User Reviews

Ok, I'll try to get to the point: The movie starting with Billy's life in the country with his alcoholic father disapproving that Billy's gay wasn't a bad beginning to establish Billy's life before the city. I liked that his best friend Rick and him shared a moment before Billy was kicked out by his father, but it's a little misleading because you think maybe there will be something. However, when Billy gets to the city he meets this waiter (who is gay) and the waiter (named Guy) hangs out with Billy for the rest of the day and allows him to move in until Billy can land a job and money. Again, not bad for starting it out (granted it was rushed but with this type of movie that's expected). Again, you might think there's a potential romance between the two that will happen, which I was also fine with.

Going on with the introduction to Mark (the old guy needing assistance) and his son (James) it's honestly not a great scene. Off the bat, I DISLIKED James. He came off as weird and creepy. Mark was a supportive father (very supportive because all he wants to do is fix James up with a guy) and struggling to cope with his stroke so his character wasn't bad with being introduced to.

There's also Mark's friend which is very out there and a good friend to Mark.

Once Billy got the job as Mark's caretaker (which was way to easy especially given Billy's lack of experience - but James saw a guy that struck his fancy) James started to like Billy. This is where my interest dropped because, keep in mind, James is, at the youngest, mid twenties and Billy is a teen who is new and unsure if this new life. So James insists that Billy drinks margaritas with him, says to his dad that he is in love with Billy (don't know him enough and he's a kid), and then when Billy comes home one night crying because a group of guys were making fun of him and stuff (Billy being a young country boy trying to find his place in the world is bound to be sensitive) James says he just needs to find a lover. FIRST OFF, Billy is young and doesn't need that right now, SECOND OFF, don't say lover like that to a teenager as a grown ass man, and THIRD OFF, James goes into kiss him and says "this is love." That btw is James grooming Billy, Billy is a young boy who never experienced love so when someone asserts that thought when you're at a vulnerable point, you're more susceptible to being groomed. Billy was convinced it's love when they don't know each other that much and James taking advantage of Billy.

Towards the end, James was caught by Billy kissing his ex (on drugs and came back into his life) but James tries to convince Billy it was a misunderstanding and that he didn't want to kiss Todd (the ex). HOWEVER, if you notice before James tells Todd to leave, he actually is kissing Todd too. And this random scene pops up when James goes after Billy (this random scene might've been right before) and it's shows Guy upset at the restaurant he works at (probably because Billy was hurt after Guys friends were rude to him), but this confuses me because it almost shows maybe that's still a thing, especially given that I think it's common sense to know that James is grooming Billy and not loving him appropriately.

James convinces Billy to stay and love him, Billy accepts (he's upset and confused because he is currently vulnerable and actively being groomed).

Then it ends with Guy and Rick together (my favorite part because they were good characters even though you don't know them well) but unfortunately James and Billy get married (so basically everyone around Billy's life allowed for this sick relationship to continue) Oh and Mark dies due to the stroke being to much and his best friend stays with him until the end.

So that's why the movie wasn't good because apparently the writers, producers, directors, etc weren't aware they had written James as grooming Billy and being a total creep. And it didn't give Billy a happy ending because of that.

*the scene with James coming on to Billy made me uncomfortable and if you see the grooming happening it will do the same to you.

I'm uncertain on how to characterise this film if I'm honest, it has been hard to review. At various points of the film, you wander between daytime Telenovela and uni film school submission with a heavy dose of fever dream and Hallmark channel.

The acting in general is on par with small town local theatre, though I do wonder if direction and the material they are working from might have something to do with that. Any attempt at acting is rather ruined by the poor continuity, for just one example, in a two person scene we have no establishing shot but go straight into an over the shoulder shot which is fine except that bizarrely, one character is stood, but seated for the reverse shot.

This is not a sub 90-minute film, but it should have been with decent editing. What we have is 2 hours of loosely strung together scenes with poor continuity, poor direction, acting with more ham than a supermarket delicatessen aisle.

The premise in itself is not a terrible one, and perhaps fleshed out with a splash of warmth and realism, good direction, a tight script and a decent budget it would have been a good watch.

A rundown of the "plot" follows below, and contains spoilers.

Our film opens with a comedy drunk loudly raging about the price of milk, or some such thing, then we cut to our teen hero Billy getting caught whilst snogging his best friend two scenes Rick by his alcoholic religious father who promptly throws him out. Teen hitches a lift on a dirt track with an unseen driver heading to LA, our grateful hero gets in the back like he's ordered a taxi, rude.

Intermission - Long drawn-out rambling section that lasts 30 minutes of scene setting with elderly Mark the victim of glued together lips and his creepy-middle-aged-whispering son James along with flamboyant family friend Thomas.

Back to our teen hero and he's sitting in a café which we presume is in an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. He asks the cute water if there are any jobs, he says no but there's a notice board and hey man, have free food and lodgings. A bold move considering they've only just met each other but maybe that's LA for you? On the notice board, our hero discovers an ad for a live-in carer.

Our cute waiter and hero share the small bed, but apparently still maintaining room for Jesus between them and decide to hang for the day, which seems to involve our hero borrowing cute waiter's mobile to call about the job.

Our hero heads for the interview, and it seems that glue lips and creepy whisperer are quite happy about the teen fresh meat that has landed in their laps, or at least close enough. There's a lovely, touching moment of (unlike the water) sparkling tight dialogue:

James: "Oh I would love a glass of water" (to no one asking) "Billy, dad?" Billy: "Yeah, yeah, I would love one, the walk over here was longer than I expected so.." Mark: "I'd love one too, thanks son" James: "Right, that's three waters coming right up." (Hooray for hydration!)

And of course, at that moment our hero teen with no experience of being a carer other than calling someone "sir" is hired to look after wheelchair bound glue lips and offered money and a room by creepy whisperer. Some stuff happens, at this point, visits to the park for wheelchair japery and longing close-ups of a freshly dusted vagrant in some kind of Mary Poppins inspired moment but otherwise we're back to 20 minutes of lights out scene setting.

Clearly, our intrepid director wanted to try a 3-way screen split, something they clearly have been wanting to do since the opening sequence of Dallas. We launch into our 3-way with our hero, cute waiter, and his mysteriously hitherto absent mother, I think at this point we glean that our hero is having a night out with the lads that night and "mommy "is on the scene.

Our hero presumably goes out on the lash, because the next time we meet there's the sound effect of a car screeching off and he returns to find creepy whisperer sat in the dark in the garden with his photo album of semi naked men. Our hero wells up, as apparently no one liked him and he's just a "cute little nurse who should stay at home". Creepy whisper realising that the grooming has paid off and this is his moment says some kind words "You'll be a great lover for someone one day" and leans in for his well-earned kiss.

Well now that teen hero and creepy whisperer are an item, at least presumably as they don't seem to have banged, a scene that we are quite grateful not to have seen. Some faux melodrama occurs, wills are written, glue lips snuffs it after saying nice words to flamboyant (was he earning a producers credit?). We end with our teen hero married to creepy whisperer, and cute waiter hooking up with two scenes Rick.

Fin.

What can I say. I can't tell you how this movie has changed my life. Really, I can't. From the moment the first light hit the screen I knew I was in for a special evening. My boyfriend and I watched every frame of the film and all of the special bonuses that this DVD offered. And there were allot. Apart from the standout performances, especially from Hank Fields, whose deleted scene where he cries along with his stroke victim father woke in me an emotion I have hardly had since and may never have again. But most intriguing was having the honor of peaking under the curtain to see/hear/feel and be touched by the Wizard himself: director/producer/executive producer/writer/original concept/additional script changes/distributor/location and production car provider, Greg Osborne. This man, ney, hyphenate, who not only had the vision but the talent todeliver this level of quality is homage to the fact that anyone with enough desire and strong enough dream can make it all happen. This cinematic experience will stay with me for many years to come. It's amazing that this piece of work was realized in only 4 years. The attention to every detail is so obvious that we actually accept Billy's mom taking him out on a shopping spree before remembering to casually mention that his estranged father died in a tragic car accident as she serves her son his favorite: milk and cookies, which she happens to have brought with her to the hotel room, as any good mother would. Having abandoned her kids to the capable care of their abusively alcoholic over-religious father, she has no reason to feel remorse at her actions. And, like the angel that he is, Billy seems to feel no rancor at her careless behavior. She does admit that her only love is Billy, forgetting her younger son completely in the process. The aunt is taking care of him while she shops with Billy. This touch you in areas you never thought a movie could! I have read the other reviews and I didn't find the creepy scenes creepy at all. The portrayal of Stroke Dad simply stopped me in mmy tracks, not to mention the transgendered gentelman's delicate portrayal of a woman trapped in a man's body in love with an ambiguously gay stroke victim father, unable to consummate their obvious love for each other due to his stroke and all. I only wish Stroke Dad would have lived long enough to see the end of this movie, where James and Billy get married. In a surprise turn-around Guy moves to Billy's home town and finds love in Billy's best friend, the fellow who started it all. When people find a true connection, even in one day, they give each other gifts and profess their love for each other. It was obvious that pre-pubescent Billy could take care of a severely ill man, even after only one day in Los Angeles, and without any references. James was so excited after their brief initial phone conversation that he was moved to clean the house and make it spotless for the hired help to be impressed. It only proves that having a big heart can make moving to Los Angeles a pleasant and rewarding experience, even at 17. But be warned: the real heartbreak comes from the pivotal scene where poor Billy admits to the unspeakable cruelty displayed by the off-handed comments of relative strangers calling him a "cute young nurse" this was beyond the pale and tore my heart in two. It speaks honestly of the cruelty of youth. Thank GOD that James was there to provide a helping shoulder and a tender, (not creepy at all you cynics!), kiss. I just knew that when he offered margaritas to this minor, that they had a special connection and that no federal law could keep them apart. I applaud this film's refusal to adhere to a purely logical approach to film-making and instead embracing a more ephemeral style, eschuing film convention completely, forgetting about predictable continuity, doing away with the usual editing tricks of pacing, timing, appropriate scene selection or believable performances, and sticking to style over substance. DO NOT MISS THE FILM!