yawn! I kept waiting for something interesting to happen thru all the flashback and self-examination scenes. Sadly it didn't and I was glad I did not spend much for this DVD. It goes nowhere. Stereotypical over-liberal nutty parents, the fag-hag & nelly best friend. Somehow a super-hot guy from a coffee stand falls for our normal-looking, jobless, whining main character. Like Judy Tenuda would say, "YEA...IT COULD HAPPEN!"
Out All Bad This is a movie that tries to be funny but it is not. The acting is bad and the characters are poor at best.
The plot is about a young man who reaches 29 with no job future and social life. James (James Vasquez) has two friends: Roxy (Nicole Marcks) who says she is straight but is questionable, and Brandon (David McBean) who is also lonely but hides it by doing the one night stands. James is secretly in love with the hunk guy in the coffee shop around the corner. He becomes a klutz around him. Everybody thinks this guy is straight because of his looks.
At the end of this movie, James liberates himself by quitting his dumb job and trying for acting parts which he has an education. He finds the man of his dreams (the hunk), Andy (Mike Doyle), and celebrates his 30th birthday as a happy man. The message of this movie is that sometimes it is very difficult to find the man or woman of your dreams.
For some reason or other all of the comedies in this genre are dignified and pleasant, or a bust. This one is definitely a bust.
Added note: For those Lost Fans, Ben plays a small role in this movie as a gorilla in James' job. We sure have come a long way.
Three and a Half Stars James Sanchez, a balding, slightly paunchy gay man struggling to make it as an actor and find romance in an image-obsessed Hollywood, suffers an emotional crisis as he approaches his thirtieth birthday. I totally wanted to hate this low-budget vanity piece written by and starring James Vasquez. First, and perhaps most egregiously, it's populated by the entire brigade of queer comedy stereotypes - the slutty best friend, the brassy fag hag, the PFLAG-waving mother. Second, the acting is mostly pretty bland - not bad, exactly - just bland. And last, this sort of storyline has been done [to death] in the gay film genre. But its charms definitely sneak up on you and, about halfway in, I found myself kind of enjoying it.
Shallow as it sounds, at first I was disappointed that Vazquez wasn't much to look at, but little by little, his warm, likeable screen presence won me over. And to my amazement, all the stereotyped characters eventually blossomed into pretty well-rounded human beings. I was particularly touched by a well written scene between James and his mother that takes place late in the film. And best of all, like all my favourite gay stories, this is not a "gay issues" film. Anyone can relate to James because he's not struggling with problems that are exclusive to the gay community, but things that all of us deal with. All this and a meet-cute romance, too. What more can you ask? I certainly don't think this is the best gay film ever and if you choose to watch it, you'll have to wade through a lot of stale, overused jokes during the first half, but if you stick it out you'll be rewarded with an upbeat, warmhearted diversion.
FILLED WITH ORDINARY PEOPLE With the exception of character-actor Mike Doyle who plays a coffee house server and is the object of everyone's desires who no-doubt would be described as a "hunk", this very small and low budgeted film "29th and Gay" is filled with some very ordinary looking folks with very ordinary personalities. The aforesaid certainly describes the film's main character James Sanchez as played very well by James Vasquez (also the screenwriter) who is a little pudgy, balding, shy and clumsy and a very ordinary looking gay man. James does have the usual dreams of being a very successful Broadway star and the perhaps to find "true love" preferably with a very desirable man.
As is usually with these kinds of films, James' desires do sort of come true.. He does get his big chance by doing a musical version of Shakespeare's "Henry the fifth" of all things which invariably brings him to the attention of his very handsome "prince".
If the above (along with James) sounds a bit dull, it's not. You see James is surrounded by some wonderful folks consisting of his mom (who is fiercely proud of him plus the character is very funny and played marvelously by the actress) and two very good friends that are always trying to get him to do more with his life. Those two best friends are Roxy (she's extremely hilarious too), a straight would be feminist and Brendan a rather ordinary looking gay man that has a whole lot of luck getting "one night stands". Both these characters are played wonderfully by the actors (there is also a nurse in the HIV clinic that is so very funny because she wonders why the hell James is getting tested; he hasn't had sex in about three years!--a great scene with she and James). Although those friends have nothing going for them in the "looks" departments, they don't let life pass them by. They also try to get their friend James to grab a little "gusto" from his life. Just when we the audience thinks that James is a hopeless case he does start to change, mainly thanks to his supportive and dear friends and to his mom--thus the theme of this movie.
I enjoyed this film because the character of James is really most of us--an ordinary person with dreams and desires that will never in the least come true unless we bury some of our fears and make them happen
So if you want to see a film that is, in my opinion, about most of us but does have a "good" ending buy this film. You will be delighted as I was.
For any and everybody I can't even state how much i loved this movie in this review that i'm going to do..or i could but it would ramble on. I dont want to do that. I just want folks out there to know about this movie, the star/writer of this movie and every other actor/actress that appeared in this. Whether it was his best female friend (she called herself a fag hag), his best friend as gay as can be and never has a problem getting a guy to go wherever with him. He wants more as well but for the time being he's just settling for the "right now".
James the troubled, gay and going nowhere wannabe actor. Has just hit his 29th birthday and is basically wondering is this all there is. All his plans and hopes of being rich and famous, being with so and so and being happy. Well it hasnt happened obviously. He has money and car problems, along with no sex problem for like what 4 years (how can u do that?). There is a cute, hunky guy that works at the local coffeee shop who he has been stalking for several weeks now. But he's too chicken to step up too him and say what's up. I'll stop there with it because i dont like telling the whole premise behind a movie.
If you are in doubt at least rent it first. I believe you should find it enjoyable if not it being like other gay films. But because it has fun doing it and be sad at the same time without dragging down the whole film. Love it and everyone in it...check out 29th & Gay (its about time).
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