Review of Holding the Man (2015) by Mateo S — 22 Aug 2016

At first I thought this was going to be just another depressing gay-and-AIDS-themed humdrum affair that I've seen dozens of times, but this movie is seriously funny and well paced (read: mostly fast when appropriate) and rarely luxuriates in woe-is-me pitydom.

There are some stereotypical characters here (disapproving dad, out & proud actor, blithely unconcerned communities & friends, etc.), but on the whole I really enjoyed the characters and the actors who portrayed them.

The actors even portray themselves in high school (when they meet) through to adulthood where the second and third acts take us. One thing I wasn't particularly pleased with would be the third act.

Here is when it did sink a bit into tired AIDS-movie cliches; and, yes, some things are impossible to get around when presenting someone dying a slow, painful death of a terrible disease, but it just seems to plant its anchor in the droll sadness that surrounded them.

Anthony LaPaglia was very good as the asshole father. I just wish the young lads would have been more forceful about their rights and possessions and their love to each other, even if it created conflict.

But...easier said than done. I might actually watch this movie again now that I have seen it as a virgin with zero idea of what it was about. Now I can enjoy the wellgood performances and try to crack under the surface of the celluloid.