Customer Reviews

Arizona Sky

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This movie proves once and for all that not every gay love story on film depends on sex scenes to keep the audience interested... this one certainly does not. It's the love between the two lead characters that comes first and foremost. Like some other viewers here, however, I found this film, at times, to be a series of some contradictions... a couple scenes are indeed a bit long in the tooth in regard to dialog and a couple supporting characters weren't really needed for the most part ...or their scenes, at the very least, did not need to be quite as long. However, there is one scene and one performance in particular that for whatever reason rang absolutely true in my heart and head and left me in tears. When the adult actor Eric Dean (Jake) tells his childhood friend, Kyle (James McCabe), that he still loves him, and that he has always loved him, I have rarely seen a performance that hit home with that kind of heartfelt veracity. Please do not miss this film for that one scene alone!!

Two teenagers, Jake and Kyle, camping out under the rural "Arizona Sky" (2008), realize what they feel for each other is much more than "best buddies." But Jake's father is forcing him to move away the next day, and Kyle is afraid of others finding out about their relationship, so they never get the chance to express their love physically.

Fast forward fifteen years, and Jake is a successful filmmaker in Hollywood, a job that has more than its share of 24/7 pressure. The job's demanding nature actually made it easier for him to excuse the fact that he had no social life, and is, indeed, still aching over the unrequitted love for Kyle. At the urging of his straight best friend and roommate, they take a week off and go back to visit Jake's home town, and he looks up Kyle, who still lives in that town. Does Kyle still feel the same way, and is there any chance they can pick up where they left off so many years ago?

Director Jeff London is known for these overdone syrup-sweet gay romances, and this is better than most, including some great casting. The young actors who play the leads as teens have a real chemistry, and actually resemble Eric Dean (Jake) and Jayme McCabe (Kyle) who play them as adults. The supporting cast is also excellent, but all suffer a bit from the heavy-handed direction. The sound is a bit strange, as the microphones seem to be switched on to capture a line, then turned off immediately, so background noise comes and goes with it. DVD has director/actor commentary and chapter stops only. Overall, it is a pleasant film, and I'd give it four stars out of five.

First off, I loved this story. Great idea, some very good writing, and two actors who are clearly both skilled in their craft and who worked hard to execute the story's goals. It also shines in the slow, methodical way it develops, and the time the writer/director is willing to take to let ideas and interactions develop. Moving and heart-felt.

That being said, the film needed a little more editing, and perhaps a couple of scenes needed more time to gel/come together. Sometimes the actors are spot-on, and sometimes the scenes feel rough-hewn - like they needed more time to hit the right tone/cadence.

Definitely a B+, and a keeper. Looking forward to the next work by this writer/director. And off to look for other work by both actors.

This is a blatant feel-good movie. At the end of the third-last scene I skipped the Kleenex tissues and advanced immediately to the kitchen paper towels. (But then, I also cried at the end of every episode of the "Waltons".) Beware watching this movie alone, you will be reaching for the Kleenex.

Low budget, yes. But that doesn't mean the movie has to be bad. And this one isn't. In fact, it's great!!

What makes it great??? THe acting for one. It is so sincere by the principles.

Any movie that makes me cry because it has touched me is saying something!!

Any movie that keeps the profanity to the minimum (because profanity is a big turn-off for me) is worth watching.

Any movie that keeps the sex to the minimum and leaves it to the imagination (which is certainly a big turn on for me) is worth watching!

Any movie that tugs at the heartstrings with the true depth of feelings featuring non-stereotypical gays who do NOT jump in the sack with everyone they meet is worth watching!!

This movie is worth watching!! I loved it!!

I am so glad to finally see a movie that has a happy ending or the kind of movie that ends with "and they lived happily every after." A lot of gay movies have tragic endings. It's as if gay couples can't have happy lives together. I was gettng fed up with those type of movies. If you love love stories with a happy ending this is the movie for you!

In almost every technical aspect, this movie is really bad--acting, script, direction, editing, you name it. And yet, there was something about it that won me over. In part, it was the simplicity and down-to-earth nature of the story. In part, it was the fact that it's about gay men who AREN'T shallow teenage or twenty-somethings. In part, it's that it deals with a topic you almost never see in films: gay people who live in small, rural towns (yes, they really do exist!).
Unlike the other movie I've seen by this writer/director, The Last Year (which was a soap opera without a single authentic moment), this is a sweet and simple little story.
Yes, you will cringe at the bad acting, especially when the character actress who plays Kyle's aunt shows up halfway through and puts all the others to shame by demonstrating how a real actor delivers a performance. And yes, some of the story elements and dialogue are clunky and heavy-handed. But for me, it was nice to see a movie about gay men that isn't set in LA or New York, isn't about sex, drugs, fashion and club life, and deals pretty realistically with some of the issue that gay people in rural settings face. It's kind of an amateur, zero-budget, less epic Brokeback Mountain, but with a happy ending.

This little tale of lost love found is low budget & the acting is below par, but the story ultimately moved me. The story also makes references to "Brokeback Mountain" in a cheesy way. Two teenage boys had a tentative love for each other, but the one moved away from the small town, while the other stayed. When one returns and re-discovers his roots and ultimately his continued desire for the other fella, their subsequent reunion will bring a tear to your eye. Forget the production values, the hokiness of some parts; just enjoy the tenderness displayed between the protagonists.

Arizona Sky is not the most polished movie that you will see, but it has a good story line and a good lesson. Jeff London's movies usually are not the big budget Hollywood ones that come out, but don't let that stop you from seeing them.

Things that I might have wanted if I could have changed them was a bit more interaction between the friends when they were younger and a bit more development of that part of the movie. I enjoyed the part with Kyle's aunt and it helped show the type of family life that there was for him. London does bog down the movie with a little more dialogue and time in some parts that I didn't feel advanced the movie too much, but that is a minor issue.

I really enjoyed this film - I thought it was very moving, and quite lovely - made even more so by the actors being ordinary-looking guys, who find each other, and, at first, are just as awkward as they were as adolescents. But love conquers all - and it does in the end. I would highly recommend it for viewing by all gay men. I do not mean to exclude others, just that gay men would more readily relate to it.