GERALD McCULLOUCH

Bil’s rating (out of 5): 0. 

USA, 2015.  From Stage To Screen.  Screenplay by Dan Via, based on his play.  Cinematography by Svetlana Cvetko. Produced by Gerald McCullouch, Allison Vanore.  Music by Rob Gokee.  Production Design by Heidi Koleto.  Costume Design by Sharell Martin.  Film Editing by Peggy Davis.   Podcast: Bad Gay Movies.

Positively unsavoury romantic drama about Colin, a political pundit (Gerald McCullouch, who also directs) who enjoys insubstantial relationships with young men, while his best friend and roommate Stewart (Dan Via, who also wrote the screenplay based on his play of the same name) pines away in loneliness. Stewart has been living with Colin in Pittsburgh since leaving an ugly situation in academia behind, but is now considering moving out to California when UCLA comes looking to offer him the opportunity to teach out there. Colin is upset about this possible development, unwilling to face his dependency on Stewart’s friendship, and then digs himself in deeper when he risks his professional reputation at the office: he takes a liking to one of his show’s new interns (Jaime Cepero) and begins a sexual affair with him that he doesn’t notice is really taking its toll on the young man’s emotional equilibrium. There’s a twist that is for you to discover, since I don’t deserve to suffer alone, but it’s worth wondering what exactly the filmmakers were hoping to reveal with this particular take on modern-day gay relationships; whatever criticisms of May-December romances might be processed by examining this particular (ludicrous) turn of events aren’t exactly delved into, the movie presents its highly melodramatic, almost Greek-tragedy level situation without giving us any kind of introspection on it, leaving us with a movie that is not just unpleasant but also never intelligent or insightful. The poor acting by the majority of the cast and a distinct lack of chemistry between the leads helps in no way to make it go down smoothly.