Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
About to turn 30, and still waiting to grow up ..., July 26, 2009
Looking in on a group of close friends since college, seven years after graduation, things aren't quite what they expected, even considering thirty is "The New Twenty" (2009).
There's the "jock" of the group, Andrew (hunky former model Ryan Locke), who is looking for financing for an internet startup he believes will make him rich. He's engaged to Asian-American Julie (Nicole Bilderback, who deserves the critical kudos she got for this role), who finds herself in the uncomfortable position of having to downplay the fact that she makes more money than her fiance'. Julie's brother, advertising whiz-kid Tony (Andrew Wei Lin) is gay and dating an older man who is HIV+. In college, Felix (Thomas Sadoski) seemed most likely to succeed, but his inability to give up his drug use have turned him into an insecure addict. Then there's the resident slacker, Ben (Colin Fickes), the other gay character, who wastes his days searching for online hookups and watching old TV shows.
The dynamics of the relationships between the five friends changes significantly, when Louie (Tony Serpico, a regular on "Army Wives"), a man in his 40's whom Andrew meets playing cricket, enters into a business arrangement with Andrew, as well as a flirtation with Julie, with the other friends tagging along as they socialize. This comes to a head at Andrew's bachelor bash, resulting in new resolutions by all, in order to get on with their lives.
A well-written, acted and directed film, and I love the way the gay and straight characters mesh comfortably. However, I thought it to be a bit predictable in parts, and somewhat negative in that it concentrated on everyone's failures. DVD includes commentary (labeled as "documentary"), deleted scenes and a music video. Overall, it's worth a look, and I give it four stars out of five.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Friends in the City, March 6, 2009
"The New Twenty"
Friends in the City
Amos Lassen
Coming from Wolfe Video, "The New Twenty" is about the lives and the loves of a group of 29 year old friends in New York City. They begin to betray themselves and each other because of sex, money and drugs. Andrew (Ryan Locke) is at the center of the group of friends. He is the typical alpha male--tall, lean, blonde and handsome, an investment banker with a beautiful Asian fiancée. Member of his circle are Ben (Colin Fickes) who is overweight and gay and addicted to internet sex sites, Felix (Thomas Sadoski), a druggie, and commitment-phobic Tony (Andrew Wei Lin).
This is a light film that has plenty of twists and turns and it is the acting ensemble that keeps the film interesting. We see the actors in their private moments and this makes this film become a personal story. Chris Mason Johnson directed this with a loving touch. Sure, the idea is not new but the execution is. Thinking that 30 is the age for midlife crises, each actor relates to it in his own way. The relationships are complex and the group represents the palette of sexual orientation, professional aspiration and personal desires. Bonds of friendship slip away as each ventures on this personal journey. They have been friends and together since college and now as the age of 30 approaches, they find their lives to be in a state of upheaval. Andrew begins a risky financial venture and is about to become married to Julie who stays at her job because she gets promoted often. Tony< Julie's brother becomes involved with a professor who is HIV positive. Felix is a lost soul on the highway of life and is a borderline drug addict and quite possibly was once in love with Julie. Ben is a bear cub who has a myriad of neuroses. All of the characters are self-absorbed. It is the witty script and the lively cast that keeps us watching and enjoying. When one states that "30 is the new 20", we see where these guys are going and we are perfectly content to go with them.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
They make me feel old (not new) long before my time......., July 21, 2009
What we're given in this trying-to-be trendy film is a "frat-pack" of college friends, now approaching age 30 (which we all know, of course, their generation thinks of as the "new 20"). Consisting of four guys and a gal, we have thrust at us the following types: seemingly "unemployeds" and frequent drug users, along with one individual who is job successful and one who is trying-to-be. They are all, in their own way, drifting while trying to find both a future and emotional happiness. With one, possibly two exceptions, these are people this reviewer would definitely never care to come close to modeling myself after. There is disappointment after disappointment after disappointment in almost all their lives. Except in the instance of one individual (who appears on the way to finding it), none appears headed toward emotional satisfaction in his/her life. And so, about the only sincere moment in this film is when a knock at the door brings to the person answering it an unexpected and heartfelt "I love you."
With only the exceptions mentioned, these people are the kind hardly deserving or worthy of several hundred thousands of dollars being thrown away in presenting their stories.
PS--Writer/director, Johnson, definitely appears to have a problem with showing gay sexual scenes----with no such problems in presenting more prolonged and revealing heterosexual ones. Why might that be?
****
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