Customer Reviews

Happy Birthday

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

 

 

I had seen previews for Happy Birthday on a few other gay films I had bought off Amazon, and was excited to come across it at the local video rental store. However, any excitement wore off quickly as the film progressed. The complete story line is told on the back of the DVD... which sounds interesting until you realize that nothing else happens to any of the characters in the movie. Every character has one semi-predictable main issue in their life that slowly unfolds as scenes cut from scene to scene, but other than that you're just left with a lot of cheap looking black and white home movie type footage of bad actors sometimes appearing to be reading their lines. Even the sound is poorly done... characters fade in and out, echo like a home video would, and there is a lot of ambient noise (air conditioner, etc.).

Definitely quite a feat for a first time full length movie for the producer, but this should have been work for his portfolio, not for general release. The concept is awesome but it isn't well executed mainly because the `single issue' main characters come across as stereotypical (how many gay pornstar characters do we really need in movies?) and there are simply too many to keep up with. I look forward to what is coming next from Yen Tan but wouldn't recommend Happy Birthday.

Like other reviewers, I thought this was going to be a unique, fresh indie film with gay themes. From the first moment of video, bad lighting, bad sound, questionable acting, I thought: "What?!"

I fell asleep in this "film" twice and was only awoken because a phone goes off several times.

I try hard to support indie film, but people who do these projects have got to understand: 1) You don't just point and shoot; 2) the sound MUST be stellar; 3) You don't use flourescent room lighting; 4) if someone is in another room and you are shooting through an open door looking upon that room, you mike it from where the actors are standing, not from where the camera is; 5) if actors are going to "ad lib" then make sure it is worth listening to; and... well, you get the idea.

Maybe it looked good on paper, but it didn't work for me.

It's true! You can't judge a book by it's cover. The cover of this "film" looked interesting with accolades from multiple gay and lesbian film festivals.

First of all, this is not a film. It's a video (even though it says it's a film all over the cover). And it's shot entirely in black and white (to look artsy). NOTE: THERE WAS NO FILM STOCK USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS VIDEO!

Secondly, to be honest, I've seen better acting in .. than in this movie. I expected it to be one at times by the way it's formatted, but I don't even get that pleasure. It says it's well-acted on the cover. Don't make me laugh!

The last thing I'd like to mention is that the subject matter tried too hard to be deeply dramatic, but left me feeling empty. Not draining... ...just empty like I invested my life savings to purchase a happy meal. Additionally, the situations potrayed in this movie seem a little outdated (unless you're in the midwest).

I would accept this film if it were a high school project, but it's not. :o( I gave it one star to give Yen Tan credit for trying. Don't waste your money on this DVD! There are plenty more GLBT indie films out there that are more worth your while. Go watch the latest gay show on Showtime. You'll get more out of it than this.

this movie is one the only true to life look at people in the gay society. showing that they have more problems than just bieng gay yen tan is a graet and pasionate film maker and the actors were fantastic.

Thank goodness - an escape from the bland formulaic Hollywood rehashes. Happy Birthday is a first rate film - the acting is bang on and the stories poignant and moving.

There is real creativity at work here. When I saw this I had forgotten how gritty and realistic a movie could be. Most films these days - though polished and "perfect" - lose the edge of realism along the way. "Happy Birthday" has a gritty realistic feel that makes you think you're watching real life.

I can only imagine that the people who gave this film poor reviews were expecting another soulless, plastic Hollywood production - this is not what Happy Birthday is about. If that's what you want, stick to dross like "Philadelphia", if you want a first rate film, get "Happy Birthday".

This has to be THE worst movie I have ever seen and I have seen quite a bit of crap. I always give gay films a chance and I'm
very open minded when it comes to story lines and characters but when the acting is this bad there's just no excuse. The best acting job is that of the chinese mother of one of the
characters and that's only because I don't speak chinese and
I couldn't tell just how bad she was. The film is in white and black, I think the director thought this would make the movie more artsy and sophisticated but there's just no hiding the terrible bad acting job of all the characters. The camara work is also incredibly bad.The "director" with his cheap camara focuses on the faces of the actors like a bad home video. The background music, if you can call it that, consists of five bars of bad melancholic piano music which it's supposed to get us in the mood of how dramatic these stories are. And there's the stories. Sappy, badly written, and you just don't care about this people and their problems, partly for the bad acting but also becasue you just don't get to know the characters. Don't waste your time and money on this movie. Even if you just rent it, you'll regret it. There are so many good movies out there this one just doesn't deserve to be put in DVD format for unsuspecting people to be fooled into watching.

Movie is in Black and White which along with sound and digital camera suggests a low budget endevor. As such, it presents a message that exists in the Southwestern part of the USA>
I previously saw it at a G&L Film Festival where it was well received. My enjoyment of it caused me to revisit it. It works as well at home.
Music was creative and I left recalling it over and over in my head.
For a first full length film by Yen Tan, it's well done and will be around for a long time.