200 American (2003)

Powerful

Nice effects though.

How sad is this?

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I don't like putting people's hard work down, but it feels like a thirteen-year-old girl who has a fascination with gay blokes and doesn't know a thing about them wrote it. Ian is meant to be from Sydney, but can't even hold his accent for an entire sentence, let alone even hit the right Aussie accent when he does. The plot is full of holes; the editing was terrible, the script short and the direction could not have been any better. The budget may be low, but I have seen movies without budgets that use talent to pull them off and they work. It was a high school movie, not something to be proud of. My suggestion for the creator; centre on one plot, pay more attention to their acting talent than their bodies and be more assertive with your actors when it comes to direction. For the rest of us - if you can sit through the entire movie without wanting to scream, throw something or roll your eyes, I will be surprised.

Director Richard LeMay admits on his DVD commentary that he changed his mind halfway through writing 200 American about what story he wanted to tell. But it doesn't take LeMay's commentary for us to realize that this film's major problem is lack of focus. The title alone should indicate that the central figure must be Ian, the Aussie rent boy searching for a way to stay in America without a legit green card. But LeMay instead opens his film from the POV of Conrad, an ad exec on the rebound from his ex, looking to get off with a renter instead of risking the emotional perils of dating. Never mind the fact that Conrad is a hunk that anyone would gladly bed gratis. Doesn't anonymous sex (for free) also imply 'no strings'? One would think so. The ad game must be going pretty well for Conrad, because he eagerly shells out a thousand clams for his hourly Boy from Oz to stay the night. But mid-vid LeMay ditches the inigmatic saga of Conrad and Ian for a more conventional romantic soap opera between Ian and Conrad's white bread co-worker Michael. To compensate, LeMay quickly resurrects Conrad's ex and proceeds with one of the most predictable pairings in queer cinema: Ian and Michael. Add to this lack of dramatic structure the fact that there's something a little lethargic about the whole affair and you've got a ho-hum gay indie.The dialogue tends toward the trite and the editing and cinematography are very hit and miss. The script's single funniest moment (although it tries for many more) involves confusion between the Dalai Lama and Lorenzo Lamas. A fed-up fashion model also provides a much-needed cathartic blast. Oddly, there's an unfortunate subplot about white slavery that should have hit the cutting room floor.LeMay's greatest asset is his cast, all of whom reportedly worked for free. They manage to make even the most illogical of plot points bearable. If it weren't for the quality of the performances, 200 American might well be totally unwatchable. If LeMay had spent some of his 200 on a script doctor, this film might have been something worth owning. As it is, it's just a 'renter'.

I read some reviews before I rented this little movie and I heard that the quality wasn't that great but i decided to try it out. BIG BIG MISTAKE. Well actually I love watching horrible movies because then at least i can laugh and wonder why anyone would ever make this. First of all it looks like someone took my video camera and decided to do a student film. You can see the camera shaking and you can hear the camera man moving the camera to get different shots. Haha, that amused me. The acting is horrible. haha and man the story itself was just bad. Being sold to white slavery...trying to be funny? Sorry you failed and made me go LAME. Haha this movie...this movie... if you want to see a good movie go see Latter Days or something! Don't SEE THIS MOVIE UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO HIDE YOUR FACE IN YOUR PILLOW BECAUSE YOU FEEL SO BAD FOR THE ACTORS.

I went in expecting a bad movie, knowing the budget was low. But right from the start, I was charmed. Particularly by the actor playing Sean, the Australian hustler. I thought he did a great job of acting. The guy who played Conrad turned out better and better as the movie went along, until you really like him by the end. Very soon into the movie you start rooting for Sean, and you can't wait to find out how things will work out. The actor who played Micheal was also great, and it was fun watching him come on to Sean. I think everyone did the best they could do, considering no money, and although the music certainly wasn't the best, what are you going to get with no money? And at least it did set the right mood. I hope to see Sean Matic in another movie, he really did a great job of acting.Hopefully someone in the business saw him and will give him a chance. Overall, I'd say, don't go expecting a big budget, well done move, but do except that for a low budget movie, this one was pretty darn good. It's fun, easy to identify with the characters, it has charm, and there is one good kiss to make it all worthwhile.