Beautiful Something

Beautiful Something is a movie about a handful of gay men in Philadelphia. Each is dealing with a personal crisis (not coming-out angst or gay bashing, thank God), and their paths intersect occasionally over the course of a single night. Except for one couple (Jim and Drew) and one ex-couple (Brian and Dan), none of the men knew each other previously. The totally safe and comfortable world in which they live, where everybody is gay and very well adjusted to being gay, is slightly dream-like, but it's entirely believable.Brian (whose story this mostly is) is a published poet suffering with both deeply unhappy relationships and writer's block. He is by far the best written and acted character I have ever seen in a gay movie -- in almost any movie. He's complex, mercurial and fascinating; every second he's on the screen I had to remind myself to breathe. I would give several years of my life to see a whole movie about only him. He's an endlessly interesting character played by an amazing actor.I'd never heard of Brian Sheppard, but I will find every movie he's ever been in and watch it. The scene between him and Dan (the mostly straight man who's the love of his life) is one of the best scenes I have ever seen anywhere. Grant Lancaster, who plays Dan, is the only other actor who can share a scene with Brian Sheppard without disappearing into the wallpaper.Brian's story begins and ends this movie, and it makes holding on through the really bad stuff in the middle well worthwhile. But when I watch it again (and again, and again), I'll know I can fast-forward through all the crap with Jim and Drew and Bob. Brian has a few scenes in that vast mid-movie wasteland, so I'll catch them on the way through, like oases in a desert.Those other three characters, and the actors who play them, are like stale leftovers from a BAD gay movie, and I wish Joseph Graham (the writer-director) could have just left them out. They're boring people, and their story is dragged down by overwrought melodrama, pretentious dialog, and completely unbelievable performances. The scenes between Jim and Drew aren't all that bad (except that Jim is in them), but the horrible, endless scene between Jim and Bob in a stretch limousine and a restaurant, and afterwards at Bob's house, is unbearable. It made me want to throw up and pull all my hair out.Jim is such an obnoxious character that any time he was on I wanted to stop the show. He's as awful as Brian is wonderful. The scene where Jim is trying to read Shakespeare is profoundly embarrassing. When the character is supposed to be an actor, the actor playing him really should be able to act. Graham definitely should have avoided Shakespeare, at least. I never could stand the character Jim, but hadn't noticed how bad Zack Ryan's performance was until that scene.But the endless scene at Bob's house finally DID end (thank God), and Brian rushed down from heaven like an avenging angel to rescue the movie from the bottomless pit of schlocky melodrama it had nearly fallen into. The last ten minutes or so (I was loving it too much to watch the time) are stunningly, breathtakingly, achingly, gloriously beautiful -- beautifully written, beautifully directed and beautifully acted.So Brian and his story -- and Brian Sheppard, the marvelous actor who plays him -- raise this movie way, way, way above anything else you'll see this year or any year. If he weren't so extraordinarily good, the rest of the movie might seem better. But he IS that good, and he makes it worth doing whatever you have to do to see this movie.Despite the fact that the scenes without him are so bad they're unwatchable, Brian (the character) and Brian Sheppard are SO GOOD that I'm giving the movie five stars. I started to average it out and give three, but Brian/Brian are just too spectacularly good to drag down.

As someone who is a great fan of Happily Ever After movies, this one really hit home. And it did it without becoming too sappy, emotional or predictable. At the same time, the writing was solid; the acting well above what we normally see in gay-centric movies (sad to say).Beautiful Something is aptly named, because when you're done watching this film, you really will understand why the creators chose it. Without giving too much away, the movie centers on basically four characters whose lives become somewhat intertwined in sad, sexy and even funny ways. The main protagonist in the film is Brian (whose real first name is also Brian as in Shepard), a poet with a monumental case of writer's block, and a romantic at heart who is desperately trying to recreate, but make permanent, the love he had for a (now) straight man. His search, of course, takes him, as the song says, looking for love in all the wrong places.Other characters (and this film also revolves heavily around art) are: Jim, played by Zack Ryan, as a spoiled beauty who has captured the heart and soul of a world famous metal sculptor Drew (Colman Dommingo of Fear the Walking Dead fame), but doesn't believe it's real; and Bob (John Lescault) an almost stereotypical sleazy Hollywood talent agent (which I believe is a redundancy) who is cruising in a limo looking to pay someone for sex.Moving in and out of the atmosphere of our four mainstays are a suburban man with a wife at home who is only looking for release; a very sexy latino on a bicycle who, when you first see him, you just know he will be making at least one more appearance; and the man who gave Brian an almost perfect period of love -- to the point that it inspired him to write his one and only book of poetry that has been published.What makes Beautiful Something such a good film is how honest it is, for the most part, about how too many gay men go about living their lives when it comes to sex and romance. We're either stuck in a cycle trying to repeat what we believe was that perfect love (and likely missing many potentially good matches in the process); or we're so jaded or closeted about our sexuality and our existence, that we find multiple ways to all but self destruct.And no, I'm not catering to stereotypes at all: just making an observation of how our community responded to the many threats from those who despised us and created such a hostile world that we became comfortable living in the shadows at night -- and making our way, often in some form of art or entertainment, during the day.As you might expect from what I've written so far, there are a number of twists and turns as these fellows go in and out of one another's orbits, but in the end...sensible minds prevail and romance is finally found.Some might find that trite for a movie released only a year ago, but I found it refreshing. Too many writers, producers and directors get caught up in trying to create something "cutting edge" or new, that they forget how compelling our stories can be if you just focus a bit more on developing the characters and hire actors who make them, not only believable, but also people we can care about and relate to.Beautiful Something is just as it says, and if you don't find your heart touched at some point during this film, you might want to check with your cardiologist.Worth your time...and worth your money.Five stars.

It had a lot of twists in it.

Ca parle de désir, de besoin d'aimer et d'être aimé.Qu'il s'agisse d'hommes n'a pas d'importance. Qu'on soit beau ou belle, dès lors que la séduction s'impose, il faut l'assumer, ou pas. Un film juste, un film original, un film à voir sans réserve.

Bought as part of research for a university assignment.

Great movie

Belle histoire que celle de ces deux destins qui se croisent ... Pourtant pas fan des films anglo-saxons j'ai flashé sur se film et j'ai adoré du début à la fin ...