EATING OUT

Director: Q. Allan Brocka
Stars: Scott Lunsford, Jim Verraros, Ryan Carnes, Emily Stiles, Rebekah Kochan
Year: 2004
Rating: NR

I'm getting lucky with the gay films, lately; finding some really good indie stuff out there that doesn't cater to the normal stereotype that many gay-themed indie films do these days (anything from soap opera-style melodrama to weak, softcore excuses to get good-looking guys naked). As with Dog Tags in a previous review, this film - Eating Out - came as both a relief and surprise: a film about gays that's neither tragic nor silly. Well-cast and written with a wry eye for humor, Eating Out is a genuinely funny comedy with a great premise; one that can be viewed and enjoyed by pretty much anyone male or female, gay or straight.

Hunky Scott Lunsford stars as Caleb, a handsome and well-built straight guy who can't seem to find a steady girl. His latest bimbo of the month, Tiffani (a funny, off-the-wall Rebekah Kochan) has kept him waiting for sex, only to turn out to be an extremely odd little nymphette who gets off on playing role games where men are violating her against her will. Their sex scene intros the film, and when neither can get turned on enough to orgasm, Tiffani dumps Caleb as nookie potential, sending the straight buck home ...

To his gay male roommate, college student and jazz musician wannabe, Kyle (former "American Idol" contestant Jim Verraros). Kyle and Caleb have been friends and platonic roommates for some time now, and when Caleb goes home and bemoans his luck at finding a girl - claiming that it would be so nice to be gay, just so he could find somebody - Kyle frustratingly informs Caleb that it's no picnic on the other side of the fence, either. On the contrary, Kyle could probably have his choice of women - gay men being such chick-magnets, due to their sensitivity and sexual harmlessness - yet cannot seem to get even the slightest bit of attention from the man of his dreams, fellow classical music college student Marc Everhard (the sinfully good-looking Ryan Carnes).

The mutual bitch session leads Kyle to prove his point by taking Caleb to a party being thrown at the home of Marc, and his roommate Gwen (Emily Stiles). Gwen and Marc used to be lovers - in fact, it was Marc who took Gwen's cherry - but not only are they now just friends (with Marc coming out of the closet, and all) ... but the hyperactive Gwen, after a series of similar incidents, is now convinced that she turns straight men gay by having sex with them. After chasing one such fem-boy out of her bedroom during the party, Caleb spots Gwen and immediately finds himself attracted to her - prompting Kyle to put his wicked new idea into motion. Kyle informs Gwen that Caleb is gay, making Gwen immediately friendly to Caleb ... thus opening up doors to the really straight Caleb that would otherwise be closed if she thought he were just another straight guy trying to get her into bed.

But what Kyle doesn't count on is when Marc comes on the seen - and is immediately turned on by Caleb, who Gwen pushes onto the unsuspecting straight man, happily thinking she's found a new man for her gay roommate. To keep the peace - and Gwen's affections - Caleb even agrees to go out on a date with Marc, forcing Kyle to revises his plan; now, Caleb will go on one date with Marc, reveal to Marc that he thinks he's straight after all, and in his heartbreak Marc will turn to Kyle's arms for comfort. And heck, Gwen may even get her "truly-straight" man at last.

But things go pretty wrong from the beginning, when Gwen pretty much forces Caleb and Marc to kiss, before leaving on their date, because it turns her on so much ... and later that night, an impromptu phone call from Gwen (who's staying the night out to give Marc and Caleb the apartment to themselves), to the boys at home, ends in a much-confused Caleb (and a much-delighted Marc) both wondering just what the hell happened the next morning.

Things only snowball here, with both Kyle and especially Caleb getting only more deeply entrenched in the deception. A final dinner party, where the roommates are determined that all will be revealed in an open and honest forum, has the unexpected surprise of Caleb's parents and little sister showing up just in time to get caught up in the action, too.

The acting here is a bit uneven (Jim Verraros being the weakest of the group), but in an indie film farce like this it can easily be overlooked in light of the talented and good-looking cast, nicely-written script, and genuinely funny moments - of which this film has many. It's also quite erotic - there's plenty of full frontal male nudity to please the die-hard horndog, and the phone-call scene alone had this reviewer squirming (and confused!) during the entire time it ran (I can't even explain it here; you'd have to see it). Scott Lunsford does an outstanding job with the nuances of Caleb's personality, making him both masculine and a nervous wreck while trying to pull off the deception (and he's very sexy, to boot), and Ryan Carnes is perfect as the "worldly" gay boy Marc, who really has a sensitive heart of gold inside. Jim Verraros, even if in need of more experience or training, still turned in a performance that made you both sympathize with and like Kyle. Emily Stiles, as Gwen, has amazing frenetic energy in the role; at first her character got on my nerves big-time, but pretty soon I really grew to like and embrace both Gwen's humor and insanity.

Even more so, I like that the film didn't give in to stereotypes of gay and straight, even as the zippy one-liners and off-handed sarcasm sometimes did. This is a neat, sexy little comedy with great characters, light on plot but with just enough spice to satisfy without lapsing into parody. A really likable film I could watch over and over again - and probably will. *** - Reel Cool