Customer Reviews

FirstOUT

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3 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reviewing a compilation of short films is like reviewing a food buffet; there are bound to be choices you like more than others. While the quality of gay shorts I have viewed in previous compilations were generally good or better, a couple of the choices in Alluvial Filmworks' "First Out" (2006) definitely gave me indigestion.

Taking the five films one at a time:

"Is One Of You Eddie?" is a bit of a satire on stereotyping gay people do among themselves, where a group of West Hollywood party boys assume a somewhat nerdy-appearing neighbor is a loser. 3 stars out of 5.

I first suspected "Different" (2004) might have stolen its basic premise from the full-length film "Almost Normal", but actually the short predates that by a year. In each case, it looks at a high school in a "parallel dimension" of sorts, where homosexuality is the norm, and heterosexuals are the subject of scorn by preachers, teachers and peers. When Justin doesn't want to go to the Homecoming Dance with the football captain, people start to talk. Cute, but the longer film did it better. 3 stars out of 5.

In "A Good Son" (1998), a teen meets another boy at a college swim meet, and, in addition to finding they have a lot in common, finds out something about himself he isn't comfortable facing. Kind of boring, and has some problems with sound. 2 stars out of 5.

When a gay home worker notices that the focus of his obsession, his upstairs neighbor, is suddenly gone, replaced by a young couple living in his place, he does "The Neighborly Thing" and goes up there to investigate. The confrontation is not a good idea. (And neither was this pointless film.) 1 star out of 5.

"Meet Joe Gay" is a documentary of a 27 year old gay filmmaker in West Hollywood who was planning to make a "gay fairytale" (complete with Prince Charming), but realized that his obsession with fairytales may be one of the reasons why he has been unsuccessful in maintaining any kind of lasting relationship. So, he turns the cameras around and tries to learn about the dynamics of gay relationships, by talking to his friends, his ex-boyfriend, his parents, an older couple (together 41 years), two teens (together 4 months), and his guests at a slumber party who talk about the problems gay face in dating. Very original and nicely done. 5 stars out of 5.

FIRST OUT is packaged well: on the cover of the DVD is the most attractive face in the series and one that will surely gain attention in decisions about buying or renting this DVD. From the credits it seems Alluvial Films has relied heavily on the USC Film School for gathering the five films that supply the disc. The collection is a mixed bag - some very good and one pretty sad.

The strong piece here is MEET JOE GAY, a quasi documentary about a 27 year old filmmaker reminiscing about his past history of lack of lasting relationships and questioning established couples (including his own parents and a gay couple who have been together for 41 years as well as a teenage couple who are intelligently advanced in thoughts about needs and bonding). The 'cast' are all articulate and offer some candid insights into relationships in general and gay relationships in particular.

There are two spoofs - DIFFERENT is which social role reversal at the high school level is the dynamic, and IS ONE OF YOU EDDIE? which addresses stereotypical prejudices based on looks - and they are variably successful. One quiet and brief little drama is A GOOD SON that addresses the fear of coming out in a college setting doesn't last long enough to allow its point to be as solid as it might have been. And the fifth is a bloody and rather silly piece - THE NEIGHBORLY THING - that was probably included for variety as it is pretty weak in writing and production values.

Reviewing student works is a difficult assignment simply because the films are 'works in progress' and the efforts required to get them into the public eye are tremendously expensive and difficult. To the people responsible for helping these young talents find an audience for exposure and growth we owe a debt of gratitude, and Alluvial Productions has provided a fine platform for some promising newcomers. Grady Harp, January 07

This is a compilation of five stories: Is One of You Eddie, Different, The Neighborly Thing To Do, Meet Joe Gay, A Good Son.

Is One of You Eddie and The Neighborly are stupid in my opinion. Eddie is a masseur who is ordinary and rejected by his gay neighbors. After a visit from a beautiful hunk for an appointment and his description of his massage, Eddie becomes popular and his neighbors fight over his next canceled appointment. The Neighborly is about a gay neighbor who noticed his friend is missing and a weird couple has taken over his apartment. By being a busy body he gets killed after a visit to this couple.

Different is an interesting and smart story dealing with a town where homosexuality is the norm of things and heterosexuality considered a sin. This is unique as I have never seen this theme before.

Meet Joe Gay is a kind of self-portrait documentary of a man making a movie about a homosexual Prince Charming. He then explores his failures on finding Mr. Right. It is a good story to me as I can identify with the story. I feel very jealous of the young couple as I wish my life would have been like that.

A Good Son is your average gay story about a teenager finding that he is gay. The Son meets another teenage kid at a college campus while attending his brother swimming competition. They both start talking about their' likes. Then the stranger kisses the Son. They both part afterwards.

This movie is okay, not one of my favorite one. I would not buy it if I had the opportunity again.

In watching the closing credits of each of the short films on this DVD it seemed they all had one thing in common - they're all student films. That explains the dubious technical quality of most of them and the poor storytelling of several. On the whole, however, I found this compilation very watchable. I agree with the evaluations of the individual shorts by the previous reviewer, but find I don't totally agree with his five star opinion of MEET JOE GAY, the documentary about the relationships. I would give it 3 stars - it became a bit self-indulgent and tedious after a while. In any event, this DVD is a light and entertaining bit of fluff to show to your friends on a cold winter night.

Of the several short films on this dvd, only one was worth the bother...I expected better from the producers of this product and didn't get it.