oblivious & helpless and he was able to work his evil magic on them without setting off any alarms … or creating much interest.

Thrown into the mix is a couple who are nearing their 25th anniversary together and who, we are told, everyone just loves to death. They were two-dimensional cardboard cut-out unemotional characters and the supposed great love for them felt by everyone else was never convincing. Nonetheless, planning the party to celebrate their anniversary is meant to be the glue that eventually holds everyone together.

Had the plot been well written and had the actors been a bit more appealing & convincing in presenting their characters to the audience, it would have been a mediocre and trite work. Unfortunately it never quite reached that level.

The actors who played Bobby and Sean were sufficiently attractive and charming to engender some sympathy for their characters and to hold one reluctantly in his seat to see how things panned out for them, but they weren't really enough to save the production.

There are certainly many worse movies out there, but it's hard to think of any good reason why anyone should bother watching this rather poorly crafted soap-opera … although watching Bryan West might just have made it more tolerable.