| Hey, you! Can you
quickly name the three clichés that make up the
basic gay film? The first is obvious – it
has to be set in England. The second is a bit
more subtle – the main character has to have
a chubby female friend that is just as alienated
as he is. The third is optional – the film
must be based on a play written by a guy with the
last name Wilde. The Wilde in question is
not Oscar, but Patrick, and Get Real is
based on his celebrated play What’s Wrong
With Angry? The picture begins promisingly,
with a young protagonist Steven Carter (Ben
Silverstone) being forever turned off to both
heterosexual activity and ice cream as a friend
incorrectly tells him how babies are made.
As a
teenager, Steven appears to be like the rest of
his Basingstoke prep school classmates; his room
has a desk and a computer, and its walls are
covered with photos of England’s top
football players. The dodgy student, who
doesn’t care for the sport, is reduced to
ferreting out potential mates at a
varmint-infested bathhouse in the park. One day
he stumbles upon the popular school jock, John
Dixon (Brad Gorton), who eventually falls for
Steven but doesn’t want to reveal his
alternative lifestyle to his mates or the rest of
the school.
Feeling
like it was filmed in (get) real time, the
picture slowly winds its way through sentiments
not seen this side of soap operas and bad
after-school specials, finally culminating in the
predictable big speech where Steven outs himself
in front of his parents and entire school.
1:51
-  for language and
sexual content
|
