Customer Reviews

Gods of Olympia

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Though I'm a fan of independent films; GODS OF OLYMPIA cannot even be classed as such, unless you include someone who went to an electronics store and bought a video camera, and along with some of his friends,thought they could make a movie with it. The acting, editing, cimematography, screenplay etc., was all amateurish and subpar. The scenes don't flow naturaly from one into the other, and in one, you hear someone off camera giving one of the actors his lines he forgot say,There are a couple of nude-sex scenes that have nothing in common with the story line; same with several segments of people talking amongst themselves in the gay eatery which the films story is centered around. The story take place in Olympia Washington (only 60 miles from where I live) the characters includes a supreme court justice who dresses up in drag and is running for empress of the local emperal(gay drag gueen)court;and the Lt. govenor who is just comming out; and neither actor is convicing in there respectable roles; a homeless man (who's european accent is so pronounced that it is difficult to understand what he is saying half of the time) who is befriended by the waiter and and a relationship then developes (at least this sex scene makes some sense), a dishwasher who falls in love with the Lt. governor; and the cook who inherits the resturant. I choose not to go into detail more of the story for those of you who have not yet seen this film
I wish I could find some redeeming qualities for this production, but there are few to none. Don't pay full price for this dvd ( you will thank me later) unless you want to know what a bad gay film is like and want to add one to your collection. I'm sure the people involved in this production made an earnest and sincere effort to produce a good movie, they just didn't pull it off

Somebody's got to be kidding - this is the worst attempt at a movie I have ever seen. How it ever got produced is beyond me. The cast, (I can't bring myself to call them actors,) is uniformly atrocious. These people are either good friends of the producer or they paid him big bucks to cast them. It is inconceivable that any of them were cast after an audition. Technically, the cinematography and sound are so bad that it looks like somebody's first attempt at trying out their new video camera. The script is non-existent. There is no story, just a seemingly endless series of scenes between the untalented non-actors. There is no attempt whatsoever to tell a story or maintain any sense of continuity. I wish I could say something positive about this movie. Unfortunately there is nothing good to say. It's a total zero from start to finish,

Wow! And I wish I meant that in a good way. I am a big fan of independent film and alternative cinema so very willing to overlook the flaws of low budget film; I'm sorry to be writing this as I'm certain the folks involved with this film put their hearts into it, but it's unfortunately pretty (really) bad. The camera work is poor, though improves as the film continues. The pacing is slow and feels disjointed, as does the plot, which is fairly diffuse. As a gay man, I'm not offended by nudity or lovemaking, but this film gives us essentially hardcore scenes, neither of the quality of good X-rated films, nor with the subtlety of R-rated films (you know what's going on but don't see explicit action.) There are lengthy scenes, such as watching a street person search dumpsters that could be handled in 30 seconds, not 3 minutes, while background music plays loudly--much louder in fact that when the actors speak, so I was constantly adjusting the volume. The acting is also notably inferior. Imagine you and your friends decided to shoot a low budget movie. Everyone has his/her lines memorized, but often the deliveries are off. Though I appreciate the many positive and/or realistic messages--that thru community colleges folks can transform their lives, that sometimes younger persons can be attracted to older persons (the age of their grandfather), that street people can be educated, knowledgeable, trustworthy and safe, that gay teens are sometimes rejected by their families and so forced to live on the streets, etc.--I thought these aspects were often preached, rather than revealed by the story. I really wanted to like this film, enjoyed seeing the community support this film clearly got and hope the folks involved keep trying, but only after further studying their craft.

I have purchased (either previously or through Amazon) every gay DVD/video I have come across on Amazon. I have always loved independant film and gay film and insist on supporting the gay community whenever possible. However, I can not in my wildest dreams imagine anyone truly liking this film, except someone who has a vested interest in the success of this film (director, actors, the guy off-camera feeding lines to the actors who forgot theirs, relatives of the actors, etc).

I am always willing to overlook some pretty major faults in independant movies, and applaud effort and try to see through to what a director is trying to accomplish. However, with 'Gods of Olympia', I found myself swimming in a sea of mud. What a mess. Not worth it.

The plot and scenes of the movie were all thrown together. Production quality was terrible. Acting was atrocious. Preparation of the actors with their lines was non-existant. Sound editing was surprisingly lacking. There is talk of 'eye candy' in the other reviews, but even that I didn't find in the movies.

I purchased all three movies at once, but I don't expect to ever watch the other two movies. (As such, I refrain from reviewing them before watching them. However, I can't imagine there will be much of a jump in professionalism, increase in acting quality, existance of plot, etc...).

Trust me, I get no satisfaction in writing a review, which has very little positive to say.... I would just like someone thinking of purchasing this film to ask around first and check with someone who has seen this film. I used to trust these movie reviews, but after mistakenly buying 'Gods of Olympia', I will be much more skeptical and careful of how I judge the reviews before purchasing.

Buyer beware!

I felt the movie had some positive aspects, however I felt the acting was not very skilled and the overall quality was poor.Some of the scenes appeared to me to be in poor taste and the vivid sex was in bad taste, no meaning to it. In fact none of the sex had a context or story line that lead up to it and it was without emotion such as love or any romance. This was a poor investment. I strongly support films that allow us to see from other perspectives and get an understanding of others as well as other ways of life, this did not show any real possitive side to the Gay life.

This movie makes anyone NOT WANT to be gay. I have seen a lot of very artsy, well made gay cinema.... Inserting full on sex scenes in the middle and at the end of the movie only cheapened the movie--cuz the actors are below average looking from head to toe... The acting is so helpless. So, if you're into bad cinematography, sound, music, dubbing, and so forth, this movie's for you. But spare yourself of the agony that I went through!

I was very disappointed. this move is realy bad - bad actors, bad acted, bad story! it seems be maked by a private person with friends as "actors". there is no story, or I didn't find her... You always see this guys sitting in this bar an telling themself storys about their "sex-lifes" - and than you see this scenes. But these are bad too - realy, you won't see this gays naked... and you don't see very much! :-) Don`t buy it, there is no story, the guys are not very handsome and the acting is horror! Save your money, I better did it too!

I can't give this movie 5 stars overall, because sometimes the production values are not ultra-good (wheezy soundtrack). But if you're young, in the closet, or being hammered by a family in some church or other sort of moral majority, it might show you what to do for release in small-town America (or small minded communities anywhere).

Five stars for what the guys in the movie say - how they talk out, and about, - and act out their gay identities. It ain't glitzy - it happens in diners and coffee shops, in the street, not nightclubs or smooth apartments. Amateur but committed actors provide a rich gallery of interesting characters to get family life, identity, work, learning (especially the importance of learning) into a gay perspective you might not have yet, Chuck - Jose - Dean - Jason: whoever you are.

Sex is not avoided - it's there on the screen if you haven't tried it yet, but so too is cruising (do you know how to cruise?) Best of all, a diverse model of how to start and maintain gay friendships. See how these guys value each other - how they relate, how important closeness and touch are - and one day you might get going on your gay life, knowing, balancing life and sexuality, and closer to happiness than you are now. Watch them, but above all listen to them - learn from them.

Bits of the story you might find wacky (I did) but having written several books on what at-risk youth (including gay boys) need, I'm very impressed by the honesty and clarity of this approach. Forget the production values - LISTEN HARD AND WATCH CLOSELY, and know you are not alone. Maybe there's a gay-friendly diner in your small town - worth looking. Good luck

Bad acting. Bad story. Bad production. One of the worst movies I have ever seen. If I could give it zero or less, I would. It is from the same people who did Murder in Portland which is also very bad.

The larger one shows Johnny, a slight 19-year old (played by Justin McFarlane), leaving a reform school in Chehalis, Washington, hitchhiking north to Olympia and eventually moving in with a hunky lawyer-lover, Joel (played by Michael Harboush), in Seattle. Assisting are the popcorn king's young son, Chip (played by Donald Allen), and his new lover, Washington State Senator Matthew Bradley (played by Dennis T. Kleinsmith). This is a story of how gay people can help one-another come out and overcome obstacles on the way to true love and social justice.

The smaller story is told almost completely in pantomime and music. An unnamed actor (possibly Michael S. Parker) comforts and cleans up a fellow caught up in a hate bombing of a gay youth center. The fellow runs off later with another one, leaving the actor alone. In the next installment, he is able to find someone else and make a successful go of it in an emotionally satifying way.

One can criticize the lack of extras on the DVD and the script's demand that so many characters provide their personal and family histories. The characters are more psychological profiles than real people.

I would have liked the Jeff character (who was not linked to an actor's name) to have had a bigger role since he had the looks and the ability to deliver lines well.

The movie is low budget, the acting is fair, but the movie's heart is in an unusually positive and constructive place, showing people's resiliance well. The movie depicts a variety of normal, but nice-looking people, not just the denizens of the local gym. The many skin shots are well done. Uplifting but not deep.