14) PATRIK, AGE 1.5

Director: Ella Lemhagen
Stars: Gustaf Skarsgard, Torkel Petersson, Thomas Ljungman, Amanda Davin, Annika Hallin
Year: 2008
Rating: R
(in Swedish with English subtitles)

Goran (Gustaf Skarsgard) and Sven (Torkel Petersson) are a happily married gay couple in Sweden who have recently moved to the suburbs. Assimilating right away to their all-straight neighbors of families and other (but male-female) couples, everything seems perfectly ideal as Goran and Sven are accepted into the fold as any other couple, in a neighborhood that somewhat feels more suited to "Leave It to Beaver" than modern-day Sweden, even taking the relaxed gay marriage laws of Sweden into account.

But there's another reason for the move, one that has Goran grinning from ear to ear; he and Sven have finally been approved for adoption, and will be granted a brand new baby to raise as their own. Goran, a kid's doctor with a very caring personality, is about to start work at a new clinic and can't wait to push a baby carriage down the street with the other "moms" in the neighborhood. Sven, his husband and the brooding, macho "husband" who works a weekday nine-to-five office job in town, is happy that Goran is happy - but a formerly married man with a daughter who doesn't really understand (or want to understand) her gay father, Sven has done the raising kid's thing, and is more or less going along for the ride.

After a couple of false starts, a letter finally arrives in the mail that the couple have been approved for a Swedish child, "Patrik 1,5" - and though Goran and Sven think it odd they should list the year-and-a-half old baby's age as "1,5" they are still delighted (especially Goran) ... and soon the nursery upstairs, across from their bedroom, is all decked out with a crib and rocker and mobile hanging over the crib, all by the day of the infant's arrival ...

When Goran, home alone, opens the door and learns there was a typo - a missplaced comma on the letter he and Sven received ... and their 1,5-year-old baby Patrik is actually a 15-year-old foul-mouthed delinquent (Thomas Ljungman) with a criminal record, who happens to also be devoutly homophobic.

Needless to say, neither Goran or Sven - OR Patrik - are thrilled with the arrangement. With the adoption agency closed until Tuesday, Goran and Sven can't do anything about the mix-up until after the weekend ... and spend that weekend living in fear, as Patrik calls them homos and pedophiles who will probably rape him in the dead of night - while Goran and Sven, in turn, hide all the knives and anything else that Patrik may use to kill them overnight, while they sleep. Soon Sven even goes back to his drinking and smoking habits, long since abandoned, while Goran sleeps and Patrik locks himself in the nursery, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and ponders his fate. Goran, always the peacemaker and realizing that Patrik probably acts more out of fear and anger than real hatred, tries to even make some level of peace with the boy for as long as the three have to be together ... and indeed, it is Gustaf Skarsgard's performance as Goran that will endear you to both him and the film; he's a marvel here, playing Goran - a gentle soul who just wants to have his family.

The rest of the film is about how Patrik changes the lives and dynamics of Goran and Sven's life together ... and how, in turn, Patrik is changed by this totally alien world around him. Thomas Ljungman, as Patrik, brings a tough vulnerability to the character that rings so incredibly true, it reaches right to your heart; indeed, this young actor was a favorite of mine from the film Let Me In, but here both he and his talent have grown so much, I can only think of the mega-star this guy will someday be. As Goran learns both about Patrik's past and the question mark that is the boy's future - not to mention a few dirty secrets about the idyllic neighbors who aren't so perfect - even as Patrik's return to the adoption agency grows imminent, Goran finds himself wanting to do something to secure a better future for this troubled young man ...

Which leads to one of the most charming, sensitive and realistic comedy/dramas I've seen in some time. Similar in some ways to another film I've seen this year, Breakfast with Scot, Patrik, Age 1.5 packs so much more of an emotional punch; has more depth, drawing you in to the characters and really wanting Patrik and Goran both to end up with what they want. Touching and funny and full of life, Patrik, Age 1.5 was a wonderful surprise - not only worth watching, but more than worth adding to your own DVD collection permanently; I don't feel I've done it justice with this review, but if you're okay with the subject matter this film is one more people really should see ... period. This one was really done right, with real actors instead of "pretty boys" as the gay characters, PLAYING real characters who make mistakes and have flaws and aren't physically perfect. It's truly refreshing to see this in a "gay-themed" film, gay men as real people and not fashion model types with chiseled bodies and/or perfect faces ... and that, coupled with the young, truly gifted Ljungman as Patrik, makes for a "dramedy" packed with real heart and soul. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See