Customer Reviews

Adam & Steve (2005)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

ADAM AND STEVE is a movie you want to succeed: the idea of an honest gay relationship developing between two guys with a weird history and subsequent difficulties forming meaningful intimacy, the presence of four fine actors, and a film that seems to take itself not too seriously. The problem is that writer/director/star Craig Chester just seems to have put too much into his bag for one film and in doing so he diluted the strength it could have had.

Adam (Craig Chester) first met Steve (Malcolm Gets) in a dance bar in 1987 where Adam (accompanied by his grossly obese friend Rhonda - Parker Posey in a fat suit) is dazzled by Steve's good looks and on a bet from Rhonda ends up on the date from hell: after snorting coke cut with baby laxative the two men become amorous with some rather embarrassing consequences. 17 years later Adam is a bird watcher guide while his friend Rhonda, now without a single pound of fat, is a sadly unsuccessful standup comic. Adam inadvertently injures his beloved dog and in trying to get help at a human hospital encounters psychiatrist Steve and the two begin a courtship.

Neither man is able to cope with the idea of monogamous intimacy yet they develop a solid relationship, despite visits with dysfunctional families (Adam's Jewish family are ridiculously accident prone while Steve's Texas redneck parents are coldly homophobic). Steve has a straight roommate Michael (Chris Kattan) who plays into Steve's life the way Rhonda plays into Adam's life. Eventually memory recovers the past, it is dealt with and the ending is very predictable - as well as bit sappy.

Each of the main characters does a fine job with their respective roles. It is the sidebar diversions that mess up the storyline rather than enhancing it. Yes, much of the nonsense can be forgiven because the film's heart is in the right place, but why this talented group could not have inserted a little restraint here and there is a frustrating question with which we are left. It is an entertaining film that errs on over the top asides to the point of distraction. Grady Harp, August 06

Best word that comes to mind is "mindless". If your looking for a picture that is pure entertainment, absolutely no substance, above average exaggerated acting, then this is for you.

I absolutely laughed all the way through. Lifted my spirits.

Totally recommend you get this picture out and watch with a group of friends.

In time this picture will build to 'cult status'.

Okay, I'm a sap for a romantic comedy; I like a happy ending, so sue me. This movie is funny and sweet, well acted, and has great production values. The characters are very endearing and seem like real, everyday kind of guys. The second time I watched it was even better because there was much I missed or didn't appreciate the first time. Definitely worth buying and watching over and over.

Directing, writing and playing one of the title characters, Craig Chester attempts to pull a Streisand triple play with this low-budget 2005 film, but his strenuous multi-tasking results in an unwieldy combination of character-driven romantic comedy and flat-out farce that doesn't quite satisfy the requirements of either genre. For the most part, Chester seems to be making a gay version of "When Harry Met Sally" starting with a flashback to 1987 when Adam, a self-loathing goth accompanied by his overweight and equally morose friend Rhonda, meets Steve, a glam-rock dancer on disco night at a trendy Manhattan club. A night of cocaine laced with baby laxative leads to an unfortunate episode which has to be seen to be believed. Sparks fly when they accidentally meet each other again many years later not knowing who the other is.

It's refreshing to see a gay movie that frees itself from more serious concerns like rights violations and persecution, but the film is ultimately done in by Chester's reliance on standard rom-com clichés and a wildly fluctuating tone, including an over-the-top finale that hinges on a country-style dance-off. Chester and Malcolm Gets are engaging if a bit bland in the lead roles. Perhaps because he has played so many sexually ambiguous characters on "Saturday Night Live", Chris Kattan is oddly stilted as Steve's straight roommate, while Parker Posey easily steals the picture as Rhonda, now skinny and a stand-up comic, with her natural sassiness and deft comedy timing. Several familiar faces show up in extended cameos - Paul Sand and Julie Hagerty as Adam's jinxed parents, Melinda Dillon as Steve's corn-belt mother and Sally Kirkland as an enthusiastic drug counselor. There are a surprising number of extras on the 2006 DVD - a solid commentary track from Chester and Gets, a making-of featurette, some deleted scenes, a gag reel and even a dance lesson to replicate the strutting moves in the finale. But see it for Posey's quirky charms.

Who said a comedy cannot be serious! Even though I was laughing my butt off during 'Adam & Steve', my heart also jumped. It was a beautiful love story of two men that met in the 80's and come full circle to present day. The acting is superb, the comic timing is genuious. Parker Posey is at her best as fat and thin!

Good tip: There is a blooper reel on the DVD special features! It is great - check it out!!! Thanks for reading.

I watched this movie everytime it came on the LOGO channel so I HAD to buy it. It is hilarious with the actors perfect for the parts. Don't want to give too much away but just suffice it to say that there are parts that will make you scream and say "Oh my GAWD!" in laughter.
A love connection that started with lust, a bit of coke and laxative turns into something beautiful...kinda!
The DVD contains unedited scenes and interviews with scenes from the dance rehearsals.

Okay, so it's a romantic comedy. Maybe it's not supposed to be real all the time. But I found some scenes unbelievable (the Western dance-off, Rhonda's rant to Steve in his open "office," Steve's strong-arming the homophobe neighbor, to name three) and that bothered me enough not to give it five stars.
And though Adam's "luck-challenged" family was also unbelievable, I thought it the funniest part of the movie - laugh-out-loud funny several times. And some of the throw-away one-liners were hilarious.
Otherwise, it was sweet. I cared about Adam and Steve and really wanted them to get together. Yes, the plot was formulaic, and you knew that they would be happy at the end, but getting to the ending was fun.
Craig Chester's elastic face and goofy demeanor were endearing. Parker Posey is always good in whatever she's in. Chris Kattan was actually funny rather than annoying. And Malcolm Gets is easy on the eye and quite effective in the final scenes. Julie Haggerty, Meldina Dillon, and Sally Kirkland offer good support.
I've watched it several times, and it keeps entertaining.

Adam and Steve is a funny and touching film. There's a great chemistry between Craig Chester and Malcolm Gets, and the supporting cast is strong. I rented this movie a few months ago and loved it so much I ordered right after seeing it. Some may find the first 10 minutes or so a "little over the top", but at the end everyone will be endeared to this sweet film.

The film "Adam & Steve," written by, directed by and starred in by Craig Chester-- he plays the bungling addict-in-recovery gay Jewish character who now conducts bird-watching tours in New York but seventeen years ago in 1987, was a twenty-something in white makeup-- is an uneven movie, a romantic comedy but that has its moments. Some of them are the country-western line-dance number stepped to the hilarious song "S--t Happens; Adam's lover Steve's singing from "The Sound of Music" of "Something Good"; the title itself, which takes the oft-quoted statement from the religious right, that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and turns it on its head, for example; the wedding scene for all its hokiness is quite moving.

On the other hand, parts of the movie are way over the top-- the diarrhea scene is disgusting, much of Rhonda's (Parkey Posey) stand-up comedy routine is boring, and Chris Kattan as Steve's straight roommate is miscast.

"Adam & Steve" is certainly not up to the quality of "Brokeback Mountain" but is better than a dozen low-budget gay-themed movies, whatever that means, the names of which I have long since forgotten.

This was a great little movie. It wasn't a stand out in the genre, but it had all the elements it should have had; a great lead cast, clever and funny writing, and most importantly, a good story. Where it lacked, and lacked badly, is in the supporting cast. Chris Kattan and Parker Posey were the weak links in both acting and story line, and in my opinion cost the movie a 5th star.

The story around Adam and Steve was very well done and I enjoyed the casting. [Who knew Malcolm Gets had that body??]. It was a delightful movie night for my hubby and I. We're both suckers for a sappy, happy ending, and this movie delivered.