Coffee Date

A frightened-seeming heterosexual in his mid-30s and an eye-rolling gay salon owner "meet cute" and, despite their differences, become movie buddies; still, everyone close to the straight guy misinterprets this friendship as an intimate relationship, causing him to question his own sexual preference. Simplistic, unamusing comedy of misunderstandings, with overdrawn, 'kooky' supporting characters and a basic lack of verisimilitude in the leading ones. Strictly as a superficial light entertainment, this low-budget film is relatively harmless and friendly enough; dig deeper however and it's really rather offensive--both to straight and gay audiences. Jonathan Bray's Todd, with his perpetually astonished expression, is like a walking loaf of white bread, complete with uptight clothes and a clenched jaw; neither sex could loosen this man up...and neither sex would take the time to. *1/2 from ****

Although Coffee Date got a little too weird for me it does have a definite amusement value. I'm so jealous of Jonathan Bray because I have a brother and he never fixed me up with Wilson Cruz whom I actually met many years ago.

Jonathan Silverman who is Bray's brother fixes up Bray with a computer date whom he has to meet in one of those Starbucks type coffee houses. It's with someone named Kelly. Expecting a woman Kelly turns out to be Wilson Cruz. Bray then spends the rest of the film first denying he's gay and then trying it on for size.

Before the film is over a whole lot of people wind up doing a lot of soul searching and genders are bent to a considerable degree. I won't say more, but it gets too weird and coincidental for me.

But with Wilson Cruz's presence, that's always a plus sign.

This film is so nearly there. There are more than one or two genuinely heart rending moments in it. There are several characters of almost three dimensions. A little more work and it could have been all the things it almost is - subtle, touching and funny. It's just slightly amateur. Not much, but enough to take the edge off what it could have been. TLA Releasing seem to put out a fair number of movies a bit like this. Sweet tales of modern gay life. Gay movies you want to love, that sometimes bring a tear (just the one) to the eye and have you laughing (a couple of times), but that don't quite cut deep enough to make them memorable or watchable twice. This coffee-date does have charm and looks, but he lacks substantial charisma.

(There is also a technical problem with Coffee Date; the sound mixing is all over the place. One minute the background is high and the dialogue low, then an angle changes and it's all different again. This is a pretty basic requirement these days, decent sound design and mixing).

This film will not be too much of an attraction to a straight guy (because I have no idea how their mind works) but it sure captured my attention from the very first scene until the end. There may be a few occasions that are too good to be true or unrealistically light-weight along the way but overall it will surely capture you too if you are gay or into gay films. There is one particular thing that makes this film stand out is the ending or shall I say 'the closure'. It does not end the way a conventional gay film ends and which makes it more appealing. "Coffee Date" really made my day.

There seems to be a nice niche market going for high production value gay themed comedy scripts, which also manage to attract one or two relatively known/good named actors. "Coffee Date" definitely fits this genre, and we are treated to Wilson Cruz playing his "butch" but vulnerable character. However, the script is also high on camp (almost mandatory) and not a lot of substance or thought-provoking value, since we really have to suspend our disbelief on a few occasions here. There is also a tendency for at least one "over the top" actor (the "Karen" of the group if you will) in this case played by the protagonist's mother. But it's a "fun", so if you're looking for some brain-candy for a date or just a movie-night with gay friends, this should do it.