All Over the Guy

Very nice, easy-going and consistently charming. And still ,looking back, I find it hard to find that something special to remember from the movie. There is simply not very much to make it stand out from every other `romantic comedy' except the fact that the story is about two men! The performances are nicely turned and Ruccolo is charming in his part, as is Doris Roberts, who ultimately makes the biggest impression even though she is only on-screen for about 15 minutes. For a gay-themed movie, there is quite a large budget at work here (at least it looks that way) and that certainly is a nice change from all the grainy, blown-up indy-movies that is too common when the subject is homosexuality. And it has a script that is witty and sympathetic towards its characters, gay or straight, with some hilarious comedy from Eli's psychologist parents as portrayed by Martin and Abatemarco. But nothing new is on display here. Eli, as portrayed by Dan Bucatinsky, comes over as somewhat annoying, even though he should be the most sympathetic of the two main protagonists, mainly because he is unnatural in his wittisisms and one-liners. These lines are penned by Bucatinsky himself, by the way, and while they often are very funny, sometimes they come over as too contrived. And I couldn't escape a certain feeling of shallowness. The movie constantly touches on an interesting issue or storyline, but chickens out before anything goes too far away from the mainstream (as in the story about Tom's parents and his sister, alcoholism). And the biggest damage is done from the fact that nothing very special happens. The plot must have been written on the back of a stamp because basically Tom meet Eli, walks out of Eli, comes back to Eli and so on. But what am I complaining of? It still is nice to see a movie with gay characters acting as normal people. It is sweet, good-natured and watchable. Just not very memorable.

This film is much more than it seems. True to Dan Bucatinsky's vision, it showcases many of the emotional states that any coming together relationship must travel through. That's what really got me, especially the second time around. I could be watching any couple of any gender, any race, any age. I loved that. It showed me myself at various times of my own life. The actors know what they are talking about and we pick up the tiny changes of facial expressions that demonstrate this. The photography is complementary and inventive. We see the first kiss over the shoulder; the vodka falling into oversized "martini" glasses. Ya gotta watch it more than once and you'll catch all this. Kudos to the director, Julie Davis, the well chosen cast (beautiful and funny) and to Dan for everything else. I wish you all great success from here on in! (Dan: Vassar, wow!)

I recently saw this movie on video and was instantly struck by how sweet and original this film was. It did not show the ever constant gay teen that wants to commit suicide because his parents don't understand him him, or the gay man that is dying of AIDS, nor does it have drag queens and leather daddies. It shows two ordinary men who fall in love and are trying to sort out their own dysfunctional backgrounds in order to try and have a relationship. It just so happens that these two men are gay. The hetrosexual relationship is perfectly mirrored with their own gay one, the four leads are perfect and I loved Doris Roberts as the straight talking STD clinic worker. I just hope that there are more films like this in the future.

I thought about doing this review long ago (and actually started it at one point), but, well, you know how it is... but I just happened to catch the first hour when I went home at lunch, so here goes.

All Over the Guy is, ultimately, a classic boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back. In short, the kind of movie I wished for most of my younger life. It is -- yes, let's just say it and get it over with -- sweet. And that's nothing to be ashamed of.

First, a disclaimer -- I have worked with both Rich Ruccolo and Don Roos (I haven't seen either in years)... but that makes my love of this film all the more amazing. I find it difficult to watch films of actors I have worked with because it's hard to separate the character from the person I know. Rich succeeded in making me forget the actor and concentrate on the character of Tom. Tom is at once vulnerable and supremely sexy; you're not sure whether you want to hug him like a teddy bear or throw him down and get wild with him.

Dan Bucatinsky's Eli is perhaps not the polar opposite of Tom he appears to be. Tom almost physically runs from relationships while Eli backs away apologizing the whole time. They both embody the whole kaleidoscope of feelings that most of us have when we meet someone who interests us -- mostly, of course, fear. Fear of falling in love, or of not falling in love. Fear our feelings won't be returned, or that they will.

Personally, I see an enormous amount of chemistry between Tom and Eli. Look at the scene in the flea market, the interaction of their eyes, the body language... here are two guys who are fighting what they're feeling every step of the way (oh, and by the way, Eli is much more forgiving that I would be about the smoking).

The rest of the cast is superb as well, including some great cameo roles. Most of all, the characters of Brett and Jackie are very funny in a superb role reversal -- instead of the ubiquitous second-banana gay best friends, we have second-banana straight best friends.

The only problem I have with the film is the same problem I have with straight versions of this kind of story. How likely is it that people who appear to have such different interests and such volatile emotions will stay together... not to mention Tom's penchant for alcoholism. But then in "Pretty Woman" I just couldn't shake the feeling that this rich guy wouldn't stay with a prostitute long whether she looked like Julia Roberts or not.

Gay cinema has, thankfully, branched out from the early "Oh my God I'm gay I hate myself I can't let anyone find out" films like "Doing Time On Maple Drive." There is a place for gay cinema in every genre. And this film is in a definite class by itself in its genre.

Enjoy!

Well, I wonder: if it had been about two male/female couples (as the play it was based on was), would "All Over the Guy" have gotten such a critical reception? More likely it would've been seen as an honorable, at times sparkling, addition to the screen tradition of romantic comedies -- which is what I think it is. Sure, the characters are wildly neurotic and frequently annoying; so are people in real life, especially when they're in love. Is it distracting that Richard Ruccolo (who does indeed give an exquisitely tuned performance) is so good-looking? Actually, I thought it was necessary; Tom is so screwed up that we need the physical beauty to help relate to him. Do the women steal the movie? Well, with the likes of Andrea Martin, Lisa Kudrow, Christina Ricci and Doris Roberts in support, what do you think -- and how can you lose, especially since Dan Bucatinsky's script is so frequently sharp?

Forget the nay-sayers and see this one. It's a very good romantic comedy, at times maybe even a great one.