HAIKU: This movie is more / Winsome than Chicago jocks / Football or baseball
FOUR PLUSES & A NEGATIVE: 1) Honest gay sex scenes. 2) Positive portrayal of being HIV+. 3) Frank discussions on the topic of gay youths/adolescents. 4) Happy ending. 5) I realize the possible contradiction in what I'm about to say I dislike when HIV+ men continue to have casual sex in airport bathrooms, backrooms of gay bars, saunas, etc. Often it is unsafe. While I am free to not have unsafe sex, I suspect that many people have unsafe sex without much consideration for the ramifications. I wish that the movie had been more responsible in its portrayal of an HIV+ person having sex.
RANDOM THOUGHTS: I know it's just a movie, but how sad is it in life when people are blinded by their good intentions (like the estranged grandmother). I wonder if people like that, whose children become involved with drugs for example, think that they, as the parent, had nothing to do with it. These are the same people who then want to impart their parenting skills and decision-making on their grand-children as if trying the same crap on the next generation will lead to different results. Again, I understand that it was just a movie, but in the end did she (or do people like that) really ever get what they want. What benefit exactly did she take with her to the grave? I enjoyed how this film developed, slowly revealing its secrets and doing so with an honesty and sincerity rarely seen in film, especially films with gay themes. Perhaps, it's just rarely seen in American cinema? Even though I am not into Bears (subunit of gay culture where the men a more fat than fit, more sloppy than stylish, etc.), it is nice to see them portrayed in non stereotypical ways ways that make them attractive and engaging as people, versus sexual beings not to your liking. I would imagine that non gays who venture out of their comfort zone to see this movie might be surprised at the similarities between gays and straights with respect to family, friends and love. Gay sex scenes aside, I would recommend this movie to mature audiences who would like to see a tender portrayal of gay love (casual sex, casual intimacy, bond between friends, familial conflict, inter-generational bonding, and living with HIV).
If you'd like to read more of my haiku, please visit my blog at: richardwallenhaiku.blogspot.com
FOUR PLUSES & A NEGATIVE: 1) Honest gay sex scenes. 2) Positive portrayal of being HIV+. 3) Frank discussions on the topic of gay youths/adolescents. 4) Happy ending. 5) I realize the possible contradiction in what I'm about to say I dislike when HIV+ men continue to have casual sex in airport bathrooms, backrooms of gay bars, saunas, etc. Often it is unsafe. While I am free to not have unsafe sex, I suspect that many people have unsafe sex without much consideration for the ramifications. I wish that the movie had been more responsible in its portrayal of an HIV+ person having sex.
RANDOM THOUGHTS: I know it's just a movie, but how sad is it in life when people are blinded by their good intentions (like the estranged grandmother). I wonder if people like that, whose children become involved with drugs for example, think that they, as the parent, had nothing to do with it. These are the same people who then want to impart their parenting skills and decision-making on their grand-children as if trying the same crap on the next generation will lead to different results. Again, I understand that it was just a movie, but in the end did she (or do people like that) really ever get what they want. What benefit exactly did she take with her to the grave? I enjoyed how this film developed, slowly revealing its secrets and doing so with an honesty and sincerity rarely seen in film, especially films with gay themes. Perhaps, it's just rarely seen in American cinema? Even though I am not into Bears (subunit of gay culture where the men a more fat than fit, more sloppy than stylish, etc.), it is nice to see them portrayed in non stereotypical ways ways that make them attractive and engaging as people, versus sexual beings not to your liking. I would imagine that non gays who venture out of their comfort zone to see this movie might be surprised at the similarities between gays and straights with respect to family, friends and love. Gay sex scenes aside, I would recommend this movie to mature audiences who would like to see a tender portrayal of gay love (casual sex, casual intimacy, bond between friends, familial conflict, inter-generational bonding, and living with HIV).
If you'd like to read more of my haiku, please visit my blog at: richardwallenhaiku.blogspot.com