|
If I got fucked in the ass for every time
a joke fell flat in "29th and Gay," I would
be dead of AIDS by now. I know that sounds horrible
but that's exactly the thought that ran through
my head as I was watching it. It's just that
I've been sitting though a lot of rather bland
and ho-hum and outright bad films at this year's
Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
and this one was so lackluster that I had plenty
of time to think about such things. I certainly
wasn't busy laughing.
The problem with the film certainly is
neither lack of trying nor lack of charm on
the part of lead actor and screenwriter James
Vasquez. At early middle-age, chubby, balding
and obviously totally gay, Vasquez is still
witty, cute and likeable. His script isn't really
horrible. It has no more bad jokes than any
other indie comedy script coming out of Hollywood.
And it isn't lack of charm and cuteness
on the part of the supporting cast either. David
McBean is certainly adorable and hot as Brandon,
James' best gay guy-pal. It's hard to believe
this is his first take on film (or in this case
video). He's really great. And the girl who
plays his fag hag (Nicole Marcks) is cute even
if she is stuck in a drab and lame subplot and
has to be a bitch far too often. And Mike Doyle
("Law and Order: SVU") is certainly hunky and
cute enough to play the love interest. His chemistry
with Vasquez is palpable and it is hard not
to produce a tear or two when they have their
romantic moments in the film.
But what does utterly fail the film is
its director and editor. Pieced together by
Carrie Preston, an actress making her first
trip behind the camera (and a misstep it is),
"29th and Gay" looks like it was shot on consumer
grade video and seems like it was edited by
someone with the sense of timing one might expect
to find on a 78 Datsun desperately in need of
a tune up. The jokes here fall so often and
with a thud so resounding that you could almost
create a rap song around the beat. This is one
of the worst films I've ever seen when it comes
to technical competence and artistic integrity.
You might expect something this sloppy and inept
from a group of friends making a film in Madison,
Wisconsin or Moline, Illinois, but aren't these
people from L.A.?
Note:
Viewed at The Arbor in October 2005 during
Agliff. Jenn Garrison hosted the screening and
introduced James Vasquez, the writer and star
of the movie and a woman named Nicole as one
of the producers. James spoke and told us there
would be no Q&A after the movie but that he
would be in the lobby to answer questions. He
said that the movie was filmed on the weekends
over a three month period and was directed by
the actress who played Sally in the movie "Straight-Jacket."
She couldn't be at the festival.
Report Card
Script: D+
Acting: B
Cinematography\Lighting: F
Special Effects\Make Up: F
Music: D-
Final Grade: F
|
