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 plot of the film is simple. Manny (Latin American) and Russ (American white) have been a married couple for a while but have drifted apart in last few months. Before they make their divorce official, they decide to take one last trip together to talk through their issues and get closure. It seems so far that they are breaking up on mutual terms but slowly unresolved issues keep coming up during this wine tasting trip. To Russ' surprise , Manny has invited their common friend Byron for part of their trip. As it turns out Byron has been their sexual partner off and on both as a couple and individuals. Byron’s arrival stirs tension between the two, and the trio set about getting to the bottom of where it all went wrong for Russ and Manny. While siping wine across multiple locations and hiking, Manny and Russ are able to hopefully talk it out how they really felt in the relationship and end the relationship on a cordial note.
When the film starts, you realize that Russ is pragmatic and Manny is more of a dreamer and impulsive person. We find out soon that he is looking for the meaning of his life. He has decided to move to a remote place for his art which is one of the contentions between the couple. It was initially boring to watch just the two guys talking about stuff, which to be honest wasn't even making much sense because it seems like they were beating around the bush trying to avoid the subject of divorce. But as the wine starts to flow and the conversations get deeper, Byron, their common friend, becomes the mediator between his two friends. Old tensions and frustrations flare up while they dissect the moments where their marriage started to fall apart. I actually had many problems with this film. A couple who seems content in the beginning anode with the fact that they must get divorced, clearly has plenty of issues to resolve. How the hell could they have just agreed to separate if they had not discussed all these things previously. Manny wanting to move to a different town and Russ not willing to do that can't be the only ground. In fact you would think that they must have discussed everything so far for them to be able to take a final trip together for a closure. But, in fact, it is exactly opposite. It is on this trip they tell each other about their fears, issues with each other and our their heart out. And I was like, come on.. shouldn't you have done all this already. The only good thing was there was a lot of wine drinking, which makes me now want to go for some wine tasting trip asap.
Coming to the acting, all three actors actually do a very good job and well as expected of them, but its the screenplay that is a downer. This could have been so much more interesting, had the makers not try to force their pseudo intellectual opinion and super heavy dialogues on the audience. (4/10)
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