Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A heartbreaking modern romance with lessons in masculinity, October 29, 2008
Nate Merrit (Paul Preiss), a Marine just entering boot camp, is a superhero with an identity crisis: He's neither Superman nor Clark Kent. He's trapped by both a fiancee (Amy Lindsay) and a mother ("American Graffiti" Oscar-nominee Candy Clark) who don't love him for who he is, but for the the man they think he could be.
Andy Forte (the incredible, intense Bart Fletcher) is an equally lost "careless... carefree" loner who "loses track of time" and "can't remember whether something happened four minutes ago or forty years from now." Like Nate, Andy is on leave from his responsibilities when the two meet at an ill-fated "Straight Marine's First Gay Sex" porn shoot that neither thought they'd be involved with thanks to the maniupulation of its sleazy producer.
Nate, a wannabe mechanic, helps get Andy's car fixed and the two learn more than they should by eavesdropping on conversations each has with the white trash families they're trying to escape. Both have abandonment issues and while lost in dreams of the future fall in love with the idea of one another. The two can't change one another's destinies, though they both wind up choosing to be better men than they'd ever planned to be by wiping the slate clean.
A picture frame, a drive in movie theater screen, and a titular set of "Dog Tags" all fit into place in the haunting mystery of who Nate is, who his long lost father isn't, and the heartbreaking love story between a pair of stray animals.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unique coming-of-age story of two young men., November 17, 2008
Raised by his single, working mom, Nate never had a father, older sibling or close friend as a role model, and has been pretty much sleepwalking through his young life, doing what he was told but neer following through on anything he started. To make money to buy his older girlfriend a nice engagement ring, he enlists in the Marine Corp and, having completed basic training, has a leave to visit home before he takes combat training and gets deployed to Iraq. Hitchhiking to a jewelry store near the base, he gets detoured to a place where he meets up with Andy, a seemingly free spirited young gay man who is on a "road trip" to leave his responsibilities behind. The two misfits form a mutually supportive friendship, and travel together, visiting Andy's mother (a Hollywood actress turned recluse) and looking for Nate's father whom he has never met. Along the way, their friendship turns from platonic to a sexual affair, and the two take a big step toward becoming responsible adults.
This isn't really a gay romance, as the sexuality of the young men seems as confused as they are, meaning this might just be one side trip in their paths to adulthood. But it is a beautifully-told story of life and love, how loneliness and lack of direction can affect a person, and how much difference a good friend can make. Film is not rated, but would be a soft R for sexual content and rear nudity. DVD has director commentary and trailers. I give it 4 stars out of 5.
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31 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exploring, August 10, 2008
"Dog Tags"
Exploring
Amos Lassen
I just watched an amazing new film due to be released by TLA, "Dog Tags" which looks at a young marine who explores his same-sex feelings.
Nate Merritt (Paul Preiss) lives with his mother (his father had abandoned them) and his fiancée, Trish. Life is not easy for them financially so he joins the Marines in order to help support Trish and his mom, Debbie. When Nate goes on leave in Palm Springs, he meets Andy, a free-spirited and energetic young gay man who dreams of going to Hollywood for the glitz and the glamour.
Andy and Nate become good friends platonically but as time passes their relationship becomes physical and deeply intimate. What is so interesting is that the two are total opposites--Nate is introspective and pensive while Andy seems to be without a care in the world. The guys both find themselves in vulnerable positions regarding each other and as Nate looks more deeply into himself, he discovers and uncovers his missing father's identity. He also discovers who he, himself, is.
The film is directed by Damion Dietz who gave us "Beverly Kills". Dietz has created a moving look at a young man who faces difficult decisions as he is faced with family devotion and loyalty and having to find himself and his place in the world. The film touches the viewer on an emotional level, something that small films do not often do.
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