Friends and Family

Much too cute for it's own good. It could have been so much more in the hands of a capable Writer and Director. A shame that apparently they could not be found.

Not a kiss between the main characters and this is presumed to be a gay film? Hardly even a damn or hell - much less anything truly representative of the authentic language of the genre.

It's a shame because this might have been a good flick - the premise was a winner - but the Director and Writer's juvenile compulsion to Disneyfy this work was an abject failure. It's nothing more than a cartoon; and a poor one that embarrasses the quality of the acting talent involved. Insulting to a any audience too, much less a gay one.

Oh yeah, the Director's commentary on the DVD is a hoot and a half. Talk about control issues and being rather impressed with herself. You then start to understand where this film went wrong....when they picked that Director and failed to let the writer graduate from the pre-school playground.

That's the only way I can describe this dog. Just awful. Two chuckles for very rare "funny lines" and one star for finished product. I may lie to local video store & claim dvd was defective. At least I'll get a credit for wasted money! LOL! Could have been so much better without stereotypes & militia parent storyline. I do give my "hats off" to actors that portrayed Stephen & Danny. They were the only redeeming factors in a poorly written script. Did I mention that they were "easy on the eyes"? WOOF!

Despite what rrfrank writes in his comment, "Only totally undemanding homosexuals desperate for validation will bother with this dog" I am not undemanding, not desperate for validation and I am not a dog. I am very demanding and I am a bear. (For those that don't know, big hairy gay man.) Yes, the movie drug at several points. Yes, there are far too many stereotypical gay type characters ... overly stereotypical ... looks like a homophobes attempt at creating gay characters. Fabulous! Having grown up during the time when a lot of these stereotypes were the only "role models" gay people had it is really amusing to see someone finally making fun of them.

I do have to say that you must sit through the entire movie. The first time I saw it, I was not enthused by the title, the cover and the fist fifteen minutes ... truth be known, I went to cook dinner. My other half was watching and would break out laughing ... it became more frequent. I guess it was a good 30 minutes into the movie when I had to come in and watch. Well, I had to finish diner but after fixing out plates I made him start it over from the beginning.

I love watching the butch gangsters trying to "act gay" - picture big butch guys with guns trying to queen it up. And during the big party, the god father is terrific trying to make sure that one lady has everything she wants to see at the party.

Let me start by saying that Friends and Family is not a "great" film, or anything like it. But it is a very entertaining film, with lots of good jokes (usually in the 6-8 range on a scale of 1-10 for jokes) and it has another terrific performance by the amazing Tovah Feldshuh (she also gave one of the great -- and unacknowledged -- performances of the year in 2001 in "Dating Jessica Stein"). She seems to be a blessing for gay themed movies, but I'd really love to see her in lots of other stuff.

Someone else's review mentioned something about the jokes being insidery gay. Don't be misled by that comment. I think everyone will get the Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor references, etc. I mean, at this point, is there anyone under the age of 60 who doesn't understand camp humor? I don't think so.

Only arguable problem -- the gay couple is a little too "sterile." Sure they look good together and they have the same bedroom, but I don't think we get to see a kiss or even handholding. So from a Gay P.C. point of view it's a little too "Will & Grace."

Anyway, it's fun, it's broad, there are some good-looking guys but it's very PG (BRING THE KIDS!!!) the time flies by and you leave the theatre happy. All that for $6-11 (depending on what part of the country you live in.) What a bargain!

The movie is ridiculous. The overall "plot" is ridiculous. The humorous misunderstandings and paths to resolution and the behavior of characters generally is ridiculous. The bizarre juxtaposition of mafia, gay body-guards, insurrectionists, the wanna-be cook, the wanna-be interior decorator is ridiculous. The inability to follow simple cooking directions without a disaster and especially the need for the wonderful Edward Hibbert to train a group of ultra-macho mafia hit men to act like campy gay waiters is ridiculous … but the resulting performance of the waiters was good for some chuckles.

If you're in the mood for ridiculous it was a moderately amusing movie. Not rolling on the floor funny, but fairly funny with a few out-loud laughs here and there. It is obviously mocking some stereotypical subplots found too often in gay movies and it is very much mocking itself as it mocks others … sometimes successfully lampooning, sometimes falling flat. Most of the characters are well played by an able crew of actors. Maybe it deals with an overly complex interweaving of stories for such a fluffy movie.

If you're in the mood for some mindless silliness and not aiming to nitpick things that make no sense outside of the context of this story, it's probably worth a watch while you wait for the dryer to finish off your laundry.

If you want edgy realism, politically correct characterizations and a satisfying dénouement to an on-going nail-biting crisis, don't even think about watching this disorganized & chaotic production.