Boyfriends
1996
Three gay friends and their partners spend Easter weekend at a country cottage. Paul and Matt have been together for five years, but it's beginning to seem a lot longer. Couple two, Matt and Owen, have been dating for three months. Matt thinks he hears wedding bells, but he's in for a big surprise. Lastly, Will met Adam the .. Read more
| Starring | James Dreyfus, Mark Sands, Michael Urwin, Andrew Ableson |
|---|---|
| Director | Neil Hunter, Tom Hunsinger |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
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Boyfriends
Three gay friends and their partners spend Easter weekend at a country cottage. Paul and Matt have been together for five years, but it's beginning to seem a lot longer. Couple two, Matt and Owen, have been dating for three months. Matt thinks he hears wedding bells, but he's in for a big surprise. Lastly, Will met Adam the night before. The two have a history... do they have a future? What ensues is a frequently funny, charming and, most importantly, honest depiction of the ups and downs of gay couples trying to forge relationships in the 90's.
| Starring | James Dreyfus, Mark Sands, Michael Urwin, Andrew Ableson, David Coffey, Russell Higgs |
|---|---|
| Director | Neil Hunter, Tom Hunsinger |
| Studio | PECCADILLO PICTURES |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 22 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Released | DVD: 08 Aug 2002 Production year: 1996 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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Co-directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger's promising feature debut shows consummate skill in getting under the skin of homosexual neuroses as it follows the exploits of three troubled gay couples on a weekend in the country. An amalgam of The Big Chill, Peter's Friends and A Little Night Music, this shining example of British low-budget film-making accurately scrutinises gay sex and love in the 1990s. James Dreyfus from the TV comedy series The Thin Blue Line plays one of the lovelorn Londoners.
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This low-budget first feature takes a wry look at the ideals, desires and neuroses of a bunch of mostly middle-class... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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21 out of 21 people found this review helpful
A pleasant and enjoyable film for an evening's entertainment.
Three gay couples convene at the home of of Paul for his birthday, and six months after his brother's death. The three couples are at different stages in their relationships: You have the three couples: (1) Ben and Paul who have been together for 5 years and just have broken up, (2) Matt and Owen who have been together for 3 months, but with very different likes and dislikes in life, and questions about whether Matt and Own are really suited for each other, and (3) Will and Adam who have just had a one night stand but Will wants it to be more and Adam does not--Adam is much younger (e.g. 20 years old) than Will (?mid 30s), with a naive 'sleep-around with everyone' point of view. Paul, Matt, and Will are long time friends and their interactions are quite interesting, contrasting these interactions with each other (they clearly don't all like each other) and with their 'partners'. Some typical but not overdone vibes going on between the actors.
This film was definitely not done on a high budget, but was very enjoyable none-the-less. I thought it was a sweet and accurate portrayal of gay relationships (sometimes the accuracy was enough to have me cringing in memory with how 'real' it was), with most of the actors and situations very believable.
One thing I liked about the movie is that they did not try to 'resolve' every situation, but as in real life, let some situations just 'hang'.
All in all, an enjoyable evening spent watching this shoestring movie, but accurate none-the-less. -
Most recent members' review
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8 out of 10 people found this review helpful
A WEEKEND TO DREAD
Heres a well meaning film. Oh dear! Like one of the characters in the film, all very well intentioned but in the hands of Hunter & Hunsinger, 2 Directors is one too many, with just a little too little experience. What becomes the final plot twist you can see comming on Friday, which lhardly makes the wait till Sunday night worthwhile. Whilst Dreyfus' bravura performance does bring a real gloss to some long and often dull exchanges on this seemingly intermimable weekend, he has the whole film to carry and this proves too much for even his experienced shoulders. Ocassional absurd camera work, deplorable sound, and pointless improvisation leading us nowhere, all add to a sense of inexperince, which bodes ill for a weekend with 'the boys' . There are though one or two supremely touching scenes which by sheer force of emotion and narrative overcome these lamentable shortcommings but these are not enough. There is a propensity in the 'gay arts' to imagine that standards in the 'straight world' do not apply. Because this is a 'gay' story from the heart we can let if off lightly in the 'could do better stakes'. 'Boyfriends' is just this, a film that a gay audience starved of their own reality on celluloid may take to heart and forgive but this is a mistake, plainly it's not good enough for any weekend even a 'gay' one.
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Three gay friends and their partners spend Easter weekend at a country cottage. Paul and Matt have been together for five years, but it's beginning to seem a lot longer. Couple two, Matt and Owen, ... -