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Broadway Damage

Broadway Damage

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A thoroughly average film from a growing genre
Review: "Broadway Damage" is a good example of how movie-making has changed, yet stayed the same. It depicts (relatively) happy gay men resolving emotional/personal dilemmas without resorting to self-pity or tragi-comic excess. That alone is probably worth the price of admission, if you haven't been won over by Hollywood's tepid courtship of "gay" films. Unlike most indie films written or marketed for the gay community, "Broadway" is refreshingly free of socio-political moralizing, even though the subject matter is rife with potential conflict (classism being at the top of the list).

However, as a story it's a bit long on "grand gestures" and short on substantive plot. The leads are stereotypes: the hunky guy who only wants what he can't have, the mousey songwriter who can't assert himself, the Long Island princess who doesn't know what to do when Daddy cuts her off. The leads are all likeable, in the sense that we all have friends who are screwed up and care about them any way, but they don't inspire this viewer to feel anything more than vague sympathy.

As a "dating movie," this film has it's fleeting charms, particularly if you're more interested in the date than the film. As a "slice of life" film, we've all seen it before in some fashion. Ultimately, if you just want to see a "gay film" with a happy ending, this will fit the bill nicely. But don't be surprised if you find yourself dizzy from the rapid turnabout that turns this into a "feel good" flick in the last twenty minutes.

-Mic

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This fluff has the right stuff
Review: "Boy meets boy" is one of the timeless plotlines -- since the ancient Greeks at least -- and this well-acted romantic comedy adds a number of twists and turns to what could have been standard fare. The showbiz wannabes of the title who lust after, long for, love, lose, and land one another are appealling, and the men are all goodlooking -- even the presumably plain Robert, who in the real world would have no trouble attracting another man, even if he did wear a stupid porkpie hat as here. Perhaps that's why the director put the hat on him, to try to disguise how cute he is. The lead hunk, Mark, has a frequent bemused smile that suggests thoughtfulness. He is appalled to learn that casting agents think he "reads light," and it's one of the movie's accomplishments that Michael Shawn Lucas as Mark carries off the combination of masculine appearance, conversation almost devoid of camp, and an unaggressive sensitivity that makes you like him -- he's the hunk with a heart of gold, even though he is also clearly a gym bunny for whom climbing a tree is an exotic experience. His elusive "must have item," David, is dark and pretty as a movie mystery man should be. As the Long Island princess, Mara Hobel is good, but her character's main shtick (trying to land a job interview with Tina Brown despite having zero qualifications) is dragged out too long. The resolution of one of the movie's main romantic dilemmas in the last reel feels very artificial and is the only wrong step in this otherwise charming and witty tale.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A thoroughly average film from a growing genre
Review: "Broadway Damage" is a good example of how movie-making has changed, yet stayed the same. It depicts (relatively) happy gay men resolving emotional/personal dilemmas without resorting to self-pity or tragi-comic excess. That alone is probably worth the price of admission, if you haven't been won over by Hollywood's tepid courtship of "gay" films. Unlike most indie films written or marketed for the gay community, "Broadway" is refreshingly free of socio-political moralizing, even though the subject matter is rife with potential conflict (classism being at the top of the list).

However, as a story it's a bit long on "grand gestures" and short on substantive plot. The leads are stereotypes: the hunky guy who only wants what he can't have, the mousey songwriter who can't assert himself, the Long Island princess who doesn't know what to do when Daddy cuts her off. The leads are all likeable, in the sense that we all have friends who are screwed up and care about them any way, but they don't inspire this viewer to feel anything more than vague sympathy.

As a "dating movie," this film has it's fleeting charms, particularly if you're more interested in the date than the film. As a "slice of life" film, we've all seen it before in some fashion. Ultimately, if you just want to see a "gay film" with a happy ending, this will fit the bill nicely. But don't be surprised if you find yourself dizzy from the rapid turnabout that turns this into a "feel good" flick in the last twenty minutes.

-Mic

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent
Review: A Movie about a Good looking gay man, who keeps chasing other good looking gay guys, his mousey side kick who has a crush on him and their loud, outrageous emotionally unstable "Dare I say Fag Hag" friend who stalks Magazine Editor Tina Brown in disturbing ways and who wears designer outfits of several thousand dollars to go apartment hunting. My How wacky and unique this is! Seriously I didn't hate the movie but was a bit dissappointed, it hit all it's marks but never really developed any depth. I do not want to give away the ending but I will say it left you feeling good. and one more thing, as a bonus, you get to see what the little girl who played the young daughter in Mommie Dearest turned out like.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Just a feel-good movie, no dark content
Review: As a straight female teenager, I don't tend to watch very many independent films about gay males. However, there has always been something about the genre of the gay romantic comedy that has interested me, and I found this movie to be utterly satisfying.

Reading the reviews on this site, I see quite a few people who are complaining endlessly about the movie. Supposedly, the plot isn't good enough, the characters were hard to take seriously, the dialogue was cheesy...and so on. Here's my theory: when I think of almost any romantic comedy I've seen, I can come to a general definition. A romantic comedy is one in which two or more people (some movies feature inherently normal and relatable people; others are more unbelievable)get into a series of humorous mishaps in order to win someone's affection. That is exactly what this movie is, and I didn't expect any more of it. It was pleasant and fun.

After watching the movie, I realized that in retrospect, the thing that struck me about it was that it was so incredibly clean. Besides the fact that it wasn't a depressing movie about gay people (no one died or was seriously hurt in any way), there was almost nothing offensive about anything in the plot. There was: one sex scene, one additional implied sex scene, a few instances of minimal and very discreet nudity, one fight scene so small it doesn't even count as violence, maybe four instances of bad words, no drugs or alcohol, and of course, nothing scary. A lot of movies (gay and straight) are depressing. Someone dies, or ends up crying his/her heart out, or something like that. Any rejection that is suffered by these characters is quickly recovered from (even other romantic comedies tend to make you sad when the characters get hurt really badly).

Of course, my absolute favorite scene was The Grand Gesture. From that point on, I would continually find myself smiling, even when I didn't think I especially wanted to. The end melted my heart, and I went away from the movie feeling incredibly happy. I try not to put down movies that make me feel really happy like that.

So who would like this movie? Gay people, for one. Non-homophobics who also happen to be romantics. People who live in New York or harbor a special love for the city. And people who like Gilmore Girls. I noticed that this movie has a ton of the fast-paced banter and joking that Lorelai and Rory do so often on the show. Mostly this dialogue is between Marc and Robert, who sometimes adopt accents or finish one another's sentences in order to be amusing. I found it to be very funny.

One last subject before I stop this review: this movie is set in New York, and for me, it kind of had moments where it captured the spirit of NYC. I have only been in the city once, last summer, and there were a lot of memories that this movie brought back. For instance, Marc and Robert would walk down a New York street, and I would remember a similar place I walked down. And when Marc would stand on his fire escape and listen to the noises of the people on the street and the music from the houses, it brought back memories of my room in my uncle's house in Long Island, where I stayed while I was there. It felt very comfortable and I loved it.

I know, I'm a sappy romantic and a relentless New York lover. But I can't help it. I hope that anyone who reads this review will ignore the naysayers and be convinced to give this movie a try. At the very least, it should make you smile. Just a little.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not too heavy and a good bit of romance
Review: Broadway Damage was a fun and enjoyable film. It was not too heavy and not overly light, a good date movie. Not a lot of sexual stuff and no nudity. The acting was good and the story was cute. I would not put it on my top ten list but it is better than a great many of the indipendant gay themed films I have seen. I would say it is a good addition to the gay themed movie collection and a good investment. The best romantic comady todate is "Trick" with a simular story but done very well. This film is good for mixed groups and remains fairly nondiscript.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wonderful movie lampchop!
Review: Fun movie! Yeah, the plot's been used before, but it's got it's own twists and turns. Robert and Marc are fun to watch, and their straight female friend is a hoot. You won't be disappointed with this movie!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If Streisand Were A Gay Man...
Review: I couldn't help but to think of Barbra Streisand as I watched this film. In her best performances, Barbra played the role of the ugly duckling who falls in love with the handsome leading man (Omar Shariff, Robert Redford, Jeff Bridges). This movie follows a similar formula, where Robert is the ugly duckling and Marc is the handsome leading man.

Robert has two dreams: becoming a songwriter and landing Marc. Likewise, Marc also has two dreams: landing a role on Broadway, and finding a handsome boyfriend. In addition to their friendship, Robert and Marc have one thing in common: "girlfriend" Cynthia, who is trying to find a job (one job in particular, that is). Marc and Cynthia decide to share an apartment. One day, while staring out the window of their new apartment, Marc discovers the man of his dreams (a musician with stunning good looks, of course).

Marc explains to Robert the concept of the "Grand Gesture". Its when you swallow your pride, buy flowers or something, and let that special person know you're in love with them. Easy for Marc to say, since he is good looking and popular with the gents. Not so easy for Robert, who gets turned down by the card store cashier. Humiliated, Robert gives up on good-looking boyfriends.

Here is where the story varies from the typical Streisand plot. While ugly-duckling Streisand becomes the beautiful swan by using her voice, her talent or (in the most fictional of plots) a makeover, Robert stays plain old Robert. Can Marc see past Robert's dull exterior? Can Marc see past the musician's beautiful exterior? Will Robert get the courage to do the "Grand Gesture" to Marc?

Those are the questions to be answered in Broadway Damage. By the way, what's with the title? Alhough the movie explains what "broadway damage" is, I'm not sure it was the best choice for the title. Personally, I would have chosen "The Grand Gesture".

Back to Streisand... If you love "The Mirror has Two Faces", you'll love Broadway Damage. If you hated "Mirror", chances are you'll still like Broadway Damage, anyway.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Better than some . . . definately lite.
Review: I expected trash, and was a little surprised. The female lead (who you will recognize as young Christina Crawford in Mommy Dearest) was a mundane bore and then suddenly got in some great acting way too late in the film. This film was quite true to the Manhattan living situation, which most films ridiculously gloss over. It is trying to do something fresh with gay male romance, but the story wasn't strong or well-paced enough to have washed anywhere but our gay "We'll watch anyone who is cute and takes off their shirt enough." Not at all sophisticated but it did create a very authentic New York feeling. A Surprise, but then my expectations were low.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I hated this film.
Review: I really wanted to like this film, as I love gay cinema. But the bad acting, horrible script and horrific directing made me hate it. And LONG! It's bad enough when a movie "seems" to drag on because it's so bad. Well, this movie is worse as it is BAD and clocks in at just under 2 hours. This film makes "The Titanic" seem like a short. This could have been such a great little film too. But it is just too tedious and too poorly executed to qualify for even a movie to fall asleep to. "Attack of the killer tomatoes" seems like an oscar winner compared to this stinker.If you want to see a great gay themed movie, skip this trash and go rent "Edge of seventeen" or "Trick."I am not kidding, this film is alful.


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