The Art of Being Straight

Bad movie with no ending. I knew I was in trouble when the main guy was the least good-looking with receding hairline (the comb over is terrible, especially after the gay sex scene). It was obvious this guy wrote and directed it; the main character would not be the least attractive if he was cast on his acting talents. The story begins with no realism-the least attractive guy is a ladies' man? Not believable. And then he has a gay eperience as a bottom? Guys in the closet do not immediately jump into anal sex-it just doesn't happen. And then the movie just ends after less than 70 minutes. I don't even want to go into the parallel story involving a teacher and some girl...not connected to the main story at all! Nothing new here-its all been done before and much better. Next time, don't cast yourself. Very few experienced film makers can star as well as direct a movie-this guy is NOT one of them.

The Art Of Being Straight

Set in the late 1990's this movie attempted to examine two rather absurd assumptions

Firstly when young people are exploring their sexuality it swings backwards and forwards between gay and straight eventually landing on a determined sexuality for life, quite ridiculous.

Secondly that even in the 1990's people were conflicted over their sexuality, an even more ridiculous assertion. Exploration is not confliction.

The only shred of sense lay in that it is up to any individual to decide the moment when they decide to come out to their friends

The script was bland, the situations contrived, the liaisons unbelievable and the acting had more ham than the supermarket.

What I really hated was the portrayal that being gay was linked to guilt, deceit and around something bad.....how crass!

This film is about a young man who moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. His life gets complicated when his boss takes a special interest in him.

"The Art of Being Straight" is a realistic down to earth story. The lead character Jesse Rosen is handsome and is convincing as a confused man. However, the story telling is not so good. It fails to create tension or suspense. There is little to stir the emotions of viewers, which I find a fatal flaw. The only interesting character is Rachel Castillo, whose performance is the most natural and convincing. I guess "The Art of Being Straight" might be an autobiographical account from the writer. It is not terrible, it is not particularly entertaining either.

Though not a major movie, it is fun and has many nicely observed moments. I found the characters believable, especially the protagonist, played by Jarod Grey. He does a very good job. There are many scenes in which I thought he seemed completely real, such as when he gets chewed out at work for not sending a FedEx package properly, smoking pot in his driveway with his kooky neighbor and telling her he has slept with a guy, coming home to confusingly find his macho apartment mates with GAY spelled on their chests in grease paint, his reaction in the party scene when a girl he has recently slept with asks him whether he is gay, and especially I found the seduction scene very convincing and well done.

If there were an actual a story tying the scenes together. If there weren't such heavy reliance on cliches. If the audience were given some idea of what motivated the central characters.

One is tempted to believe that the screenwriter doesn't have much social interaction with anyone other than gay men, since the straight and lesbian characters are so peculiarly drawn. The straight men are obsessed with homosexuality, the straight women are talking set decoration, and the lesbians are just obsessed (or perhaps possessed, depending on which scene you're watching).

There's something about this movie that makes it watchable, perhaps the actors doing a creditable job without much to work with; but I would only choose it if you've run out of other things to do.