Straightman

Here's a low budget movie that actually says something positive. We have two male leads, young and full of testosterone, one gay and one straight, who discover and reveal to one another how deep their "friendship" bond is. The dialogue, shots and settings seem very realistic as if the camera is merely a fly on the wall. The screenwriter had a great concept, but it could have been far better if the interior residential settings were not so low end....I actually thought the two leads could have been squatting in some abandoned building. Also, the use of the "f" word was way overdone. Does anyone other than the lower classes use that word that often? The gay lead was attractive, but the camera never shone on his face to highlight his male beauty. That needed corrected. Look at the movie "Weekend", filmed in a similar way. Yet, the director made sure there were a number of well lit, close ups of Tom Cullen's beautiful face. Acting was pretty good. I never felt like they were just reading lines with zero emotion. Would love to see this concept taken to a higher level.

At first I thought this film had doubts to it, by the almost documentary presentation of its camera work. But after awhile I got hooked into the lives of the two leading men. This small gem of a film was written and starred Ben Berkowitz and Ben Redgrave and was directed by Ben Berkowitz. Not a bad attempt on doing it all. I especially liked both male leads in this. Redgrave as the gay coming out of the closet guy and Berkowitz as his "straight man" friend.

We watch how their relationship changes along the way when Redgrave confesses to his friend his secret gay lifestyle. I liked the way Berkowitz reacted to what he heard. It seemed natural and quite real. If only others could take the same example in the "straight world" and have as much understanding and acceptance.

You have compassion for the characters and like where they are coming from. This praise goes to the writing and the performances. And Redgrave is gorgeous! Hard to believe that anyone wouldn't want him for a lover. As the two friends go their own ways, you feel a sense of sadness that they couldn't find a way to live their lives together.

Congratulations on a sleeper of a film with excellent performances and direction.

While browsing the Gay/Lesbian section of an online video site (TLA), I saw a listing for Straightman and gambled with a purchase. This video is a treats amongst the usual menu of Blockbusters. The cowriters costar as best friends, presented with (pardon the much-repeated cliche) warts and all. The script (or improvisation) combines with an acting style not found in films today: I could believe the people on the screen actually exist. There were awkward pauses, looks, and dialog interruptions: all these things contribute to an air of reality. Hollywood studio productions feature spritzed actors rather than perspiring actors; never is a strand of hair out of place; no one reaches for the "right" words. Such is not the case here. We need more films by Ben and Ben. I hope they do another very soon.

I don't usually skip ahead in movies, but had to do it with this one. Was thanking my dvd remote for that option! Not entirely bad, just overall boring. Ben Redgrave is white trash "eye candy". The homo sex scenes are very erotic. The straight sex scenes were like watching a Ron Jeremy movie. Yuck! A nice attempt for film production. Will be looking for more movies by this novice team. If they can pull it together, lot's of potential.

Straightman is not without its merits, first and foremost the fact that it shows a kind of gay man not usually seen on the screen, a blue collar, scruffy, fashion-clueless everyman. It also depicts a friendship between a straight man and a gay man which doesn't unravel when the gay friend comes out, but is instead greeted with a matter-of-factness that hopefully happens more often in real life than movies would have you believe. Both Bens are well cast and the real life bond between them is obvious.

What I find hard to believe is that this film won the Best Screenplay award at Outfest, my "local" gay/lesbian film festival. Why? Because there is no screenplay, just I would guess a brief description of what each scene is to be about and the words: Improvise.

That improvisation is the same as real conversation is a huge fallacy. Improv sounds like improv, and is no substitute for well written dialog performed by talented actors who make the audience believe that their words are spontaneous.

Had the writers/director/stars used improvisation as a starting off point, and then written carefully thought out dialog, this film would have avoided the many boring and repetitive moments that others on this site have criticized.

Memo to filmmakers: Get a script, have your actors learn their lines, rehearse, and say the words. You'll end up with a much realer film than this one.