Jeux décisifs

I found myself chuckling at how ridiculous the plot, dialogue and acting were so it deserves 5 out of 10 for making me laugh. Oh and the music is cheestastic too. I hope it was a learning experience for everyone involved.

I like a love story that isn't in your face or so far fetched that it becomes annoying. This movie flows evenly throughout which at times delivers the goods. It's not a heavy hitter but a sensual story about two driven guys that after a steamy night while lost in the desert slowly come to realize that what they have is real. Don't expect a "Titanic" type movie of the corporate world cause it's not. Just a steamy love story to get lost in with the characters and nothing more. The leads ain't the best actor's out there but their beefy bodies make up for that. In all it's a pleaser and nothing more.

Where do I even begin? This movie was absolutely tragic, and I'm not talking about the storyline. So many bad things happening at once, it was hard to keep pace;

1. First of all, there was the acting. I think Rory Cosgrove was the only decent actor in the entire movie. Every single other actor delivered their lines as if this was their first film, and except for maybe the other male lead, not a single person in this entire movie had any talent. It was as if the Director or casting agent hired nothing but friends and family. It was truly some of the worst acting I have ever seen in a movie, and that's saying a lot.

2. Secondly, the soundtrack. What the hell were they thinking? The music was awkward, poorly placed, poorly selected, and it sounded like a High School "battle of the bands" set for a very untalented group of musicians. Horrible lyrics, even worse composition and the genres were all over the place. Did just ONE single person compose this film? Did no one else mention the lack of cohesion in the music throughout the film? This was the greatest offender, to be honest. A great soundtrack can make or break even the most mediocre film, and this one just dropped every single ball it had in that department.

3. Lastly, the story; one of the corniest, cliched stories there are, and the ending was just ridiculous. The scenes of intimacy between the leads was the only good thing about this film; it was tasteful, classy, and not gratuitous, which is rare in gay cinema. The story itself just left so much to be desired. I just shook my head in disbelief when it was all over. This was neither romantic nor plausible. Even under the best circumstances, the ending would have still been entirely messed up.

I'll be honest, I only watched the film because Rory Cosgrove is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. The hair, the eyes, the lips, the smile; I will watch anything that dude is in because he is an absolute, bonafied dreamboat. Like a prettier version of Henry Cavill. I swooned every time he showed his pretty face on screen. Literally, the only reason to watch this movie is this man, that's it. He is the sole redeemable quality about this whole hour and thirty minute experience.

In summary, this movie was not good, and veers very close to being one of the worst gay movies I've seen in a long time, but Cosgrove is the only reason you ABSOLUTELY need to watch it. Just focus on him, let everyone else melt away, and your viewing experience will be that much more enjoyable.

All 5 stars are for Cosgrove. Every single one.

Well, the acting was terrible. The plot was implausible, and corny, but had a few interesting turns. My advice: persist past the first 30min of this: it does get quite a bit better. It was unconventional in a few ways, which I liked because I'm wacko and like unconventional things. If you don't, forget this movie. An example is the soundtrack, which has a dreamy, odd, out-of-place feel. I have to admit that I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen. This was probably a great book with an average director and a small budget. So many of the scenes were awkward and too hard to watch; I covered my eyes quite a few times. The choice of leads was also interesting - neither of them exceptionally good looking, but with perfect bodies. Lastly, I have to mention the sex scenes. There's a 'tasteful' amount of nudity, including a couple penis and bum shots. There is a sex scene in the desert that, I think, is more realistic than most I've seen. (I liked it because I'm unconventional.)

I worked in advertising, so I'm used to seeing ad agencies on screen that have nothing to do with what that world is really like. And that's the case here.

But I also began to feel that nothing about these characters seemed real either. And that wasn't just because of the atrocious acting (particularly from supporting characters). So I looked at the other reviews here and see a couple extolling this as a good version of the G. A. Hauser book. Never heard of G.A. Hauser, so looked "him" up.

It's not a him. It's a her. She's written over 120 gay (M/M) romance novels/stories. Now, I'm not saying women can't write about gay men. Some of the best novels of our world were written by women (Highsmith, Renault, Yourcenar). But those were literary works, not romance books--the kind that the French describe as "a book to read with one hand."

So. This is a cartoon story that doesn't really have anything to do with how gay life really works. This is somebody's fantasy of what gay life might be like with a couple of stereotypical hunky guys as the primary characters.

This is garbage. Story and production. Every aspect.

However. If you're gay and you found this entertaining, well, I'm guessing you don't have a lot of experience in a gay community and that most of your knowledge of gay life is from secondary sources.

That's okay, especially if you're young, or inexperienced, or closeted, or living in the boondocks. Just please don't think that there is anything real or authentic about what is presented in this movie. It's more like fanfic or Yaoi. If you can enjoy it on that level, fine. But for gay men looking for something authentic, you won't find it here.