Customer Reviews

Friends and Family [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Friends and Family is a delightful and clever comedy. The plot, and many subplots actually, are a bit far-fetched, but they provides pure escapism, which we all need sometimes. The characters, as unbelievable as they are, come out as totally outrageous, much needed in a comedy of this nature. The story becomes so over the top, it borders on ridiculous, but manages to entertain, while being totally hilarious.

I really enjoyed this film and smiled throughout at the pure absurdity of it all. The cast was good, the acting okay, but the characters were terrific in my mind. Yes, some people might consider these people stereotypes, but the stereotype came about for a reason....these people actually EXIST! The only real problem I had, and for a movie like this it's a big one, is the displays of affection between the two leads. I don't need to see full on gay sex, but it would have been nice to have seen the couple at least share a light kiss or two. The end did have them hold hands, with beautiful dialogue expressing their love for each other, and I would have liked to see more of that throughout, just a couple more times at least. It showed a human side to these killers that we just needed to see more of.

This is a cross between La Cage Aux Follies (The Birdcage), The Sopranos, and Mambo Italiano, but is too Disneyfied for it's own good. Actually, it's one 'gay film' the whole family can enjoy-- no sex, no profanity, and only very mild violence. I'd definitely rate it a PG. This isn't a perfect film, but it's a perfectly enjoyable one. Grade: A-

There are many fun twists of plot and character in this amiable little comedy.

A young, handsome, successful, cosmopolitan gay couple live in a chic New York townhouse. Stephen (played by seductive, stunningly built Greg Lauren) is horrified when his over-the-top force-of-nature mother announces her arrival from Indiana to celebrate his father's 60th birthday. Stephen and his lover Danny (funny, sweet, sexy, incredibly endearing Christopher Gartin) are still in the closet - not sexually but professionally. They have pretended to be caterers but are really enforcers, protectors, and trusted allies of Don Patrizzi, a mafia godfather.

The boys need help, and everyone joins in to throw a swanky birthday dinner party for Stephen's father. Patrizzi's own sons are more interested in cooking and sewing than the family business, so they plan the affair. The macho mafia `muscle' chip in as high-spirited cater waiters, and adopt very stereotypical gay personae for the evening, with hilarious results. The plot twists and turns, involving the Don's daughter, her bland midwestern fiancé, his surprisingly unconventional parents, and a senator.

In addition to beautiful Greg Lauren and Christopher Gartin to gaze upon wistfully, the film is remarkably replete with extraordinary New York landmarks and interiors for a small independent film. Director Kristen Coury has designed her film in a rich, urbane, airy style which harks back to the great technicolor farces of the 50's.

Stephen and Danny, refreshingly, are not typical movie/TV gays. No Will and Grace. No camp. They are reserved, deferential, and loving. One yearns, at first, for the couple to be more openly affectionate with each other, but when they finally do touch, at the end of their affable story, it is a moment of pure poetry.

What I liked best about this film was the matter-of-factness with which everyone dealt with the gay characters. I kept thinking, this is how it should be.
Of course, I don't think anyone, gay or straight, should be working for the mafia, but the comedy that results of the juxtaposition between two of New York's wonderfully eccentric cultures, mafiosi and marys, is wonderful.
The scenes in which goons are taught to be gay, and the results of their tutelage, are hilarious, and when I got a lesson in internal homophobia as a result (from the film's gay tutor), I was very much impressed.
No, this isn't Woody Allen, or even Mel Brooks. The ever increasing number of oddball characters was a little distracting. But it was a very fun way to pass ninety minutes.

Friends and Family is the story of two gay men who work for the mafia. When one man's father (an FBI agent), comes to town, the guys must pretend to be caterers in order to prevent trouble. But all is not what it seems, and this film culminates in an elaborate feast with several different groups trying to trick eachother.

While I enjoyed Friends and Family, I found the main couple lacked chemistry. If possible, they were just TOO good looking. The pair looked like they belonged in an advertisement for GQ rather than in the mafia. (I'd much prefer a more homely pair with stronger acting talents), I did think the actor who portrayed the mafia boss, did an excellent job, and the cooking scene and the scenes with the drag queens were amusing.

Overall, this movie reminds me of a combination of "Wedding Banquet and the Bird Cage." Fun, light comedy, but nothing too original.

In a world full of gay romantic comedies, comes a very funny film that's more comedy than romantic. Two gay guys are the muscle for a local mafia ring, but as the film unravels, they find its easier to explain to mom why they sleep in one bedroom than it is to explain the guns in the closet.

Its worth watching.

A trifle really and a sometimes awkward one at that. But, if you let yourself give in to the really absurd premise, you will find some real laughs and a few delightfully madcap moments. Performances are fine across the board (pick you favorite NY stage actor) and production values are good. Worth a spin in the dvd player.

Stephen and Danny are the perfect gay couple in New York: both handsome, living in a great house, with well-paying jobs. Their world is turned upside down, though, when Stephen's parents decide to pay a surprise visit on the couple. You see, the problem is that Stephen's been lying to his parents. They know that he and Danny are lovers, but not that they work as hit-men for the mafia. Stephen's parents think they're caterers.

The story lines are okay, with some working very well, like the party that Stepehn and Danny have to cater to hide their real jobs from Stepehn's parents. Other lines seem underdeveloped, such as one character's parents being part of a militia. The pacing is slow, and the humor is hit and miss. When something is funny, it's very funny. When it's not, you want to fastforward to the next scene.

Greg Lauren (Stephen) and Christopher Gartin (Danny) do a great job as the gay couple. Beth Fowler is also good as Stephen's mother Ada. And, even though he plays the stereotypical gay man, Edward Hibbert is wonderful as Richard Grayson who is brought in to teach Stephen and Danny's mafia cronies to play gay for a dinner party.

This was a fun movie to watch, and I recommend it for anyone who wants a light comedy.

I really did like this movie. But like most of reviewers I was upset that the guy couple not once showed any affection towards one another. Other than that it was a fun movie!

After reading several reviews of Big Eden, many of the more negative comments were regarding the lead character not being "good looking" enough. Granted Mr Arye Gross is not the most attractive man, but after watching this mess, I would take a modest looking man, over these lead actors in this film anyday. The whole premise of this movie is so far fetched it is ridiculous to watch.

I really believe they had cast these men for their looks alone, and took a shot in the dark they could act. They could not. The scene in which they were in the kitchen trying to act "gay", and forcing themselves to learn to cook a simple egg dish was clearly not funny. Give it up guys.

I will try to rent any-gay themed movie when it becomes available. I usually will buy it afterward, simply because there are not many films out there in this genre. This movie I will stay clear away from purchasing.

This is just a good time movie, where the two most well adjusted/sane characters in the film, and even though they are a gay couple, no sex, no nudity, just fun, mostly with the straight mob men acting gay for dinner party gone astray, only thing missing was the waste of the chemistry of the two male star's, with only one kiss and just facial and eye contact that show a great parring, it would have been nice to have seen a bit more of romance/contact with them.