Amor de hombre

The Spanish dramatic sit-com, AMOR DE HOMBRE (Is translation necessary?) is a fresh and (for non-Spaniards) foreign take on what is becoming a deluge of "the perfect gay man as a girl's best friend" movies. To be objective, one must remember this movie was released before THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, and RELAX, IT'S JUST SEX (to mention but a few) and two years before Madonna and Rupert Everett started playing the story out in the "real" world, and on film next year. The plot of AMOR has just the right number of interesting (stereotypical can be interesting) characters, and believable situations (the gay caracters DO have sex lives) to make the movie work on comedic and dramatic levels. The unusual depiction of gay men as "normal" yuppies (doctors, lawyers and teachers; no hair dressers or designers here), who like straights, have lives of their own, lends crossover appeal to the arthouse crowd.

For one thing, I found the movie terrible verbose, dialog heavy. I was going crazy trying to read the sub-titles and watching the sexy stuff going on the screen at the same time. And in the end, I didn't feel much empathy towards either of the lead characters, especially the guy, who seemed one hell of a selfish pain in the ass to have as a friend. And it seemed weird having one single straight woman and every other character in the movie (including the one guy she's shown dating) turning out to be gay. In the final analysis, the best part of the movie was the birthday cake that was so lovingly baked during the titles - I drooled.

This film shows the rainbow of relationships among gay men. It ranges from the long-term to the hustler looking for a partner to take financial advantage of. But most important, it portrays the yearning of most gay men to find a lifelong partner and to simply be loved.

Kudos to everyone involved in this production. Spain's "amor de hombre" is depicted with great wit, style, humor and compassion. As usual, Andrea Occhipinti as the fickle lawyer Ramon stands out. Loles Leon as the ever hopeful, helpful and aptly named Esperanza is his perfect foil. Throughout the course of the film it becomes evident that even with a basic sexual incompatibility these two people genuinely care for each other so much that it is unlikely that each would ever find a better mate. The sequences where each tries to fix the other up with a lover are hilarious and touching. Even the most minor characters are well drawn including the lowlife Roberto who is such a disappointment to Ramon.

I loved this movie. It had its funny moments what with esperanza being a woman of some restraint, and Ramon being a giant pervert. There friendship is epic, all because you can see the true love there. It is moving, and I loved watching it. maybe they could have gone into a more detailed view on the lives of the other supporting characters, but what we saw of them was good. Sad yet loving, this movie has it all!

I do recommend this film if you are looking for something with love and a little humor.This is probably a good view into the world around us, and how different it is.It might help you appreciate what you have and give you a look into what you don't want to have!