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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jesse Rosen is a talent to watch for, April 3, 2010
This review is from: The Art of Being Straight (DVD)
I usually run from gay-themed films written, directed, and acted in by the same person. Jesse Rosen has proven the exception. With unusually high production values for a small-budget film, Rosen tells the story of a young man in transition. The actors in the major and minor roles (but especially Rosen, Pete Scherer, and Rachel Castillo) deliver wonderfully believable, sensitive, and subtle performances. There are no moral or didactic lessons here, and, like life itself, little resolution . . . just a beautifully told short story. Jesse Rosen as a writer, director, and/or actor will be someone whose work I will follow.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unconvincing, tired and without motivation, July 2, 2010
This review is from: The Art of Being Straight (DVD)
Having read some of the customer reviews I was eager to watch this movie, especially after having seen the numerous awards given to the film at gay festivals throughout the world. I must in all honesty say I am unsure as to why any such award would have been given in the first place, as the movie was far from convincing. If anything it was a tired reflection of what could have been excellent. in a single word, it was 'dull'.
The main actor Jesse Rosen was okay (and this is perhaps the best word to describe his acting), although I found his portrayal of inner conflict to be furtherest from the truth. Anyone who has suffered the trauma of an internal war, torn between sexual ambiguity and societal normality, would know that this is far more intense than that shown in this portrayal. The idea of such conflict however would resonate with many, in that a relatively good looking young man, with a sincere and proven confidence in his ability to attract and conquer the opposite sex, is suddenly thrown into intense conflict as a result of a new sexual awakening and attraction to a man. This man is his boss, who despite the intentions of the writer (whom I suspect intended the boss to be good-looking, sexually confident and almost predatory in his sexual ability to attract others), was in my opinion quite hopeless. Had the scenario played itself out in the world (where most of us reside), his boss would have been the subject of a sexual harassment suit quicker than the taking of an instant photograph. He was almost lecherous, and far from the seduction it was intended to be.
Quite frankly a young man in Josh's predicament would never have been seduced in this way by such a man. In fact the metropolitan police would still be looking for him today, as his escape from this dimension would have been remarkable. Several sound barriers would have been broken, and persons in the next county would have been mesmerized by the speed of his departure. In short, although Tim Curry (in the movie 'Clue') would say 'too late', this was bad casting with a remarkably weak script.
Whilst not horrible, it was certainly not the raving success some have labelled it. If you have some money to spend, there are far better choices out there. Like a tooth extraction, or a trip to the zoo.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant enough riff on sexual orientation and self-respect, but could have been better., December 27, 2009
This review is from: The Art of Being Straight (DVD)
Jon is a 23 year old who moves from the East Coast to Los Angeles, leaving behind a girlfriend and hoping to start a career in photography. He moves in with his younger brother and his college friends, and proceeds to impress them as the "ladies' man" the proud brother claimed. Jon accepts an entry-level job at an ad agency. To Jon's own surprise, he is not completely taken aback when his boss makes a pass at him, and that first experience makes him consider that he might actually be gay.
A parallel plot concerns Jon's college pal Maddie, working at a job she hates in a gallery, and in a relationship she is unsure about with another woman. When an interesting young man moves in next door, Maddie wonders what a relationship with him would be like, which further creates a riff between the two women.
Whenever I see one name as the writer/director/star, my initial reaction is "Uh, oh!" ... since that is rarely a wise move. Jesse Rosen (who plays Jon as a young man whose self respect is based primarily on others' opinions of him) actually does a fairly good job with this admittedly-simplistic storyline, especially considering the limited budget he had to work with and a largely inexperienced cast ... but I do feel a more experienced director or screenwriter could have made this a much more credible and useful film. As it stands, it illustrates some confusing dilemmas about sexuality and coming out, points out how modern lingo (his young roommates use "gay" as a synonym for lame, and trash-talk each other as such) can hurt someone dealing with such issues, but really doesn't come up with anything new, pretty much just ending the film without closure. Despite its shortcomings, it is a commendable effort, easy to watch, and the open-ended conclusion might spur some discussions among viewers. I give it four stars out of five.
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