Big Eden

Rating:
Summary: Big Eden,2000 Best Gay Flick a must See!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I loved this move the lead guy is shy and mousey and he loosens up as the film goes on. The supporting cast is wonderful. This is a tender, loving,and tastful film. Most Gay films wonder down the road of poor actting, sex, or poor writting, it is nice to see films that are worth watching and have a good message about gay love other than "Hay he just found his NEXT ex-husband" aditude film.
If you are looking for a date movie or a feel good film this is it!! I have loned my copy out to friends or showed it to them and they all have said that this was a great movie. Get it and enjoy it.


Rating:
Summary: Not a gay drama...a human drama
Review: "Big Eden" has the honor of being one of the few movies in recent days to actually bring me to tears. The storyline and acting seem so effortless that the legendary fourth-wall literally does seem to disappear and the viewer feels "present" to the drama as it unfolds.

As I said, the writing and the acting are superb. What a remarkable ensemble the supporting-cast turns out to be! The directing is as well. Every now and then the movie over-reaches itself and loses something by trying to do or say too much, but those few moments don't dampen this otherwise wonderful film.

Definitely a place I want to visit again and again. If only such a place truly existed, where friends could express their emotions and feelings fully and be accepted, and where shame is not taught to children, and where everyone helps everyone else to come to their "good place." Their own Big Eden.

Rating:
Summary: The Best "Eden"
Review: "Big Eden" is a fable played out in the disguise of gay and straight people getting along all the time...which is why it remains warming and entertaining. It leads us astray from other "gay" films, showing us a little more diversity in the community and it also leaves outthe fear and hate and bigotry. We see the unification of humanity, regardless of our race, ethnicity, sexuality and whatever other differences between us, and it allows to see the ability to strive for the best of ourselves. It shows us that not only do we hope for the best in our own spirits, but also how we hope for the best in the spirits of others and how we help each other acheive that great happiness.

Watch this film. That is all. Just watch this film, whether it be by yourself, with friends, lovers, or family. I guarantee that you will end with a great smile, a bigger, warmer heart, and a new hope that it actually is possible to love one another, no matter what the discrepencies between us as individuals.

"Big Eden" is pure joy and happiness. Gotta love it!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A sweet treat
Review: "Big Eden" is a sweet fantasy (emphasis on "fantasy") but a treat nonetheless. Great visuals, evocative soundtrack of country-western classics that mirror the characters' feelings, and terrific cast, including Louise Fletcher and Nan Martin. But the film belongs to handsome Eric Schweig as big, shy Pike, the closeted Native American storekeeper who falls in love with Henry, the closeted New York artist (!) Will they find true love? Predictable plot but a satisfying romance for any audience.
--Siu Wai Stroshane

Rating:
Summary: A Better Eden
Review: "Big Eden" must represent an idealized reality. The tolerance and understanding shown seem like a place one would hope to find rather than a place that exists on the map. Even given that premise, it isn't good cinema, especially compared to "Far From Heaven." Arye Gross played Adam on the Ellen DeGeneres Show & had a small part in Spielberg's "Minority Report." Here his character Adam Hart is a wishy-washy self-involved guy who is profoundly untalented at reading other people. "Last of the Mohicans" actor Eric Schweig plays his love interest, Pike. There isn't much chemistry between these two. Most of the romance happens anonymously with Pike cooking gourmet dishes, passing them off as the Widow Thayer's. The other hole is Dean, played by Tim McKay who was an agent in "Swordfish" with John Travolta. Dean whacks Hart on the butt, keeps flinging his arm around him, and bear hugging. We get that he likes Hart, but what's going on is never articulated. Is Dean bi-sexual? Is he a hetero who's trying to be gay? Who knows? So the torch Adam carries for Dean for 20 years is nonsensical. Nan Martin as Widow Thayer is a great busybody. What Grace Cornwell's relationship to the Hart family is unclear despite Louise Fletcher's good portrayal. The soundtrack is enjoyable with Lucinda Williams, but the film just doesn't hang together. Yes, it would be nice to live in a place as tolerant as Big Eden. That's the only thrill here. Taxi!

Rating:
Summary: 'Eden' is a Slice of Heaven
Review: 'Big Eden' chronicles the return of a successful New York artist (Arye Gross) to his small town home in Montana to care for his ailing grandfather. The most frequent charged leveled at the film by critics is its unrealistic depiction of such a gay-friendly rural community, where it seems all the residents are bent on helping this artist find a boyfriend/significant other.
I think the title says it all--you know going in that this ISN'T necessarily an accurate depiction of the liberal sensibilities of a small town; "Big Eden" is simply stating that, in a perfect world, this is how ANY town, big or small, would react--with love and support--to the return of one of its own.. If you keep this in mind while viewing it, it's a genuinely moving and funny experience. The joy comes in getting to know the denizens of Big Eden--no one is truly bad or malevolent. Occasionally misguided and overzealous, perhaps. The cast is uniformly excellent, with Gross giving an outstanding, restrained performance. The scenery is utterly astounding, as most of the picture was shot on location in Glacier National Park.

Rating:
Summary: don't let the stars get in your eyes...
Review: ...don't let the moon break your heart. Yes, this is a fantastic movie. Everyone should watch it. It's got gay characters but it isn't about sex, AIDS, clubs, dance music, etc...like so many are. It's beautiful. And he was never captain of the football team, watch the movie again.

Rating:
Summary: Big Eden
Review: A 'capraesque' celebration of wisdom, tolerance and understanding in small town America and the beauty, strength and joy of the infinite spectrum of love.

Rating:
Summary: New York meets the back woods and gets real.
Review: A great movie with wonderful characters that are easy to identify with. Every gay man has a high school sweetheart that he fantasizes about, most get over it more quickly. The true nature that shows through is that what matters most is love. As corny as it sounds it plays beautifully, and the soundtrack was one of the best for this wonderfully scripted country love story. It is too bad that most of the world does not see things so clearly as all of the characters. The whole premise of sometimes you don't know true love till it hits you in the face and then the stomach is beautifully protrayed. Even your favorite straight friends would enjoy this story.

Rating:
Summary: Great but one minus point
Review: A quick synopsys. If you have not seen the movie perhaps you do not want to read this since I reveal a very imporant part of the story.
Henry returns from NY to Big Eden to take care of his ill grandfather.There he met old friends and Dean a classmate in high school that he was secretly in love with. Also another guy Pike he is secretly in love with Henry. One night Henry and Dean kiss each other Dean says that he can't do it.Henry was very understandable and accept his friend wish not to continue. After gradfather pass away Dean talks with Henry and says that he wants to do it and have an affair with him but Henry turns him down. Dean with tears in his eyes asks him not to and to give him a chance, Henry still rejects him with the excuse that he was waiting for years for Dean to respond. (Thats the minus point since a mature and understanding person will not turn down the man he was in love for years. Love does not dissapear like smoke).Next day he discovers that Pike was secretly in love with him. Finaly he falls in love with Pike .