Daddy

Colin is one of those gay guys who seems to have it all – great job, loads of money and he gets all the young men he wants. His best mate, Stew, lives next door and is the polar opposite but they have been inseparable since college. Then one day an intern starts work at Colin's office.

What first starts out as an overly keen employee soon becomes something much more intense, but when something is too good to be true.... well you know how it goes.

Now this is from TLA and yet is one of theirs that raises the bar. It is well made, acted. Scripted, filmed and everything else. The story is believable and engaging and the twist I never saw coming. It is also an indie and stars Gerald McCulloch as Colin who also directed this, he is a seasoned actor and the calibre shone through, but Jamie Cepero as Thaddeus was brilliant too and all the part players never let the side down. This is a TLA release I am happy to recommend.

Gerald McCullouch directed and stars as Colin, an older professional gay man who hangs out with a platonic buddy named Stew, instigating an intimate relationship with a much-younger man, an intern at his office. This proves to be a sticking point in his close relationship with Stew, his neighbor and best friend since college, with jealousy rearing its head based on the simplistic notion that Stew isn't as attractive as Colin, can't get a date of his own and has deep-rooted feelings for his long-time pal. McCullouch toys with the clichés and stereotypes inherent in this scenario (the gays namedrop Madonna, go to the gym regularly, and hit the bars not for a thrilling night out but with the intent on finding sexual partners); however, having a gay protagonist who also likes sports isn't exactly groundbreaking, while the scenes of gay intimacy are merely hinted at. Gay love has been shown to better advantage as subplots in heterosexual-dominated films, which makes one wonder why McCulloch didn't (or wasn't allowed to) go all the way with his narrative. Playing it safe won't expand the boundaries of gay cinema--it never has. * from ****

I thought this film was great; a pleasant surprise! The acting and writing were great, the directing was excellent, and I was definitely shocked (in a good way) where the story goes. I was very pleased to see a film that positively portrays a older/younger gay relationship with real depth and heart. But then I was even more pleased with the how the complicated the relationship becomes, it made the story/relationship more real and grounded. I was a fan of Mr. McCullouch from the Bear City movies and his acting is pretty great in each of these films. But I really hope he will be doing more directing in the future. It was some pretty impressive work for his first feature length movie. Dan Via also displays some great acting work for only having a handful of acting credits to his name. Very impressive! I wish I caught the stage version. Looking forward to seeing more from Dan as well. Bravo and congrats to the cast and crew!

The story itself might have been interesting but the acting was beyond mediocrity and was sad to watch. May work as a play but definitely not as a movie.

So I have been following this film from the gofundme phase of its production and brought it once available on DVD. Now I will say this film is not Oscar winning but I think it's worthy of awards for the film. Actor gerald McCullouch gives a performance that feels very authentic for a middle aged gay male character that we all have seen from time to time but with a heart. The other characters match this well and add to the film in simple crafted moments. The ending is a little out there but is very possible in this day and age. I gave this film 8 stars because with the calibre of low budget gay films out there this one seems very polished and complete but also very well made and acted.

Looking forward to seeing some other great work from gerald. It's worth seeing