Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
johnyoungda
When you watch a gay indie film, you have to accept the fact its going to have a budget smaller than one episode of a TV game show. So if you're expecting Juila Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding," go rent the real thing and enjoy its $50M budget. That said, there's a lot to like here. It's a twist on Victor/Victoria with a straight boy pretending to be gay to attract women. We get quite a few delightfully uncomfortable scenes where the straight dude has to put up or shut up. Personally, I would like to have seen this taken farther. If this were a European film, Caleb (Scott Lundsford) would have been persuaded to try gay sex and, perhaps, actually enjoy it--a little. This is probably why many reviewers criticize the film as "homophobic," because it seems to reinforce the notion that M to M sex is kicky. The very, very, very brief nude scene between Caleb and Marc is rather pointless. (I'm surprised the straight actors agreed to do it.) There was a missed opportunity for a very funny (and sexy) scene with the boys getting undressed for the big event--and Caleb being both modest about his own body, while very interested in Marc's. The script could have certainly used a polish, bit it isn't bad. It's main weakness is the ending, which should have given more weight to the Kyle character (Jim Verraros) in the story line. As presented, the story seems to be about Caleb, but with the ending as written, the movie is really about Kyle. So we should have had some foreshadowing scenes to back up Marc's reveal about being a secret admirer all along. That would have taken the movie to the "comedy of errors" level I think a lot of reviewers have expressed disappointment about. Casting is a bit of a problem too. Verraros is BY FAR the best actor of the bunch, but he's relegated to the "incidental sidekick" role for most of the movie. While he's not quite as gym toned as Caleb and Marc, he's got the cutest face and dresses like an Abercrombie model. Hardly the nerdy, unlovable character the script suggests he is. Again, Marc's reveal at the end would have made more sense if the audience had been aware of this earlier in the film. Where was the scene of Marc secretly attending Kyle's concert? That should have been scene one. (BTW, the character the audience MOST wanted to have do the gratuitous nude scene was scruffy A&F boy Kyle).Caleb's family is one note too many. This 90 minute film tries to cram too many characters into a small space. The focus should have been on the characters in the love triangle (well, quadrangle in this case): Caleb-Marc/Marc-Kyle/Gwen-Caleb. Finally, as others have noted, both Gwen and Tiffani are way too cartoonish to be taken as serious love interests. We can overlook this in the case of Tiffani, who is the comic-relief character of the piece, but it's hard to imagine soft-spoken, sensitive Caleb falling for bombastic Gwen.
nathalie_chapron
It's so bad that I destroyed the DVDs after watching it ! And yes, I forced myself to watch and listen to it until the end, because I never would condemn something without seeing it. No acting to speak of, no script, nothing ! After this, not only will I avoid this director and actors (or so called !)like the pest at any time, but I won't rely on IMDb ratings because this is really in the top 5 worst things I have seen in my life ! I would not even call it a film. If you want a good gay film, watch Queer as Folks (UK or US), beautiful things, Maurice, my beautiful launderette... (there is no shortage of them !).... but not this kind of c...p !!!
drflox99204
As I have spent time catching up on gay films lately --- I found "Eating Out" to be a fresh nice piece of fun gay film- gentle and easy. Fun to watch. I found it thoughtful and insightful to the realities that gay men face and approachable enough my straight friends enjoyed it - . Eating Out represents a sweet nice refreshing drink of water filmed in the hot Tucson sun. The writers use of contemporary gay slang, and situations makes you wonder what will be around the next corner. The characters represent folks you know in your every day life and the situations a cross between reality and Queer As Folk - are believable and yet funny-the cast is well mated and plays well off each other and is damned cute too!- when I compare it to other 2004/2005 releases I have found it more enjoyable than certain mainstream gay releases and certainly way less depressing.
bammer47
I have a hard time understanding why gay male moviegoers would react so harshly to this film.My partner & I first saw "Eating Out" at the NYC LGBT Film Festival two years ago. We immediately watched it again with a friend who enjoyed it as much as we did. A year ago, we saw the movie during its commercial run with a group of 6 gay men, all of whom enjoyed it AND then we bought the video once it was released. Finally, we showed "Eating Out" to a close friend just this afternoon & he shared our delight with the movie.Anyone willing to overlook intermittently schlocky writing and awkward acting will find the story so sweet, the jokes so funny, the cast so appealing & sexy, the bodies so muscular & good looking, & one extended sex scene so erotic as to justify the time & money commitment. The full frontal nudity involving the two male leads is icing on the cake.Watch the movie & let your only intention be a desire to be entertained. Don't compare it to "The Citizen Kane". Let your inner gay child enjoy! Hopefully, you'll feel the way we do about "Eating Out".
