EATING OUT utilizes what I call the "Gay Gambit" or "Rock's Role." It is the utterly ludicrous plot contrivance in which a straight man thinks he can win the favors of a woman by pretending to be homosexual. Why is anybody's guess. The sexist notion behind the gimmick is that straight women don't feel threatened by gay men, i.e., gay men are harmless "girlfriends;" which, if you think of it, is insulting to straight men, straight women and gay men. It is a nonsensical premise that doesn't even work in Rock Hudson movies or episodes of "Three's Company," though it might work if the woman happens to be Liza Minnelli.
It doesn't work in EATING OUT either; especially as far as creating a funny movie. At the urging of his gay roommate, Kyle (Jim Verraros), a straight college boy, Caleb (Scott Lunsford), pretends to be gay so that he will attract Gwen (Emily Stiles), who instead tries to fix him up with her roommate, Marc (Ryan Carnes), who Kyle secretly pines for. It takes no great imagination to see that after the usual misunderstandings, this game of round robin will find everyone properly paired up. The plot is pre-packaged and should be little more than a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.
However, writer/director Q. Allan Brocka tosses a few curves that wickedly take the plot in a new direction and almost saves the film as a whole. Indeed, where most sex farces like this usually stumble when they try to get serious about their plot complications, EATING OUT only works when it treats its characters as human beings and not chattering, foul-mouthed joke dispensers. Along with a lot of unnecessary vulgarities, Brocka packs each line of dialogue with lame pop culture references that don't even make much sense ("Don't Heche me into pulling a Mariah!" Huh?) Brocka's oh-so gay screenplay tries desperately to be witty, though there is nothing less conducive to wit then desperation. The film's smirky title sets the tone for the script.
But the film takes a subversively erotic twist. Though Caleb steadfastly tries to avoid the sexual advances of Marc, the plot finds him being seduced by his faux boyfriend while at the same time having phone sex with Gwen. Plopped down in the middle of all these amateurish clichés, Brocka gives us a surprisingly bold and erotic bisexual love scene that finds a straight guy suddenly experiencing homoerotic feelings he didn't know existed. The experience leaves all three people a bit bewildered, especially Caleb who starts to question his sexuality. But just as it looks like the film will get serious -- in a good way -- and deal honestly and humorously with the emotional and personal complexities of sexuality, Brocka switches back to the tired sex farce plot and his feeble attempts at humor. The film cops out: Caleb is quickly rushed back into a heterosexual encounter, letting everyone off the hook with a predictable happy ending. A film that seems to want to challenge sexual stereotypes opts instead to play it very safe.
Of the cast, Lunsford, who looks like a young Tim Daly, and Carnes, who could be Brad Pitt's younger brother (or at least his first cousin), come off best, because they are playing gay with a minimum of stereotypical theatrics. They have a chemistry, but the performances make promises that the filmmaker isn't willing to follow through on. The rest of the cast overacts or relies on tired stereotypes, especially Stiles who is attractive enough, but spends most of the film looking and behaving like a drunken drag queen. And even though Verraros is arguably the cutest actor in the cast, male or female, his character is inexplicably portrayed as an unattractive loser.
EATING OUT is a bizarre film. It is clearly a "gay" film, but turns homophobic. It fails miserable as a comedy, but has beautifully sincere moments of serious eroticism. It boldly attempts to explore adult themes, but falls back on childish antics. It turns gay when it should be serious and goes straight when it promises to be gay. EATING OUT sells out.
It doesn't work in EATING OUT either; especially as far as creating a funny movie. At the urging of his gay roommate, Kyle (Jim Verraros), a straight college boy, Caleb (Scott Lunsford), pretends to be gay so that he will attract Gwen (Emily Stiles), who instead tries to fix him up with her roommate, Marc (Ryan Carnes), who Kyle secretly pines for. It takes no great imagination to see that after the usual misunderstandings, this game of round robin will find everyone properly paired up. The plot is pre-packaged and should be little more than a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.
However, writer/director Q. Allan Brocka tosses a few curves that wickedly take the plot in a new direction and almost saves the film as a whole. Indeed, where most sex farces like this usually stumble when they try to get serious about their plot complications, EATING OUT only works when it treats its characters as human beings and not chattering, foul-mouthed joke dispensers. Along with a lot of unnecessary vulgarities, Brocka packs each line of dialogue with lame pop culture references that don't even make much sense ("Don't Heche me into pulling a Mariah!" Huh?) Brocka's oh-so gay screenplay tries desperately to be witty, though there is nothing less conducive to wit then desperation. The film's smirky title sets the tone for the script.
But the film takes a subversively erotic twist. Though Caleb steadfastly tries to avoid the sexual advances of Marc, the plot finds him being seduced by his faux boyfriend while at the same time having phone sex with Gwen. Plopped down in the middle of all these amateurish clichés, Brocka gives us a surprisingly bold and erotic bisexual love scene that finds a straight guy suddenly experiencing homoerotic feelings he didn't know existed. The experience leaves all three people a bit bewildered, especially Caleb who starts to question his sexuality. But just as it looks like the film will get serious -- in a good way -- and deal honestly and humorously with the emotional and personal complexities of sexuality, Brocka switches back to the tired sex farce plot and his feeble attempts at humor. The film cops out: Caleb is quickly rushed back into a heterosexual encounter, letting everyone off the hook with a predictable happy ending. A film that seems to want to challenge sexual stereotypes opts instead to play it very safe.
Of the cast, Lunsford, who looks like a young Tim Daly, and Carnes, who could be Brad Pitt's younger brother (or at least his first cousin), come off best, because they are playing gay with a minimum of stereotypical theatrics. They have a chemistry, but the performances make promises that the filmmaker isn't willing to follow through on. The rest of the cast overacts or relies on tired stereotypes, especially Stiles who is attractive enough, but spends most of the film looking and behaving like a drunken drag queen. And even though Verraros is arguably the cutest actor in the cast, male or female, his character is inexplicably portrayed as an unattractive loser.
EATING OUT is a bizarre film. It is clearly a "gay" film, but turns homophobic. It fails miserable as a comedy, but has beautifully sincere moments of serious eroticism. It boldly attempts to explore adult themes, but falls back on childish antics. It turns gay when it should be serious and goes straight when it promises to be gay. EATING OUT sells out.