GET REAL A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
Sion Shore's GET REAL is a look at the agony of being a gay teenager. Although the picture's glossy finish and relentlessly upbeat music defuse much of the effect of the bittersweet story, the unquestionably strong performance by Ben Silverstone rises above the film's limitations. Even when asked to deliver some pretty stiff dialog, his winsome smile and nervous energy speak more than the lines he is given.
Steven Carter (Silverstone) is a teenager who defines his life in terms of his sexuality. "I came late to sex," he confesses in his opening line. Late to him means almost age 10. Later, we witness his stereotypical sex education class, complete with a video of copulating porcupines and a lecture that includes horrible descriptions of sex that would scar the minds of youths forever.
We then cut to Steven as a 16-year-old. As a practicing homosexual, he hangs around park bathrooms and has sex in the woods with strangers. Although this behavior carries physical risks, the movie's carefree music makes it sound completely harmless. Steven says he is careful, but the dangers in this environment clearly transcend just AIDS. At any rate, Silverstone makes his actions credible, even if perilous. One just wished the filmmaker had not felt compelled to put such saccharin twists on the behavior.
On one trip to the bathroom in which he makes passes through a hole to the guy in the next stall, he hooks up with school's BMOC, a handsome jock named John Dixon (Brad Gorton). Outside the restroom, their dialog is full of double-entendre. "Fag?" asks John, offering him a cigarette. "Sorry?" replies Steven, thinking he is asking about sexual proclivities. "Filthy habit," concludes John about the smoking. "Huh?' responds Steven, thinking he means being gay.
They become secret lovers with Steven wanting to come out of the closet and John petrified that someone will find out. John, you see, is known to be dating a gorgeous, female underwear model. Most of the rest of the story is fairly predictable from this point. Periodically, the music will stop, the film's momentum will come crashing to a halt, and John or Steven will deliver some long monologue, which is scripted earnestly but not well.
Charlotte Brittain, as Steven's neighbor and classmate, Linda, deserves special mention. With too much make-up and big hair, Linda is a fat girl who knows that she's everyone's last choice. She makes up for this by taking driving lessons, 40 of them, with a willing, but married, driving instructor. Linda is also the sort of honest and supporting friend that everyone needs.
In a year in which every teen movie feels honor bound to end at the prom, this movie doesn't contain a single prom sequence. When the kids get together to dance, they do it, not at some artificial big moment at the movie's conclusion, but just at a normal school dance in the middle of the picture. And they even dare to look like they're having fun dancing.
GET REAL runs 1:50. It is not rated but would probably be an R for mature themes, brief nudity and profanity and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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