Customer Reviews

Tan Lines

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It would be difficult to imagine a worse plot, crummier script, sloppier direction or more lack-lustre acting (but I don't blame the actors).

Tan Lines pushes the envelope only in terms of what a viewer is willing to put up with in an effort to support queer cinema.

There's some very careless film-work e.g. with the reflection of camera crew in clear view in one indoor night shot.

No budget is so small that it would excuse what we see here as the final edit.

The technical quality of the DVD is particularly low - but I'm guessing it is as good as it would ever get.

The storyline is pure farce mixed with a liberal dash of the absurd. The intention is supposedly to tell a gay teen surfer's coming of age story, but the characters are simply not believable - and they're all terminally morose. This film has far too much teen angst and far too little heart.

Only "Crazy Richard" gives "Tan Lines" a run for its money as the all time worst Australian film.

This movie is a wonderful surprise---a small gem, really. The photograph on the DVD and the title are actually misleading. The actor on the cover is not the lead, though he is good.

The standout performance in TAN LINES is the by the actor playing the main character. Jack Baxter is absolutely sensational as a smart and mouthy youth coming of age. He is attracted to other boys but also lets himself be distracted by females.

The Australian director of this movie has done a gorgeous job of creating a totally believable world of young slacker/surfers. This screenplay for TAN LINES is smart, funny, sexy, interesting and compelling.

Bravo to all involved, especially Jack Baxter!

Watching this film on the Australia Day which is 26 January, was really a fun even for a such multi-topic viewer surprised by a number of sexually-charged pupil-involved situations covered a context profoundly confusing to much less acceptable and tolerant watchers surely.

Young teens of an Australian outback explore their willies while adults either encourage or/and ground a variety of deeds.

This work is less explicit but far much dirtier than Clark's Kids.

With a taste of Larry Clark's teen angst and desperation but without the moral emptiness of Clark's "kids", the teens in this Aussie film do care for each other and for the most part "do the right thing." The surreal scenes: a geriatric drunken game of strip poker, a chorus of Christian wall images occasionally commenting on the action, a Gothic setting where the "hero" Midget "works" (too bizarre to describe and ruin it for you), all these make it interesting. That Midget is struggling (but not too much) with working out his gay desires along with a try for a girl doesn't compete with the dreariness of every day life and the hope to leave this dismal town.

If a modest goal is to make the viewer care about the people and the plot, this movie achieved that goal and more. The photography was effective with snappy cuts from one scene to another.

tla produces some of my favorite movies including Latter Days and Another Gay Movie, so when I saw this title I had high hopes for another fantastic movie. This, however, was not that movie.
Some have compared it to Shelter because it involves surfers but I find the movies very different. Shelter is worth watching, for example, this movie is not. Shelter actually had a beginning, a middle, and an end; this movie -didn't.
With beautiful cinematography, Tan Lines is set in a small town reachable by ferry boat. The main character, Midget shares a bed with his mother and has for the past 18 years of his life. Midget spends most of his days hanging out with his friends either getting drunk, high, or both, and surfing.
The movie is basically the story of a changing point in Midget's life and how it affects the people around him.
The acting isn't all that great and the pacing the movie is awkward and offbeat.
It's not really worth the time and effort.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie even though it was a little slow and spacey. The director used light/dark contrasts really well in the bedroom scenes & floods of light for outdoor scenes, as well as an interestingly subtle approach to personal religous pressures within the gay community (specifically Catholics here). There were definately some moments that drove me up the wall with the lack of direction, dialogue, and believability between the characters. The story at the heart of this odd movie is strong, but I feel as though it got lost somewhere, leaving the viewer to sort through all the fluff to find it. The actors are mostly young Australians that are pretty cute, but the 'older brother' has a great body & SCARY face (think 'beer-face' commercials)! While the end leaves mounds to be desired and more questions than answers, I think the director got the attitudes and ideas he wanted across.
If you are into gay indie-style films, then you will most likely find this movie appealing. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IMAGES OF GAY SEX AND MANHOOD SHOTS, THEN THIS MOVIE WILL NOT DELIVER; there really are only two scenes for this purpose and neither are that intense. I think that if this movie were to be redone for 'American' audiences, the material and direction would be cleaned up and strengthened, making it a far better movie. Just as a side note, there's a weird series of scenes in which the 'main character' is being paid by an old woman to pleasure her niece while they have tea....BIZARRE! Basically, this film is slow and dry; if you're looking to kill time then watch this movie, otherwise don't bother because others have approached the topic in cleaner, more creative ways than this.

I am really not sure what this movie is about. It starts out talking about this boy who lives in a shack (I guess) with his mother -there seems to be only one room in this whole shack and there is a bed. The boy sleeps in the bed with his mother. Through out the movie the only part of his mother that is shown is her long fingernails. She apparently sleeps all day all the time. The story never fully developes around that particular, odd issue but instead moves on with the boy hanging out with a rough bunch of surfers and skaters. He tags along with one of his friends to pick up the friend's brother who he seems to have a small crush on, but it isnt obvious. So basically this movie revolves around this relationshp and the secrets that are revealed regarding a relationship the brother had with his highschool teacher. I dont know what it is about this movie I like, the ending really bothered me. Still I couldnt help but to want to watch it again and again -so I bought it. There is something gripping about it. The movie takes place in New Zealand.

very well done, the story took a left turn at the end, but was good.
excellent talent by leading actors, hope to see more of them from
other australian products when they become available

not that impressed with the movie.
it was sort of slow pace.
can't recommend it.

Its simplicity kept it honest and real. Its quirkiness allowed it to make points and allowed us to understand the characters better - without pretense. I quite enjoyed this and felt at times I was watching signs of the brilliance found in early John Waters flicks...