Boat Trip

I absolutely agree with everything in the previous review. This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

However, I would like to point out one egregious fact - the boom microphone is visible throughout about a third of the movie. You think I'm kidding.

It seems impossible in this day and age, when people spend millions of dollars on a movie (good or bad), that they would allow production and distribution of a 'film' in which there is a microphone hanging down into the shot in many scenes throughout. It should be illegal.

However, it made the movie far more watchable. Rather than pay attention to the cheesy dialogue, offensive characters, and lack of plot, my friends and I watched the top of the screen and cracked up every time we saw the microphone come into view. Thanks, Brian.

When Jerry vomits onto his girlfriend when trying to be romantic, he finds himself dumped and depressed. Weeks turn into months and his best friend Nick decides to help him out of his funk by getting them onto a cruise together. However a fight in the travel agents see them being "accidentally" booked onto a gay cruise. Unfortunately for them they only realise this after they have set sail. With no land in immediate sight, things look bleak but both Jerry and Nick find more opportunities than they had expected.

If there is a warning noise in comedies (ie a cinematic fire alarm) then surely it must be any film that has the main character dancing alone in their flat to a James Brown song. So when this film opened with that I immediately got on edge – a feeling that didn't change for the rest of the film. With a foundation of homophobia, bikini wearing models and loud humour this is very much a comedy that aims at a teenage market and probably does enough to satisfy them if not anyone else. The gags are obvious and simplistic and are unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't think that cum jokes are the height of humour, homosexual men are 99% clichés and that large breasts are the most important thing in a woman. I don't really think these things so I only laughed once the whole time – and even that was cut short as a good joke immediately turned into crudity. Without laughs the story is exposed for the predictable, puerile mess that it is.

The cast don't help the material and seem to just accept the level that it is at. Goding Jr mostly mugs his way through it and to his credit at least puts his all into it – a "lesser" actor would have shied away from some of his scenes but Cuba seemingly has no shame. The one good thing to say about him is that he does have an easy chemistry with Sanchez, although that may be more to do with the fact that she is sexy and natural and is easily the best thing in the whole film. Sanz is a typical "fat funny guy" but I use the word "funny" with reservations as he is nothing special. Fox may get a hard time from Boondocks but films like this hardly help her case – she is poor in a small role. Moore puts his heart into his role but at times he does himself no favours and pushed it too far. Why people like Gunton, Silvstedt and Roundtree bothered is beyond me.

Overall a very basic comedy that has very, very few laughs and will probably only appeal to the male teenage market that it is squarely aimed at. The stereotypes are flying, the crudity and homophobia is rampant and the only thing missing is entertainment value. Sanchez dominates with a sexy and natural performance but that is mainly down to just how very average everyone else is.

Boat Trip succeeds where countless films have failed in providing insight into the multi-leveled complexity, ambiguity and tension inherent in gay/straight social interactions. Moreover, it brashly implies such interactions should be encouraged and even celebrated.

Boat Trip is both more and less than a sensitive but hilarious portrayal of the gay sex cruise industry. It must be recognized as a clever commentary on the often overlooked fact that gay men and straight men differ in sexual preference but are similar in some other respects.

The subtlety in the pretense of presenting what superficially appears to be a dreadfully juvenile and unfunny film as a means of illuminating the prejudices of the audience is utterly brilliant. So brilliant in fact that many of the more literal minded among us might leave the theater unaware of the profundity of the film and think they just endured one of the worst movies ever produced.

That would be their loss. Approached on a more open-minded level this film will reveal startling truths such as the little recognized tendency for some gay men to behave in an effeminate manner and the even less explored reality that such behavior makes many straight men uncomfortable. Even more revealing is the film's shocking premise that being in the company of gays does not inevitably cause a straight man to desire to perform fellatio. By exploding this myth this film may do more to strengthen the ties between straight and gay men than any development since the advent of unisex hair styling salons.

Most movingly, but with adroitly comedic undertones, this movie boldly suggests that, despite these hidden truths, gay and straight men can co-exist even within the confining environment of a seafaring vessel. Of course, the cruise liner is itself not merely the setting or "environment" in which this cinematic exploration occurs but indeed a metaphor for our ever more crowded society and the ultimate verity that we are all adrift in this mad world together.

The failure of this film to receive its due from critics only shows the dangers of daring to break new ground in Hollywood.

Were this movie released today, it would be the subject of a lot of ire. After botching his proposal, Cuba's character ends up suddenly single and depressed. After this goes on for some time, his friend convinces him to go on a singles cruise. After angering the travel agent that books their trip, they end up on a gay cruise. This is where the straight, gorgeous dance teacher comes in and instantly catches the main character's interest. There are a lot of anti-gay jokes here, but nothing hateful is said. I guess your level of ire depends on how sensitive a person you are. Funny movie, however probably a low point in Cuba's career.

Well, I thought this movie was pretty funny. Two straight guys on a gay cruise. Which they don't know when they board. It's not exactly a masterpiece of a comedy. Cuba Gooding does what does best, plays around acting like an idiot. But in this scenery it works, he is kind of girly. Just don't expect to much of it, and it's quite enjoyable. When I went to see it didn't have any expectations, and ended of feeling good about myself (im not gay by the way, although it might sound like it). The swedish swimsuit team was a bit much though. It might have been funnier if they actually spoken swedish. But to summarize, it's a good movie to rent with your buddies!