Small town gay cop moves to LA.
3:23: It's not even 3 minutes into the movie and I'm disgusted. The style was doing just fine being low-key there for a minute. Why does every gay movie have to be so stylized with these cliches:
* Fast cuts
* High-energy clubby music
* High-speed motion to indicate the passage of a lot of time
* Some high concept of visuals
* Wild footage of countryside, downtown landmarks, real estate that was obviously shot from the passenger's seat of a vehicle because it's an independent movie and you can't rent a camera car so you'll just make it look p.o.v.-ish4:39: Bad acting from gorgeous people. Too many people in the scene not doing enough; window dressing. Too many takes tiring the actors out, or not enough takes or rehearsal getting the actors comfortable?4:45: Did I mention the awful dialogue? "I can see by the look on your face, Tad's filling you in."5:14: They're reading lines, not talking to each other. I'm putting myself through another 1:54:46 or so of this?6:03: Of course the filmmaker decides to navel-gaze and makes one of the characters... a filmmaker. But a budding, prosumer-camcorder, "a cheap video camera we can afford to just note under 'props' instead of having to rent the character a REAL camera" type of filmmaker. When a journalist or reporter does a story about a journalist or reporter there's more acknowledgment, surely, that the storyteller is biased. Not here.Oh, and of course the "filmmaker" doesn't beg permission of his "documentary" subjects to use their likeness, lives, interviews, opinions.6:29: Lame. The fake attitude character can't even fake his fake attitude.And the character being shot by the "filmmaker" not only is not uncomfortable, he opens himself up way too easily to the "film" within the film with no exposition or explanation.We're also "covering ground" as I like to say - moving from scene to scene, places, concepts, dramatic beats- at a weird, too-fast pace.7:24: They actually LET him WEAR that to the party? What kind of friends are these people? And he actually WORE that, after the first scene where he woke up on the floor? Where the hell does he think he is? ... If there was supposed to be foreshadowing, it FAILED.8:16: In the interest of full disclosure I was never interested in LA's scene, gay, straight, film, television or otherwise, so no wonder this movie is going to be excruciating for me.8:31: Christ, get your damn hands out of your pockets and get something to drink! It's a party!9:27: Wow. I wasn't imagining things when I thought I saw certain lines badly dubbed/ADR'ed.9:50: Yeah, this entire movie has WAAAAY too much (forced) attitude for me.14:23; Wow. Even more gratuitous nudity that, at least appears, to do nothing to advance the plot or set a scene.17:12: I am dying to see what the writer and director look like - if they're fussy oldish queens who are past it or snotty young boyish men who don't know enough...18:36: I forget, apparently this was made before everybody was so obsessed with hooking up on the Internet?18:56: NO REDHEADS?! What's that supposed to mean?!22:18: Why would you show any man, straight or gay, hitting a woman, even that lamely? If you're going to hit her and you're angry, beat the hell out of her. You shouldn't have hit her at all, but the way you did it was the dumbest thing I've ever seen.22:53: LOUDER! I KNOW YOU HAVE TO PRETEND THERE'S MUSIC PLAYING SINCE WE CAN'T REALLY PLAY IT BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU (as depicted in the behind the scenes extras on the DVDs of Queer As Folk US) BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE TO YELL TO BE HEARD EVEN THOUGH HE'S RIGHT NEXT TO YOU! HAVEN'T YOU EVER *BEEN* IN A NIGHTCLUB??!?23:06: Jesus Christ, does EVERYBODY do drugs?!24:05: Oh. Wait. Would you specifically call poppers drugs per se? Are they illegal?... will have to look that up...
(Yes. They are illegal in the United States.)
25:14: A cover of "White Rabbit" for the cop character's first descent into drugs? Is that really necessary??26:23: Well, at least the shagging scenes aren't too gratuitous, but- come on, no missionary position?27:56: Cousin? It took us this long to find out he's actually your cousin? I don't understand!!!28:42: You're having to hold the camera too much while your subject moves around too much. What if the onboard mic doesn't pick up his voice?30:31: Is that really Bruce Vilanch? Or is it just a facsimile?30:48: Yep, must be. Good joke. Probably the only one in the whole 2 hours.33:19: Cute girl. The joke setting her up was totally botched. Is the "cute" "twinkish" "filmmaker" going to strike up a friendship with her? They were definitely set up in a Meet Cute.34:32: This is just screwy. Whaaaat??35:38: Oh, how nice. She joined the ranks of poorly written, poorly acted characters.36:34: PAGER?! This must be 1999.40:16: Um, okay. I guess it's an Avid. The wood paneling in this room is awful. The computer isn't on, it's like you made all the edits, played it out to tape and are watching it on VHS. I think that's probably a Mackie mixer. Nice touch with the extra little laptop to the side.40:38: It took this long for a fight to even be hinted at among the love triangle?40:59: "Can you at least talk to him? I need, like, ten grand to finish." Ladies and gentlemen, the only 4 seconds of the movie that felt real.42:59: Okay, this "fight" sequence is really creepy. And dumb. I hope it's over soon.46:47: It took this long for the main character to get a makeover? Then again, I suppose pausing the movie every 5 minutes to make snide remarks makes the movie 3 times as long.48:04: Yes, like the guy making fun of your new ride - or boyfriend? - because he's secretly so jealous of it/him, I am questioning every single solitary decision in this film.49:40: "I'm not one to judge. ...Are those [steroids] safe?" Okay, THAT's funny.52:02: Wow. Lamest straight LA lawyer ever. I disagree with anybody who tries to say he matches her character.54:53: Yes, every gay movie has to have a message. Especially this one.58:38: Those are totally Nancy Drew books on that one bookshelf.Oh, and this storyline is just getting creepy.59:49: That's it? Just a quick scene? Don't we get to see more evidence of this "unstableness?"1:00:56: Okay, that's getting better. The thesis and the statements were in the wrong order.1:02:38: Wow, the sound sucks. She's here, and you and he are in other freakin' rooms.1:03:05: God, you're rude. But not rude enough. Just tilting the camera and keeping this scene/shot flat kinda bites. You, portrayed by the camera, should be turning to the side, turning around - with stereo sound if possible.1:03:15: Oh, gee, you're finally here! ...where the camera and microphone are finally in front of you instead of pointing away from you or 5 feet from you.1:04:18: Real documentary interview bite?1:04:44: ...You're asking the interview questions off the top of your... you know what, I shouldn't even bother.1:05:49: Wow, he's incoherent. That's good, that's good, keep it going. Who's making this movie, a Christian Coalition wet dream hoping to turn guys straight?And of course, the obligatory, "What?"1:06:53: Have these men simply not heard of Calvin Klein and anything that's not plain white briefs?1:12:20: Okay, okay, okay, there are some decent, real moments, where style and substance converge well. I liked that shot on the escalator looking down.1:15:39: There's a whole 45 more minutes in this movie, and we've had a rock bottom/downfall/turnabout/Harry and Sally finally have sex and it ruins everything game changer-climax. Another 10 mins to acknowledge the ruin, another 10 mins to solve the problems - the other 25 mins to wrap all the other extraneous storylines, including getting the girl a decent straight guy?1:21:15 Why does the one black guy have to be the idiot?1:26:00 So, the "villainous" character is feeling lowest of the low and is next to a pool. Is he going to drown himself?1:30:19 Am I crazy or did the "John" actor really bulk up and go down in muscle during the course of the picture?!1:40:27 Well, now that I've seen this movie I never need go to a circuit party. Not before I lose 30 pounds, anyway. And grow 4 inches in height.1:41:23 At least you can apparently wear blue jeans to the White Party. Well, I hate me in white anyway.1:45:16 Is Louise nuts?! She's dead meat! (Thanks, Dad, for instilling that term in my psyche.)1:47:04 Didn't Tad get inspired by his own experience with the circuit to make a movie about it? Where's this attempt at objectivity and distancing himself from it coming from?...1:47:38 Okay, strobing effect on this scene I can understand; it's conveying the sense of the dance floor.1:49:59 More drugged vomiting. In unison, no less. "It isn't a good party without an O.D." Thin line between horror and comedy, and this sequence totally rides it.1:52:20 "I just turned 30." This from the guy who's been saying the whole film he's too old. And then... well, Logan's Run, anybody?1:56:09 Ugh, we're all drama queens.Dirk Shafer
and Gregory Hinton1:59:44 Ugh, God, look at this army of people who worked on this freakin' picture. I wonder how many of them were actually paid.2:01:38 Look at that!! Kara DioGuardi co-wrote one of the umpteen songs!
and Gregory Hinton1:59:44 Ugh, God, look at this army of people who worked on this freakin' picture. I wonder how many of them were actually paid.2:01:38 Look at that!! Kara DioGuardi co-wrote one of the umpteen songs!
Circuit (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218107/
P.S.: Apparently "Louise"'s actress, Nancy Allen, was in RoboCop.
