(out of ****)
_trick_ (R) ***
_Head_On_ ***
A simple "trick" is what young Gabriel (Christian Campbell) has in mind after he picks up male go-go dancer Mark (John Paul Pitoc) one lonely night on a New York subway. But what they get is something more than either of them bargained for: countless obstacles, from Gabriel's pushy best friend Katherine (Tori Spelling) and his even pushier (straight) roommate (Brad Beyer) to bitter drag queen Miss Coco Peru (Clinton Leupp), prevent the two from sealing the deal. However, that's just as well; as their shared night grows longer and longer, Gabe and Mark experience, as the press notes say, "something more gratifying than a one-night stand."
Like last year's entertaining _Billy's_Hollywood_Screen_Kiss_, sexual orientation is moot in first-time feature director Jim Fall's breezy, single-day-spanning romantic comedy. The point is not that the main characters are homosexual but that they are, like anyone in the world, searching for some type of human connection--not just with others, but with themselves, for aspiring Broadway composer Gabriel must learn to find the passion within himself to fuel his work. Adding greatly to the film's universal accessibility is the likable pair of leads and an able supporting cast--yes, even notorious over-hacktress Spelling, who is perfectly cast as the histrionic and pretentious off-off-off-Broadway hacktress Katherine.
On the other hand, "accessible" and "likable" aren't exactly the words I'd apply to_Head_On_, a dark 1997 Australian gay-themed drama just about to receive exposure on this side of the Pacific. The main character of Ari (Alex Dimitriades) is about as unlikable as one can get: lazy and selfish, he spends his days and nights indulging in drugs and reckless, anonymous sex when not arguing with his strict (and completely oblivious) Greek parents and anyone else who dare cross him. Consequently, as director Ana Kokkinos unflinchingly tracks one typically destructive 24-hour span of Ari's directionless existence, one watches with the same emotional detachment with which Ari tackles his own life.
But there is a method to this madness, and a universal, if rather bleak, message to the film. "I'm not going to make a difference, I'm not going to change a thing," concludes Ari late in the film, and while most people are afraid to admit it, that's pretty much the futile fate of every single person on this planet, regardless of what good one attempts to make of one's life (a certain recent outside event has certainly taught me that); it's just that Ari bears no illusions about himself or how the world works. It's a testament to the sheer gutsiness of Dimitriades's uninhibited performance that the audience bears no illusions about Ari either. _Head_On_ is certainly a film more easily admired than enjoyed, but there is much to admire in this bold, unsettling film. (_trick_ opens July 23; _Head_On_ opens August 13)
Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23
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