Pretty Good

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

SPOILERS. If you want to check if the film has a happy ending, keep reading. If you don't, keep scrolling.Recently, I've become obsessed with films with gay male leads and I have no idea why. Anyway, I was looking for another on to watch. This film did not disappoint. Initially, I didn't like the character of Chris but I learned to love him. The relationship between Chris and Aaron was a bit too accelerated for my liking (I think the 'L' word came a bit - no, a lot- too soon, but it was good all the same. The speech that Chris gave about mixing colours with whites was a perfect reiteration of their previous conversation spoken int he perfect way. The sex scene was beyond glorious and their relationship on screen, although brief, was brilliant. My heart dropped when Chris woke up and Aaron was gone and even more when I realised what the bowl of water meant for Aaron's fate. I almost stopped watching when I saw the blade but I battled through. When Aaron's mother said that she'd "lost (her) son" my heart sank. Then, when we're reintroduced to the character, my heart lifted to the highest it's ever been. Their reunion was perfect and it had the ideal ending.

OK so as clichéd (Christains backless undies, please nobody actually wears them), badly written (the scene at the airport) and badly acted (Jaqueline Bisset) as this film is and not to mention the sometimes dodgy music this film in many respects is an actual triumph. The 2 leads, in particular Steve Sandvoss are amazingly good considering the script at times. The performance turned in by Sandvoss ultimately sold this to me, his perfect timing of shy and tender awkwardness blew me away. I have watched this film several times now and am at times even more moved every time I see his stellar performance. Wes plays the clichéd party boy well and portrays some moments with true depth. To me it so different or more contrived than 'hetro' rom-com's but like some of the good ones this films has a whole lot of heart and is driven by the leads and sometimes that is enough.

Here's a movie full of clichés and terrible performances from literally everybody. A poor collage of insulting stereotypes and unidimensional characters. The cast, direction and script carry the depth, sensibility and sophistication of a C-grade soap opera. So boring and predictable that it is hard to get to the end.Don't waste your time; there are lots of really worth to watch gay movies out there. This is definitely not one of them.CONS: * Uninspired script, full of clichés and stereotypes;* Shallow, unidimensional, unlikable characters;* Tacky dialogues and unconvincing situations;* Really horrible acting from the whole cast. This is so blatant that everybody cry without dropping a tear;* Tasteless direction;* Terribly boring and predictable.PROS: * Still trying to find one.

As subject matter for a film, the confluence of religion and homosexuality is thought-provoking. Just as evolution served as the divisive "third rail" of American theology in the 20th century, the "science vs scripture" angst surrounding human sexual orientation is once again challenging and fracturing religious institutions. C Jay Cox attempts to build a romance within the context of this conflict in his semi-autobiographical "Latter Days". The result is mixed, falling more so on the liabilities side of the ledger. The premise is noble and intriguing. The execution? not so much.Perhaps it was Cox's financial success with the major studio hit "Sweet Home Alabama" that compromised his efforts to deliver a convention-breaking indie film. Instead, many derivative elements are incorporated in an obvious bid to create a "crossover" hit. Concurrently, the sexually graphic scenes ultimately sabotage any effort to capture that same mainstream (read straight) audience.In the same way that reading requires active thought--and TV passive--commercial films marketed to mass audiences tend to possess a heavy-handed instructional quality in which the viewer is largely "guided" by the film maker as to how they should view--and react to---the material presented. The supposition is that the audience is not astute enough to grasp subtlety and ambiguity. Cox unnecessarily falls into this snare with "Latter Days". We are fed every imaginable plot device to illustrate how immersed in the clichéd "gay urban culture" co-protagonist Christian is (the outlandish outfits, the gym as religion, parade of anonymous sex partners, AIDS charity) and how diabolical the Mormon church is (the inquisitorial panel, reparative therapy, homophobic missionaries). The series of "interconnected" kismet coincidences, while a thoughtful theme of the film, are overplayed to the point that the viewer is eventually required to completely abandon reality.The tired depiction of Los Angeles as a vast, soulless weigh station where miserable pretty people are forced to demean themselves for a chance at success is once again marched out. This is the self-indulgent, narcissistic perception of LA created by--and for--folks involved in the ego-driven entertainment industry. The reality is the vast majority of the city is comprised of millions of everyday people working everyday jobs who have little or no connection to show biz. Consequently, this group of friends appears conspicuously disconnected from the working class, predominantly Latino neighborhood of Echo Park in which the story is set. The musical scenes and backdrops feature songs performed by Rebekah Jordan (who portrays Julie, Christian's "fruit fly" roommate) and tunes penned by Cox. The sheer volume of insufferably bad music so overwhelms the story, it threatens to reduce the film to a vanity project designed to promote their respective recording careers. The one appropriate and emotion-tinged exception is the inclusion of the hymn "Abide with Me", which doesn't involve contributions from either party. Lost amongst the affectations and musical claptrap is character development. We are provided glimpses into the chemistry between compassionate, naïve, cerebral, and impossibly handsome Aaron (Sandvoss) and demonstrative, randy Christian (Ramsey). The interaction in the laundry room, Christian's initial offensive attempt at seduction, and their first kiss provide some insight into the unrealized potential of a "Romeo & Julian" story in which two young men from opposite worlds are inexorably attracted to each other. These scenes are all too brief and the romance is never fully explored. When the relationship instantly morphs from "it was just a kiss" (Christian's words) into ethereal love within one scene, the viewer is left with a sense of longing as to how and why they arrived there.Sandvoss and Ramsey turn in uneven performances. Apologists could reason this is the result of weak dialogue and poor direction, rather than lack of talent. Sandvoss is a natural while portraying the reserved, polite, boyish traits of Aaron, and he and Ramsey make an aesthetically stunning couple. However, when required to stretch emotionally---particularly in the confrontation scene with his mother Gladys (Mary Kay Place)---Sandvoss' performance is amateurish. The sole box office "veteran" recruited for the project, Jacqueline Bisset (as restaurateur Lila) is not exempt from misfires either. Her breakdown scene at the hospital is embarrassingly unconvincing, and novice Sandvoss actually handles the scene more competently than she. Notwithstanding, Bisset's elegance is a compliment to the cast. "Latter Days" is flawed, but certainly worth a view. However, a few years later, Robert Cary tackled similar subject matter with Chad Allen, Judith Light, and Robert Gant much more effectively in his 2007 film "Save Me".