Customer Reviews

Holding Trevor [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - United Kingdom ]

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

 

 

I really wanted to like this movie, but it just isn't that good. Some of the dialogue was very good and funny, especially the banter between the best friends. But overall, the movie had a sad and depressing look and feel to it. Hopefully, this isn't the way most LA twentysomethings live their lives.
Also, I didn't feel that anything was resolved by the end of the film: it just stopped. No happy ending here.
If you're into low budget and depressing movies, this one is for you. If you're looking for an entertaining, feel good, romantic comedy, this is definitely not for you.

Trevor is an intelligent, sweet twentysomething gay boy in L.A., working in a dead-end job as a answering service operator, sharing an apartment with a straight female roommate, and devoting too much time to a co-dependent relationship with an ex, a drug addict. His best friend Jake (Jay Brannan from "Shortbus") is pushing Trevor to move on, and is happy when his pal meets Ephram (Eli Kranski), a hunky medical intern who seems to be genuinely in love with him. Ultimately, Trevor realizes his life is perpetually "on hold," and he needs to be the one to effect the changes he knows need to be made.

Kind of a preachy vanity project for writer/producer/star Brent Gorski, but saved somewhat by genuinely likeable characters who support each other emotionally, with noticeable but minimal overacting. Well made, considering the low budget, and could be a boost for others who feel they need to make changes in their lives. A 2007 film made for Here!TV, and occasionally on their On-Demand schedule. DVD extras include only a theatrical trailer and stills. I give it three stars out of five.

The authors of the movie certainly had a lot of good intentions. The screenplay touches upon a number of serious issues - drugs, AIDS, betrayal, responsibility, relationships, friendship etc. The cast is generally acceptable. However, they apparently forgot that movie-making requires a little more.
Let's start from the basics - sound recording should allow the audience to understand what is being said on the screen instead of giving a perfect opportunity to listen to wind in the trees and other background noises. It is not enough to have wonderfully white teeth to be an actor. A clear story line also helps. I must confess that I felt a little lost while watching the movie.
This is an indy gay drama aimed mostly at fans of indy gay cinema. If you expect anything more, you may be unpleasantly surprised. On a second thought - even if you are a fan of indy gay cinema you may be rather disappointed. There is a lot of good intentions here but somehow very little comes out of them.

Holding Trevor seems to be something that's impossible to do. Trevor, played brilliantly by Brent Gorski, is a puppy-dog eyed twentysomething, with an overwhelming fear of commitment. He meets Ephram, a handsome intern, at a really awkward stage in his life. Trevor has just ended a relationship with a guy who was an addict with suicidal tendencies. The only thing that had been keeping them together was Trevor's pity for this adorable loser. Trevor is also fighting an identity crisis of sorts. With no stable relationships in his life, except those with a few friends, and no meaningful career or personal goals, Trevor is feeling lost and insecure.

Trevor's best friend, Jake, played by the amazing Jay Brannan, takes life much less seriously. Jake is supportive of any decisions Trevor makes, and buoys his spirits when he's down, with humour and the kind of teasing sarcasm that only best friends can share. But ultimately Jake is unable to do much besides watch impotently as Trevor struggles with his life and his demons. Meanwhile Ephram is falling madly in love with Trevor, and is growing frustrated that Trevor is unable to return his affection.

The end is something of a disappointment, and a triumph, as Trevor is finally able to release some of the ghosts in his past that have held him back, and sadly bids farewell to Ephram, who must reluctantly go on with his own life without Trevor at his side.

This isn't a fast paced action movie. Nor is it wildly funny or romantic. It has a somewhat pedantic pace, and every scene is packed with restrained emotion and repressed desires. You have to sort of study this movie to derive it's full meaning. It isn't handed to you in a neat, simple package. But it's well worth watching more than once.

Allow me for a moment to gush over Jay Brannan. He is a ridiculously talented musician and actor. His lyrics convey an often morbidly depressed spirit. But the true Jay Brannan is a pale skinned beauty with a sexy smile and an astonishing sense of humour. Unfortunately there's not a lot of Jay's music showcased in this movie. But just seeing him makes "Holding Trevor" a movie you'll enjoy watching.

Maybe it's because I had just seen Summer Storm, which is an amazing movie, that I was beyond turned off by this cold, boring garbage. I couldn't help but feel so annoyed with each character. Everyone was cold, superficial, sarcastic, mean and boring. I couldn't connect with anyone in this movie, and if there's no one to relate to or sympathasize with, that's never a good thing. Everything about this movie was terrible to mediocre. I mean, I can see what they tried to capture, but they failed miserably. Some people just know how to execute something remarkably well. These people didn't. I will admit, there were one or two scenes I (shockingly) blurted out a laugh, but those few scenes do not save this movie. Sorry. Go see Summer Storm. Trust me. THEY know what they're doing. The directing, the cinematography, the acting; everything, it all snatches you and brings you into the film and you feel for everyone and everything. That's what a film is supposed to do... AVOID Holding Trevor at all costs!

This should have been a great movie. It has good, even very good actors with at least an A- storyline. It creates what could have been complex and dynamic relationships between our lead characters. And then it limps from start to finish. Some nice moments between our lovers, and that's about it. Except for the romantic leads the rest of the relationships in the film don't develop much depth or feeling, and the ending is thin and disappointing. Wanted to like this film. Gave it away once I was done.

Trevor Holden (writer-actor Brent Gorski) works for a telephone answering service in Los Angeles. To make ends meet, he rooms with a woman, Andie (Melissa Searing). His best friend is a singer, Jake (Jay Brannan, Ceth of Shortbus), who hides his feelings behind cutting language. Trevor provides emotional support for an ex-boyfriend, Darrell (Christopher Wyllie), who is hooked on heroin. Trevor is going nowhere and is too numb to know it.

Visiting Darrell in the hospital, Trevor meets an intern, Dr. Ephram Cohen (Eli Kranski), who says that Darrell will pull through. When Ephram approaches Trevor at a party, the two of them get closer.

After several months, Ephram says he has a job offer from a hospital in New York. It would be a big step up, and Ephram would get to be closer to his parents. Ephram says he will not take the offer unless Trevor goes along.

Ephram will be making big money, Ephram is a good looker, Ephram has social skills, and Ephram says he loves Trevor.

Trevor has a lousy job, no family, and friends who seem to give him a hard time.

On the surface it is an easy choice.

The film does not get explicit, but notice that there is no vision of what Trevor is to do in New York. A medical resident has long, irregular hours. Ephram will be bounced around at the hospital and will be wanting to spend time with his parents. How can he be sure Trevor is available when small patches of free time arise? There is no discussion of Trevor getting a job or going to school. There is no mention of domestic partnership or marriage. Is it fair to think that Trevor would be a kept houseboy for as long as the doctor finds it convenient? How well-off would Trevor be if the party ended? Did Ephram pick Trevor because Trevor was a proven doormat for Darrell?

Combine this observation with Ephram's behavior regarding tickling, managing conversations, and not telling the truth on the timing of the decision to take the job in New York, and maybe there is a case going the other way. Would it just be another nothing job for Trevor but in opulent surroundings?

Trevor has to compare his present in Los Angeles with a future in New York. Will he speak up for himself? Will he choose? Will he live happily ever after or kick himself? Watch and see.

The mechanics of the production were good. The acting of the main characters was fine. Trevor, Jake, Darrell, and Ephram all give good skin shots. The extras are a photo gallery, a trailer, and five other Here! trailers.

The audience has to work a bit at intuiting reasons why the characters continue to like each other as much as they do.

This is a summer movie that explores people trapped in dead-end situations and how some of them get to consider using new relationships to reinvent themselves. There is plenty of humor, but the issues are real.

"Holding Trevor" was a very realistic movie, about HIV, co-dependency, love, and ultimately how we have the power to change. I really enjoyed watching this movie, it put a lot of things in a new light for me. I loved Trevor and his idiosyncratic quirks. Sometimes in life everything isn't set in stone, and you really don't know which way to go. And in order to change you have to let go of the things holding you back. "Holding Trevor" was a beautiful coming of age film, and I adamantly believe it depicted life as a gay person. The movie didn't have a cliche "everything's going to be amazing" ending, but over all I think it did the film justice. But for being a low budget film I adored it. Trevor actively took hold of his future and changed for the better. Five star rating! Again, I loved the film.

My boyfriend and I stumbeled onto this film and decided to give it a try. While we really enjoyed it we found it a tad dry and underdeveloped. But as far a gay cinama goes it was classy and clean, compared to some of the racy trash that REALLY sends the wrong message. It's theme of love as an emotion not as a physical act is very endearing. Id recamend it as a rental not as a purchase.

For sure the movie is good, actors above the average of the indie movies, setting and all well planned, even if it's clear that this was a tight budget movie. Even the actors are right for their role, Brent Gorski cute enough to be realistic in his role of man with possibilities trapped in something too small for him, Jay Brannan almost ethereal and out of the world, Eli Kranski a perfect dream date, kind, worried and so stunningly beatiful.

The movie is also eye catching, giving enough man candies to please the fans (as the offical pictures from the set prove) but the prettiness is only a bonus on the story. The oddity is that, even if I applaud to the originality of the script, I found it a bit sad: even if Trevor will be a better man in the end, even if he found the courage to claim back his life, I would have not minded if the happy end was a bit more romantic, more comedy than drama, but in a way or the other, it was at least romance.