This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
The film is set in gayville, West Hollywood and follows life of gay friends. They hang out at coffee shops, clubs and each other's homes. We meet Dennis, a photographer who often holds the group together and hosts a lot of parties; Cole, a very handsome, charismatic actor and room mate with Dennis who often ends up with other people's boyfriends and can't stick to a guy for more than 2 weeks maximum and breaks their heart; Benji, the youngest member of the group, with a penchant for gym-bodied men, who finds himself going through some bad times; Howie, a psychology student who is known for over thinking every situation; Patrick, the cynic of the group, because of which certain members of the group do not like him because they think he is always negative; and Taylor, who has just broken up with his long-term boyfriend. A fatherly figure Jack guides them all and runs a restaurant for broken hearts and provides them with advice and jobs for some of them who work part-time as servers at his restaurant. Feathers shuffle when Benji brings his co-worker, the 23-year-old Kevin. As most times he ends up staying with Cole who breaks his heart and then starts dating Dennis, who is really not sure what he wants form life. Meanwhile Patrick's sister and her lover asks him to be surrogate father of their baby and Howie is dealing with how to get over his previous boyfriend, a very good looking man who he is still sleeping with but somehow they an't figure out where it is all gonna go. Tragedy strikes when John, who also sponsors a softball team, dies due to a heart attack after winning a softball game.
What's striking about the movie is the ordinariness of its characters and what they talk about. The humour in the film is natural and sarcastic but never bitchy (something that most gay men are known for). The lighthearted tone is set right at the beginning, as a group of friends plays a game to see who can act the straightest the longest. The film also discovers that gay men, like straight men, spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about sex. And that they can be insecure, unfaithful, lonely and deceptive. The movie is likable and goes on a steady pace but unfortunately it never has those peaks that could take this movie from good to very good. That key line "I'm 28 years old and all I'm good at is being gay" is like an announcement liberating gay movies from an exclusive preoccupation with sexuality.
It is a heartwarming, glorious, happy feel good movie , that made me miss my gay friends a lot. (7/10)
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