Review of Race You to the Bottom (2005) by Tracey C — 07 Jul 2009

This sweet, well-dialogued gay drama starring Amber Benson and Cole Williams was yet another Benson film I was expecting to be average, but was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoy these relatively slow paced dramas with realistic portrayals of romance that aren't unbarably sappy, I guess its something that comes with indie films.

This film is not plot heavy, there is not a lot of story, just dialogue and character development (just how I like it). The gay themes were, for the most part, not laid on too thick, but just natural, which is a very fine line to walk in gay cinema.

There were a few things in the film that brought the rating down a little, including the contrived ending where years later the two characters meet again, although the dialogue involved did give the film its title, it felt a little too obvious.

The supporting cast was another downer, although there is very little of the supporting cast seen, most of them give a sub-par performance. On the up side, the music was splendid and the direction, dialogue and lead acting (particularly Benson) were intriguing and quite well done.