Adam & Steve

Craig Chester and Malcolm Gets (particularly this latter hunk, who's just so winsomely huggable---he seems so right at home, so comfortable with himself) have some real warm moments, and that doesn't often happen in gay-themed films these days. Unfortunately the pluses of this are more than a few times imbalanced by some of the following minuses:

-An overage of what other review sites have called "gross-out" humor. I easily could have stood the early on diarrhea sight-gag, had its use not been later overloaded by the sometimes diarrhetic mouth of a stand-up club's master of ceremonies (Michael Panes, was it?) and of Parker Posey's character, herself, upon occasion. Why are such remarks, like the female-bestiality cracks in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" considered such fair game in humor these days? Puke!!

-Perhaps a little over-reliance on Jewish "sensibility-moments."

-Guess, overall, I just feel that Chester has been around long enough to: know better, turn out something better, just plain old be better. It can't have been inexpensive to roll out this product, so it just seems he could'a gotten a lot more for his buck (and we for ours).

WHOA.....WHOA......WHOA.........STOPPpppp! You know what? I went back and "re-looked" this movie last night, and in the midst of my millionth laugh, it suddenly hit me that I hadn't really laughed any less the first night. Say, maybe I've been trying to make something too serious out of this little production, and that's not what it's about at all. It really doesn't have to be another "Brokeback Mountain" (as great as that was). Isn't it nice, instead, to have something that keeps our spirits up? Well, you bet.

And we can have all the "sensibility-moments" they can throw at us......cause isn't there a good, old Hebrew word that just perfectly describes Adam? Isn't it something like.......Klutz (and a lovable one at that)? And being "sad-sacky," that can be funny too, can't it? Right on!

Finally, on an even more positive note (for someone like me who's always placing gay kissing scenes*** under the old microscope), I'd have to judge that this production has not been afraid to give us a goodly number of 'osculating-lips-in-action' shots. Don't you agree? They weren't all perfectly aimed, but there were some really good ones.

PS--So, congratulations, Adam & Steve, on your wedding and for being able to live in a world far removed from that of Jack & Ennis.

***And for scenes in which "lip-locks" were done as well or better, try these: "Just A Question Of Love" / "Latter Days" / "All Over The Guy" / "Brokeback Mountain" / "Maurice" / sorry, gotta stop somewhere)

What a fun, funny, sharp-witted, incisive film about the rocky road to romance. And how brilliant that it's about a gay couple-- a committed, monogamous gay couple who look very much like real gay human beings (as opposed to the broad caricatures usually seen in film and television). Is it possible that this will be the first "gay" date movie that straight couples will go to and laugh with?

Maybe that's hoping for an America more open-minded than it is, but certainly the open minded heterosexual partners are in for a good time.

Kudos to writer/directer Chester for creating what is an impressive mosaic of styles. In lesser hands the film, with everything from emotional honesty to slapstick comedy to over-the-top (and I do mean WAAYYYY over-the-top) camp, should be a mess. But somehow scenes of first love are actually made sweeter all the more by the slapstick running gag that accompanies them (sorry, no spoilers here!).

The leads are extremely appealing, the dialog is well-realized, and the realities of dating are sharply realized in a film that walks the fine line between maudlin and frank but rarely feels dishonest. That's going to sound ridiculous in the context of a film that includes a choreographed dance-off featuring a drag queen, but the movie is wise to use broad strokes of humor to help otherwise clichéd movie devices go down easier. Additional kudos to Parker Posey, who becomes the heterosexual equivalent of the "Jack" character on "Will & Grace." Her comic contributions are note-perfect.

Chester has commented that the use of comedy has a role in helping straight audiences better accept a budding romance between men. I hope that's true, because this film deserves better than the "cult" or "gay/lesbian" dungeon in your local video store.

Adam (Craig Chester) and Steve (Malcolm Gets) have an embarrassing one night stand in the late 80s. Then the movie fast forwards to 2005. They meet again but have no recollection of their earlier encounter. They fall madly in love...but then Steve remembers. Can they survive this? Also Adam's best friend (Parker Posey) falls in love with Steve's best friend (Chris Kattan).

This is no masterpiece. It has its dead moments and there are some painfully unfunny moments--and where the hell did that two-stepping sequence at the end come from? Still it works more often than it doesn't and is easily one of the best movies I've ever seen dealing with a gay couple. When it's funny it's hysterical and some of the observations Adam and Steve make about being gay and in love are VERY accurate (Chester and Gets are gay in real life so it adds more to the lines--they speak from experience). Also Chester wrote the script AND directed it as well as starring in it--this guy is very talented.

Acting is good all around. Gets and Chester are just great and perfectly believable. It's always great to see Parker Posey and she's just wonderful (catch her outfit at the two-stepping). Even Kattan is good--he annoyed me totally in SNL. And the supporting cast includes Julie Hagerty, Sally Kirkland and Melinda Dillon--all are just great.

I saw this at a sold out viewing at the Provincetown Film Festival. The demand for this was so great they had to ADD an extra showing! This is the most truthful movie I've seen so far about gay life and love. Not perfect but damn close. A must-see for gay men.

Craig Chester wrote, directed and stars in this comic love story between two men: a New York City shrink and a klutzy Jewish tour guide who meet and fall in love--but will the recollection of a disastrous date 17 years ago ultimately come between them? Chester is brash and brave and goes out on a limb here, resulting in a gay-comedy better than most. The movie has fun being outré, with ballsy, bitchy humor and an occasional moment of seriousness (a good balance), yet its imagination is stunted, with a fantasy hoedown bit right out of "Jeffrey" and far too many lapses of taste and judgment. Chester's slapstick scenes needed to be reined in, particularly a hopeless sequence with his "cursed" Jewish family and also the poorly-staged gross-out scene 10-minutes in. The film has funny elements and performances (by a most curious cast) and some of it is very sweet. ** from ****

The premise is this: Two gay men, Adam and Steve, meet in the 80's and have a disastrous encounter. Fast forward to the present. Adam and Steve's paths cross again and they begin to date, neither remembering their history together. Until one does. How will the past affect the future? Somewhat interesting premise, however, writer and director Craig Chester doesn't have much faith in it and decides to fill the film with a barrage of gross out humor, slapstick, and silly over the top moments. While some of these are very very funny, others don't work at all. The end result is a movie that seems to sell out for cheap laughs rather than go for something real.

Craig Chester (who also wrote and directed) and Malcolm Gets are likable as Adam and Steve but don't generate much chemistry. Parker Posey is always good for a few laughs. Chris Kattan is basically wasted in a supporting role as the best friend.

If you are looking for a few laughs and don't have expectations too high, I would recommend this film. If you are seeking an authentic contemporary film about gay relationships, pass over this one and rent "All Over the Guy."