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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

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 ...

4th Man Out

Why do they do it? Maker come up with an interesting idea but then they put in every stereotypical events and things they can think of and then make the film just plain ordinary. The story of a man coming out to his closest buddies on his 24th birthday and how the friends react and response is the basic premise of this light-hearted comedy.

Adam is a young garage mechanic who spends most of his time with his longtime best friend Chris. The other 2 of the quartet are Nick and Ortu and they do everything that you can think of stereotypical straight guys doing at evenings in a small american town including beer, games, chicks and gay jokes. On his birthday Adam break the news that he is gay. Chris tries to act cool and ok but others are haplessly frank in their bafflement. Upon realizing how vulnerable his best friend may feel in light of coming out, Nick devises a plan to help everyone acclimate to Adam’s sexuality by helping him find a man all his own. This leads the friends down several paths of self-discovery, some more entertaining than others, as well as overused genre territory such as gay clubs and dating apps. In between all this, Adam also comes out to his family. On one such occasion, when his double date ends bad, an honest misunderstanding happens between Adam and Chris that threatens to ruin the friendship. Thankfully without much melodrama, things get back to normal. The friends are there for each other and like a happy ending for everyone, they all find their lovers on July 4th weekend and eve Adam may finally find a suitor that he likes.

Saying that anything you see in this film, you haven’t seen before would be a lie. There is absolutely nothing new. Even the one scene of sexual tension between Adam and Chris was so obvious. I saw that coming right since the film started. Having said that, I can also say that performances from every individual was quite good and the rapport that the four guys saved was also really good. I am glad that the makers kept the film very light-hearted without too much of a melodrama and that was the only thing worked for me. I was tired of rolling my eyes otherwise seeing all the cliches of a gay film. All the side stories of a nosy neighbour, Nick’s girlfriend etc. were also alright. And oh! What’s up with the really poor choice of actors to play Nick’s mom-dad and sister. The actors had absolutely zero chemistry with each other that you would expect from a family. It was really odd.

Overall I think the weaknesses of the film overpowers the strengths and thats where I think this film failed to leave a much better impression for me. (5.5/10)

Comments

Hedgehog said…
I agree about you about adams family having zero chemist. Its like a bunch of people put together just to form a family. Brotherhood connection between the boys is real for me I felt that. That theyve been friends for a long time. My favorite part of the movie is when chris told to her date (rachel/tracey) that adams is gay and she’s mad at chris cause he doesnt know what adam was going through is not easy and he only cares how poker night and watching football being awkward having adam around. I love it being light and dont have much drama. Has happy ending. This is my go to film when I’m down aside from shelter.
Golu said…
my goto film is hands down "Big Eden" . Its still my all time favorite.
Hedgehog said…
Haven’t seen it. I’ll definitely going that watch that.
ILHiker said…
I agree with the review. I'm on a rewatching jag at the moment, and this one was last night. I'm very fond of it--I enjoy the friendship between the boys and the humor very much, though the criticisms of the film are accurate as well. There aren't any parts I dislike and the pacing is steady throughout. I enjoy portrayals of friendship like this on film. Hazlo Como Hombre comes to mind, though it goes way overboard and a bit too far into the homophobia for me, but I understand it is a farce. The one set in Chicago about the catholic brothers whose father just died and one comes out comes to mind, though that irritates me at certain junctures. I like to picture a world where a guys comes out to his straight buddies and it works out that the friendship is maintained and continues to be supportive. I'm not sure I have a goto film, though I really like both Big Eden and Shelter. I'd add Redwoods and Gone But Not Forgotten, mainly because I just enjoy the acting of Matthew Montgomery, even his turn as a klingon in the Star Trek Hidden Frontiers fan series. The movie I've watched the most this year has to be Next Level Sh*t, which is on youtube. It's a comedic short and my cats still freak out when I laugh out loud an for some reason every time scream "Don't eat the sushi!"
Golu said…
oh my god!! How is it that this is the first time I am hearing about Next Level Sh*t!!
I will have to check it out soon.

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