Boyfriends (1996)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This movie has a very slow pace. But if you allow yourself to fall into the characters, you come to know and care for all of them. It is, even 12 years later, a very accurate portrayal of the gay relationship dynamic. There are plenty of chances to be ticked off at some of the characters, and yet despite that you find yourself rooting for the main couple. It shows a variety of personas and problems that all couples, gay or straight, have to face at some point or another. For that reason alone, to watch something that might make you feel a parallel with your own life, this movie is worth watching. I'd rate it a 7.5 if they allowed halves, because sometimes you just need a half. If you are a patient person, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Co-writers/directors Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter conjured this little Indie film in 1996, an examination of relationships among seven gay men that not only impresses as a non-exploitive, honest sociologic study of life in the 90s in England, it also is a film that is a healthy mix of humor and tenderness that stands up well more than ten years later.Three couples of varying endurance gather for a weekend holiday to celebrate a birthday: Paul (James Dreyfus, remembered as Hugh Grant's ditsy travel book shop worker in NOTTING HILL) has been with Ben (Mark Sands) for five years but their relationship is rocky because of Paul's wandering eye for a lad he met at the funeral of his brother Mark; Matt (Michael Urwin) is celebrating his three month steady relationship with Owen (Andrew Abelson) though Owen already has the itch to move on; Will (David Coffey) brings his latest one-night stand twinkie Adam (Darren Petrucci), knowing that his chances of retaining the youth's interest are less than favorable. Into the mix comes James (Michael McGrath), the ex-lover of the recently departed Mark whose arrival and introduction to the group occurs in the form of a tryst in the woods with Owen.Each of the paired men face confrontations and face honesty about their pasts - recent and distant - and it is through the weekend of bed swapping that each man finds his own real needs. And the results vary from happy reunions to factual realities of choices made.The cast is a mixture of seasoned professional actors and newcomers who have not made subsequent films. There is a ring of honesty in the portrayals and the creators have opted to study compatibilities based on personality traits and needs as opposed to filling the story with the requisite soap opera subplots that tend to dampen the effect of these studies of groups and their lives. It is not a great film, but is an honest little quiet movie with particularly good performances from James Dreyfus and Andrew Abelson. Worth watching, even in 2007! Grady Harp

This is definitely a low budget film and having seen the other review posted on the web site expected to be extremely disappointed.I am very pleased to say the opposite is true. I think the low budget, made the film more believable. At first I was extremely annoyed at the character Paul as being truly obnoxious and overbearing. With the appearance and interaction with the other weekend guests, some insight as to his problems as well as those of other characters began to surface.I enjoyed the film because I could identify the behavior with friends I've known. At times I think the resolutions were a little simplistic. But that's Ok. It gives the romantic in us some hope, not only harsh reality.

Whiny, dull characters, a cliched "Big-Chill" style set-up and predictable, flat dialogue. Like the majority of 90's gay cinema, offers little in the way of insight and simply satisfies itself with rehashing tired identity politics and reinforcing conventional notions of gay male attitudes and behavior. None of the characters resonate; the film starts at point A and basically stays there for what feels like a very, very loooong time.I'd rather sit through "Boys In the Band" or "Cruising" a hundred times than watch this pedestrian mess again.