The Men Next Door

I hate the fact that people think just because it is a light hearted romance that isn't super serious that it is supposed to be a comedy. I don't think it was meant as a comedy but even if it was it is far better than anything Will Ferrell has ever been in.

I didn't take it super serious as to how possible the plot line is, and I've heard stranger real life stories. I didn't take it as a comedy either. I took it as a romance among non-dramatic people. If you let the movie be vs trying to force it into some stereotypical genre you'll probably enjoy it. I will say I didn't think the ending was the best or true to the characters, but overall a fun movie.

Best film, ever! to borrow a phrase. Certainly a film for the steadfast romantic who believes true love conquers all, the premise is outrageous then unfolds with a series of farcical scenes climaxing with "the moment of knowing." For those who can look beyond the necessary nudity and witty dialog, the story makes a poignant social statement on romance, age-factor and age-range. It doesn't matter. Find someone that contents you, and hang on. Mr. Williams has been influenced by the key influential founders of the Gay Romance Awakening--Mssrs. Archer, Montgomery and others--who spearheaded the journey of gay cinema from dismal stories of HIV/AIDS, bleak hustler, addled substance-abuse, self- loathing and abusive coming out to celebration of being gay and being loved. Kudos on borrowing a tried-and-tested Hollywood formula and adapting it to the gay experience.

Unlike a night of bar-hopping, this movie will leave you feeling-good about yourself and without a hangover headache adding a ton of wrinkles and gray hairs to cover those sagging pectorals.

This is the type of comedy that might appeal to Will and Grace fans. It also is very much like a gazillion of youtube videos out there, where groups of bad amateur actors put together little comical gay themed vignettes. As in those, in this film they have literally copied the mildly bitchy West Hollywood repartee straight from their dinner parties, bar chat, office banter and pasted it into this story about a professional Quadragenarious gay man and his professional gay friends, an annoying fag hag, and two lovers: "the men next door."

The main actor seems to think that his every acting effort should be followed by curving his lips in an pouting way (no sweetie, it's just not cute, you're not a 13 year old teenage girl). He has zero charisma and no sex appeal. Every joke cracked, I couldn't as much as raise a smile, it merely instilled irritation. And believe me, I do know how to appreciate a well delivered camp performance; this simply is not. The other actors carry no humour with them, except for the "straight" brother character.

I could only bear watching this for about 20 minutes before I gave up. The best thing about the film is the HD quality. But perhaps that would have been of better use if the interiors were less Ikea showroom, and a bit more more lush. I prefer to go to a gay bar on Santa Monica Boulevard myself, and eavesdrop into people's conversations; that will provide me with a whole lot more entertainment than this not so terribly funny flick.

I was hoping maybe this movie was going to be watchable, but noooooooh. The insipid dialog was written with no inkling of what truly funny repartee is. This pretentious bar babble made me cringe. Within the first ten minutes I started fast forwarding through most of it. I stopped only to find the later scenes did not improve. The actors were almost passable in the looks department, but the absence of physical chemistry and credibility strained the imagination. Stereotypes were too present, or maybe it was the sight of gay actors playing gay so poorly that upset me. These kind of "cute" comedies have always aggravated me. I hated Will and Grace and I hate this pathetic attempt at a Gay Romantic Comedy. Lets hope someone can eventually make a gay romantic comedy with the quality of a You've Got Mail or a classic like Charade. Is it asking too much? Films like Plan B, Patrik 1.5 or the fantasy Bad Boy Street seem to point the way.

I watched this film based on several positive comments elsewhere. Gads!! This film is insipid, inane, juvenile, full of caricatures, etc. The premise is creepy and preposterous. The plot is totally implausible and everything is moved along by happenstance and hackneyed devices - you know the sort of thing when one character walks in the front door just as another character walks out the back door. Even as a supposed light comedy it lacks depth. It is mostly one liners from superficially drawn characters many of whom are quite disagreeable all the way to annoying. The acting is mostly poor but forgivable to some extent given the mostly contrived and empty (meant to be funny I guess) dialogue that has been written for these witless characters.

Stay away!!