CRAIG CHESTER

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB

USA, 2005.  Funny Boy Films.  Screenplay by Craig Chester.  Cinematography by Carl Bartels, Brian Pryzpek.  Produced by George Bendele, Kirkland Tibbels.  Music by Roddy Bottum.  Production Design by Cecil Gentry.  Costume Design by Carol Cutshall.  Film Editing by Phyllis Housen.  Podcast:  Bad Gay Movies

Way back in 1987, stylish goth Adam (Craig Chester) and chubby best friend Rhonda (Parker Posey) go to Danceteria and he meets a go-go dancer named Steve (Malcolm Gets) who catches his eye. Their evening together is a happily forgotten disaster, and twenty years later the two meet by happenstance when Adam, now a survivor of drug rehab, accidentally stabs his dog and takes him to the veterinary hospital where Steve, despite being a psychiatrist, ends up being the doctor who attends him.

Completely unaware that they’ve met before, the two begin a romance that becomes Steve’s first real relationship and the one good thing that’s happened to Adam in years. They’re madly in love, while now-thin best friend Rhonda (who still tells fat jokes about herself in her stand-up routine) finds quirky romance with Steve’s roommate (a hilarious Chris Kattan), but will their relationship(s) survive when Steve discovers that he’s the guy who got Adam into drug trouble in the first place? This film is a delight, full of ridiculous slapstick humour, witty dialogue and adorable performances. Its rough edges stick out a bit from time to time, but Chester directs with such energetic panache that its hardly noticeable.