Customer Reviews

East Side Story

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Well done gay film that touches upon such universal themes as homophobia, racism, family, and of course, love. Well directed and acted, the film follows a Latino's crash course in love in the gay world. A slight of hand drama heavily punctuated with humour, I found this to be a very enjoyable, and for the most part, realistic portrayal of life, love, and gay culture. Recommended.

Fresh young talent and a healthy dollop of enthusiasm serve as the springboard of this well written (Carlos Portugal and Charo Toledo), well directed (Carlos Portugal) and well acted exuberant story of those once perceived tightly closet doors of the East Los Angeles Hispanic community. Not that this is the first film to engage the topic of being gay in East LA - QUINCEAÑERA is another superb film on the subject - but it addresses so many other aspects of family and social life happening now that it deserves a wide audience. With a cast of newcomers coupled with some very fine veterans of the screen EAST SIDE STORY comes to life in a highly entertaining fashion.

Closeted schooled chef Diego Campos (a fine debut by René Alvarado) works as a waiter in his grandmother Sara's (elegant Irene DeBari) little Mexican restaurant where grumpy homophobic chef Don Rogelio (Luis Accinelli) presides in the kitchen. Diego dreams of opening his own restaurant but family ties keep him grounded. Diego's campy Aunt Bianca (Gladise Jimenez) returns from Monaco on one of her many expensive sojourns to find a man and changes begin to happen. Diego's equally closeted boyfriend Pablo Morales (David Berón) has been refusing to settle down in a relationship with Diego, claiming that the union is a 'passing fancy'. When Bianca enters, Pablo's attentions turn to the sexy lady and Diego is brokenhearted.

Into this mélange enters a white gay couple who buy a 'flip' house across the street, a signal to the neighborhood that gentrification is just around the corner. The couple - Wesley (Steve Callahan) and Jonathan (Cory Schneider) - meet the morose Diego and a match strikes between Diego and Wesley. Jonathan is assigned all the lines having to do with prejudice and is the one who wants out of the neighborhood as soon as their house is enhanced and their gay friends begin to visit. The white couple move apart and Wesley and Diego begin a courtship dance that is encouraged by Diego's family. How Diego handles his loss of Pablo to his Aunt Bianca and copes with the possibility of being open with Wesley forms the story line. It is all the hilarious and not so hilarious sidebars that share the space of the 'outing' that make the film so personal and successful.

Carlos Portugal is clearly a talent to watch, as are his attractive and talented cast members. EAST SIDE STORY is a fine companion piece to QUINCEAÑERA and should enjoy the same degree of popularity for all the same reasons! Grady Harp, December 07

I just saw this last night with an audience and everyone loved it. There was a lot of laughter as well as involvement with the fun cast of characters. This film is a lot of fun and avoids so many cliches seen in gay movies, Latino movies and romantic comedies. The cast is flawless and really knows how to deliver the humor without making it seem "jokey." I had a great time seeing this film.

Just watched this movie with my partner of 11 years and we both loved it!. This is the kind of gay movie that need to be made. Good story,acting and plenty of messages to think over. It brought back many feelings from my own life coming out.

In "East Side Story" (2006), Diego is a culinary school graduate who feels trapped working in his family's old-school Mexican restaurant in the East Los Angeles bario. Diego is also gay, but closeted from his family, and dating the even further closeted Pablo, a status-seeking realtor. When Diego is inadvertently "outed" by his aunt, Pablo decides he has to avoid him, and begins dating the aunt, pronouncing his secret affair with Diego as "just a phase." Meanwhile, Diego meets a gringo couple who moved in across the street, among the many gays who settled in the area to "turn it around", angering many of the current Latino residents. One half of the couple, Wesley, takes an immediate liking to Diego, which sets his partner, Jonathan, into a jealous hissy-fit. Diego's grandmother returns from a month-long trip to Mexico, to find her restaurant being boycotted by homophobic locals, while her daughter is making wedding plans with her grandson's former male lover!

It is a refreshing and highly amusing romantic comedy, presented by a talented cast of mostly newcomers. With a pollished look that belies its relative low budget, it's a noteworthy first-time writer/director credit for Carlos Portugal, one that received audience awards at several gay movie festivals. It is sexy without being overt, funny without being cartoonish or stereotypical, and the emotions portrayed can be related to by anyone, gay or straight. The DVD extras include deleted scenes, director and actor commentaries. Don't miss this one: five joyful stars out of five!

My boyfriend and I watched this movie for the very first time this past week. At first I didn't think it was going to be that good but I gave my boyfriend the benefit of the doubt and watched it anyways. I thought the one pretentious gay boyfriend was too stereotypical....unless that's the way they really are in L.A. Having seen some of the other gay movies that are out there, this is one of the better ones. It's one that I am going to add to my collection.

"East Side Story" demonstrates effectively that a gay-themed film can be smart, funny and meaningful--just give it a credible story line, decent direction and professional actors. This film has all of that plus the desirable (maybe too often required?) hard bodies and handsome faces. The scenario has already been well-summarized by previous reviewers, but I will add, that I thought the intelligent interplay between the two communities involved here--the East LA Hispanics and the eastward moving, gentrifying gays--was especially credible. Both sides come in for more or less gentle satirizing, but humanity shines through and the film delivers an enjoyable, feel good ending.
Well worth the time and purchase price.

Arriving with great reviews, I had higher hopes for what turns out to be a run-of-the-mill, Lifetime Channel-type relationship film.

Funny, well acted, the directing suffers from poor camera work, and basically bland characters. It's like putting all your good-looking friends into a homemade version of a Lifetime Channel remake -- pick any of the romantic comedies churned out there, put it in East LA, and you have East Side Story.

Entertaining enough as a small diversion. Not worth a repeat visit. Not sure it's a movie a lot of people are going to want to own.

Very few low-budget films are worth watching that deserves recommendation to friends. It's rarer to find/view films that addresses or contains gay Latinos.

Diego is a waiter/chef, who is stuck, by familial obligation, working for his grandmother's small Mexican restaurant. In addition, Diego has to deal with the homophobic head chef, whose rantings increase as more and more gay people are moving into the neighborhood. Diego wants to leave and pursue his dream of opening his own restaurant but his grandmother insists that he stays.

His life is pretty much monotone, including occasional trysts with Pablo. Diego wants to announce their relationship but Pablo doesn't see himself as gay. Pablo just enjoys an occasional man-to-man "bonding".

However, things change when heart-broken (& broke) Bianca returns home from Monaco. The grandmother suddenly takes off to her homeland for a visit, entrusting Bianca to help out Diego at the restaurant. Pablo dumps Diego for Bianca, who soon abandons helping out Diego.

Meanwhile, a new gay couple, Wesley and Jonathan, has moved into the neighborhood. Well, actually, they came to flip a house, which they'll move on to a new project. Wesley is truly interested in the neighborhood and tries to get to know Diego. Jonathan is a stereotypical character who thinks lowly of Latinos and is irked that Wesley is friendly with them, especially Diego. The different treatments of Latinos soon put their relationship to the test.

*East Side Story* is an enjoyable film that addresses homosexuality, sex, love, family and diversity.

IF YOU ARE AS TIRED AS I AM OF BEAUTIFULLY TRAGIC GAY LOVE STORIES ON FILM, YOU WILL LOVE THIS BEAUTIFUL, CAMPY AND TERRIBLY FUNNY MOVIE. I RENTED IT AND RAN TO GET IT FOR MY COLLECTION AS SOON AS IT WAS OVER. THE BEST PART IS THAT IT FEARLESSLY TACKLES AND EXPOSES GAY RACISM AND HISPANIC HOMOPHOBIA BUT MANAGES TO LEAVE YOU WITH A BIG SMILE ON YOUR FACE. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE COMPARED IT TO "QUINCEAÑERA"; I'D MAKE IT A TRILOGY WITH "STAR MAPS." I HOPE CARLOS PORTUGAL MAKES MANY MORE MOVIES!