A Disappointing Continuation

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A young bare-fisted boxing bloke finds himself searching for love in "Like It Is."Newcomer Steve Bell has the advantage of actually being a semi-pro fighter, so that he physically fits the part. His natural acting ability is acceptable, as is Ian Rose as the fighter's love interest.Former "The Who" singer Roger Daltry offers a convincing performance as an oily record producer and Dani Behr is deliberately irksome as a fairly famous rock singer.Somehow, though, Robert Gray's characters and situations don't rise much above the norm, which may have hampered Paul Orenland's direction as well as the entire production. The fight scenes are well-staged, and the viewer gets an idea of a seamy side of London life where bare knuckles provide perverse underground amusement.As for the two unlikely young heroes, it looks like a case of love being where you find it.

This is a simple and enjoyable film. It shows the evolution of the sexual-love relationship of two young men in London. The total contrast of the characters and their origins, as well as the graphical elements of the characters, specially the one of Craig, demystify alot of gay stereotypes through an unusual romance.

Far from a perfect film, LIKE IT IS still stands head-and-hunched shoulders above more confectionary, gay-themed delights such as PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, TO WONG FOO...and even BEAUTIFUL THING. Refusing to sprinkle even the slightest bit of fairy dust on its P.O.V., this is the down-to-earth tale of Craig, (engaging newcomer Steve Bell), a sexually confused bare-knuckle brawler from Blackpool, who meets up with the more outgoing and OUT Matt (Ian Rose), a budding record promoter/publicist who lives the clublife in swingin' London. Though there are some plot and character inconsistencies as mentioned before in previous reviews, the realism gives a fresh look to the now cliched boy-meets-boy-loses-and-gets-boy-back tale, which by now has lost quite a bit of its shock value for open-minded straight audiences, as well as its novelty and notoriety for gays. What further distinguishes it from similarly themed films with low-budget origins, are the standout performances. Bell comes across as a natural, Rose is believably torn between the career his Matt has worked so hard for, and the budding love he thought he would never feel for any bloke, now instilled in him by this tough kid with an angry attitude and a wounded heart, and Dani Behr may come across as grating for some, but she struck me as totally spot-on as a pop-diva-slash-fag-hag who values her friendships only after weighing her options. The most impressive turn, however, comes from Who frontman Roger Daltrey. After spending years honing his acting chops in projects as diverse as TOMMY, LIZSTOMANIA and MCVICAR, Roger finally has all the spice and sauce he needs to bring the wealth of his experience and talent to any project, and he will hopefully get the recognition (and the jobs) he deserves. As Matt's boss and mentor, Kelvin, he's calculating, lewd, ruthless and materialistic with a capital "C", inspiring chuckles as he promotes a shamelessly talentless boy band with all the aplomb and avarice of a latter-day, gay P.T. Barnum.See this film for its grit, earthiness and heart, but if for nothing else, for Daltrey's amazing performance.

I really enjoyed this movie. It had alot of personal resonance.A sweet and moving film. I wish I had seen it at 18 or 20.All of the actors deliver interesting performances of depth. Steve Bell is compelling as a young man coming of age and coming out.