DOG TAGS

Director: Damion Dietz

Stars: Paul Preiss, Bart Fletcher, Candy Clark, Hoyt Richards, Diane Davisson

Year: 2008

Rating: NR

I went into seeing this film with the mindset that I might well be venturing into over-wrought gay waters yet again - via a badly-acted, melodramatic film steeped in tragedy, where two gay men meet, fall in love with (and use) each other ... only to end up alone again in the end.

How great it is, then, that Dog Tags turns out to be a well-written, well-acted (particularly by its two leads) drama that's much more about a young man learning who he really is (and no, it doesn't involve his "coming out") - and the friend who teaches him to find himself.

An impressive Paul Preiss stars as Nate, a small-town boy who's decided he's going nowhere in life. He has a girlfriend who more or less pushes him into joining the marine corps so that the two of them can have some kind of future together, and the opening of the film pretty much sets up the fact that Nate pretty much drifts through life, letting everyone else decide what he's going to do for him. Even his mother (Candy Clark, who does a great job here as well) won't tell him the name of - or allow him to get in contact with - his natural father, who bailed on her and Nate many moon ago. What she doesn't know is that Nate carries around with him, in his pants pocket, a display ad from the phone book that advertises his father's business; turns out he's known his father's name for years, from letters his mother used to write to relatives blasting the guy, and has dug up the man's information ... even though he remains too afraid of the repercussions of using it. Just a couple days from heading off to boot camp, Nate's unsure of what he's doing or where his life is going - and he seems unable to take control of either.

Cut to Andy (Bart Fletcher), a young and attractive gay male who wears goth-like eyeliner and is still hurting over the breakup of a bad relationship. Andy, you see, made the mistake of falling in love with a marine - a very straight-acting, deep-in-the-closet Marine - and the affair ended. Heartbroken and not really ready for someone new, in his first scenes we see Andy navigating through a very atypical gay party on the outskirts of L.A., where his friend has taken him to meet this great new guy ... but all Andy can see is the casual hook-up/quick sex atmosphere he doesn't want. He bails from the party - and from his only place to sleep, as his "friend" was basically only trying to hook Andy up with someone to get Andy off his couch. Another lost and alone character who can't remember whether something happened "four minutes ago or forty years from now," Andy is the free spirit type who wants to break loose from his famous actress mother and the whole So-Cal mentality to live a life of freedom, exploring the country while he "finds himself."

Nate leaves for boot camp ... and soon we flash-forward to him walking down a dusty road in his fatigues, heading into the town of 29 Palms, where he's heard he can finance an engagement ring for his girlfriend. This trip leads to his meeting a guy who offers him a ride in his car ... and soon Nate finds himself at the guy's house, where the guy turns out to be a sleazy adult film producer who's trying to get Nate - and, it turns out shortly after their arrival, a broke and very nervous Andy - into a "straight Marine/gay sex" porn shoot. Nate excuses himself to the john, freaking out, but keeps his cool as he tells the producer no way and leaves the house ... Andy right behind him.

When Andy's car won't start, and a car-less Nate - something of a mechanic - helps him to get it running before accepting a ride home from Andy, the two form an unlikely friendship that only grows stronger the more they get to know each other. When Nate gets home to a surprise that upsets his entire world, it's Andy who becomes the friend who - at last - pushes Nate to stand up and rely on himself at last, in a way he's never done before ... even as flashbacks from his previous relationship with a marine haunt Andy, and make him more drawn to Nate with each moment they spend together.

That said, do not assume that Dog Tags is a love story, coming-of-age story, or coming out story. If anything, it's a story about how much alike even the two most different of people can be, as both Andy and Nate each finds what's wrong (and right) with himself through the eyes of the other ... and both end up better, stronger men because of it. The performances, from the two leads in particular, are spectacular; never does Paul Preiss strike a false note in his portrayal of the conflicted, confused and ultimately very humane Nate - and Bart Fletcher is perfect in bringing out the passion and compassion that make Andy the fully three-dimensional character he needed to be. Surely without the brilliant performances of both leads, this film would have folded under its own dramatic weight - whereas instead, it's enhanced by the sheer likeability of these two flawed, very real human beings, both of whom are just trying to find their place in the world. If there is any justice in this world (or, for that matter, the entire entertainment industry), both Preiss and Fletcher have deservedly-long careers (and maybe a few awards) ahead of them ... as should writer/director Damion Dietz, who's made one smart, sweet little movie.

And thanks to Preiss, Fletcher and Dietz, this film works. It was genuinely nice to see a "gay film" that was really more about friendship and love - and finally finding your path in the world, once you've been given "a clean slate". It's a great indie film deserving of more attention than it will probably ever get, and one worth seeing just for the story and performances (and the tears welling up in your eyes by the end). Very, very well done. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome