The Art of Being Straight

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.

There is nothing particularly bad about the Art of Being Straight, but there is nothing especially good. Rachel Castillo does deliver a delightful performance as the lead character's ex-girlfriend who is now in a committed lesbian relationship, but dealing with her attraction to the new guy who moved in next-door. Unfortunately, the parallel main plot and lead performance given by the writer/director Jesse Rosen is not as engaging as he explores his own sexual identity. Mr. Rosen acting is lifeless and his character is dull. However, the film's tone is warm, the dialogue is sincere, and the movie smartly avoids heavy angst (for the most part) and tedious academic explorations of identity politics; however, it just ends up coming up short. The movie is neither intellectually provocative, nor particularly sexy (I am not arguing for more graphic sex scenes, but the few sex scenes which were shot are so insipid and boring they should have simply been left out). The film also occasionally stretches credulity when it needs to be believable. But most problematic is that the movie fails to deliver much of a message beyond "life isn't always black and white"--something other films have conveyed in a much more thoughtful and effective manner. In the end, the film is a mildly interesting "slice of life" flick, but mostly it's just a harmless bit of fluff. It's something worth catching for free on cable, if you have an empty hour on your hands, but it is nothing worth going out of your way to see.

This film is a real surprise sleeper. It starts out so slow and casual that it lulls you into the story and before you know it you are zapped as though hit on the head with a two by four and it just takes you for the ride which has you gnawing your knuckles. The cast is as perfect as can be and beautifully written in terms of character and motivation. In fact the script is a real gem written with not only a great deal of heart but real understanding of human nature. The ending was a shock, however, and my buddy and I sat there in silence trying to grasp the idea that the film was actually over. Then it hit us both almost at the same time that the story really had gone as far as it could and that the title of the film said it all.

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.

So... What's supposed to be the point of this movie? That straight white men are the most retarded, obnoxious sub-human species on the planet? That residents of Los Angeles County are the most vapid, self-obsessed, boring people in the US? That in an LA gay movie gay bosses can get away with sexual harassment and even rape of employees as long as they're hot and have fabulous tans, buff bodies and blindingly white teeth? Don't we already know all this?

The only thing this movie has going for it is the one thing I care about least in a movie: the technical quality of the production - flawless sound, lighting bright enough that everything on screen is always easy to see, and a camera that never EVER shakes - so that you can easily keep up with everything that happens in this movie while simultaneously eating, texting, playing your X-Box and trying to remember what day it is.

This is the kind of movie the geniuses who impress us all with such pronouncements would NEVER complain about as looking like a film-school project. Everything else about this movie is pretty bad, except for some of the acting, which is passable at best. None of the characters is the least bit believable or interesting at all, and the story is about as dumb as they come.

If what you care about most in a movie is bright lighting and a camera that never shakes, this one is for you.