GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
|
||||||
|
GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss Trimark
Home Video Director/Screenplay:
Starring:
Rated R, 92 minutes |
Fun
In the Sun
Ten years ago, I wrote a column about romantic gay films for a Valentine's Day edition of Outcome and cited the recent indie hit, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, as being perhaps the best gay "date movie" ever filmed. Seeing it again, ten years later, hasn't dimmed my enthusiasm. Before shooting to stardom on TV's Will & Grace, Sean Hayes starred as Billy Collier, a gay photographer with a talent for falling in love with the wrong guys. Billy is out of work and his friend Perry (Richard Ganoung), a slightly older and more established photographer, offers to fund his next project. Billy wants to shoot a series inspired by great cinema screen kisses (such as From Here To Eternity's famous beach scene). |
 As
the film opens, Billy is trying to break things off with Fernando, a handsome
Latino who is cheating on his partner (Fernando claims they have an open
relationship). While his best friend Georgiana (Meredith Scott Lynn) lectures
him, over coffee, to stop chasing after men that he can't have, Billy locks
eyes with a very cute young waiter named Gabriel (Brad
Rowe) and falls head over heels in love. Georgiana asks Billy if he's
just lost his mind again. Gabriel agrees to pose for Billy's screen kiss
photos and the two men become friends. Gabriel claims to have an out-of-town
girlfriend but their relationship is rocky. This sets into motion an "is
he or isn't he?" scenario as Billy's gaydar goes off. Gabriel seems confused
about his sexuality but will it lead to romance between the two men? |
|
|
|
|
 Gabriel
continually sends mixed signals and Billy grows more and more frustrated.
As their sexual tension grows to a fever pitch, a drunk Gabriel spends the
night at Billy's apartment. Because the couch is too short, Gabriel accepts
Billy's offer and climbs into his friend's bed. Billy lays next to him,
nervously, while trying to decide if he should touch him or wait and see
if Gabriel makes the first move. This scene, captured in one long three
minute shot, is a masterpiece of comic subtlety. The way that it exploits
the cinematic possibilities made possible by the geography of the 2.35:1
widescreen makes it one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in any
movie. |
|
 Anyone
who has ever experienced an awkward date can easily identify with the dynamics
in this film. Tommy O'Haver's first directorial effort was a hit at Sundance
probably for this very reason because both gays and straights alike could
relate to the subject. O'Haver's script is honest and insightful. It's also
filled with bitchy one-liners (like when Georgiana's boyfriend says something
really stupid and Billy pulls her aside to say, "Okay, I need to know that
his penis is large enough to sustain this relationship") but the writer/director
also knows when to take a step back and let his film take a deep breath.
There is also a terrific, and unexpected, twist at the film's end which
pulls the rug out from under the audience's feet. |
|
 Billy's
Hollywood Screen Kiss
is unpretentious and sweet, and pays homage to the sun drenched Cinemascope
beach movies of the early 60s. The campy elements are kept under tight rein
and this film could have easily spun out of control. Fred Astaire, and others,
are evoked as Billy often dreams himself into the movies and these clever
visual parodies, unlike the fantasy sequences in so many other films, are
a delight. A trio of drag performers - one hilariously out of synch with
the others during the opening credits - function as a Greek Chorus and provide
comic relief. It's light and airy fluff but it's also lots of fun. It was
a refreshing antidote, at the time, to all the AIDS films back in the 90s
and it still holds up rather well today. |
|
|
My personal tolerance for mindless and fabulous camp has it limits (Another Gay Movie and Another Gay Sequel anyone?) and so it is a treat when somebody gets it right. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss remains high on my list of gay comedies.
Brad Rowe also appears
in: Richard
Ganoung also appears in:
|
Billy
acts like a love-sick schoolgirl and tells a disbelieving Perry (who knows
Billy's history) that Gabriel is "the one" but he's not sure if his beloved
is gay or straight. Perry needs to see for himself and invites the two
men to be his guests at an art show. As luck would have it, the gallery
is hosting the work of famed photographer Rex Webster - Billy's most despised
rival. This wouldn't be a romantic comedy if obstacles weren't thrown
in Billy's path and Rex (Paul Bartel) is a lecherous egomaniac who also
thinks Gabriel is luscious and invites the young waiter to audition for
his next photoshoot. Does Billy get jealous? Is the Pope Catholic?
Sean
Hayes is a hoot as Billy. His comic timing is excellent; he also knows
when less is more and he can be deliciously deadpan. He also displays
a surprising sensitivity during a lengthy monologue in which he recalls
a painful childhood incident involving his best friend. To be honest,
I grew annoyed with Hayes' Jack McFarland character (and with
Karen too) on Will and Grace after it had been on television for
a few seasons and I was pleased when I still enjoyed his performance as
Billy.