Story: "All Over The Guy" is a contemporary romantic comedy about the quest to find the "one" when "the one" doesn't know he's the "one." It explores the unlikely pairing of two 20-somethings thrown together by their respective best friends in hopes of igniting their own romance. They do everything they can to NOT fall in love, but finally they overcome the dysfunction of their parents and surrender to their hearts.
In a little place long lost to humanity by now, a "Video rental store" (or Netflix in a store). The year was 2002-ish and my sister decided to rent this movie based on the dvd cover. This was the year 4 B.C.O. (Before I Came Out) and I was an innocent and afraid little gay boy. It was probably a friday or saturday night and we started watching this movie under the impression it would be a "normal" love story.
The first 15 minutes we get a "normal" love story until our first couple introduce each other and us their respective best friends who happen to be gay. My 14y/o self panicked but wstood still while this "alternative" love story rolled before my eyes.
The story is a "blind date" set up by the straight friends of our now main couple. These two men couldn't be more different from each other. We have our resident movie nerd "Eli", who comes from a family of very open minded and over sharing parents. Unlike him; Tom is a "straight acting" recovering alcoholic elementary school teacher (the product of drunk new money parents that barely paid any attention to him.) As science says "opposites attract" and it so happens to be true with these two. After a horrible first date they decide to stay friends (or rather friendly) with each other. "Eli" being ready for a relationship and "Tom" not really ready for any type of true commitment, start this rollercoaster of ups and downs as we see how this odd pair is actually a match made in heavenly hell.
This little gem, produced by Lionsgate Films with some pretty famous early 00's celebrities. All Over The Guy had cameos from Lisa Kudrow (Friends), the hilarious and lovely Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) & the beautiful Christina Ricci (Casper) who are part of the ensemble surrounding our main cast during the story.
The music for this movie was a mix of stars you might've heard of like Adam Levine (Begin Again), Michelle Branch and some oldies like Lyle Lovett. The music I like most is from some artists that seemed to disappeared into the void like The Incredible Moses Leroy, who also did some other catching tones for some of the Olsen Twins movies back in the early 00's.
As a teenager in the New Millenium before the internet was THE INTERNET, before phones were smarter than some people and before being gay was basically COOL, this movie set a standard for me of what gay dating would be. Until this day, even with its clichés and offensive dialogue, it's a sweet movie I remember fondly.
By the end of this movie my sister looked down at me from her bed and told me the words that have stuck with me almost two decades after: "Sabes que no importa que, te amo, verdad?". For my non-spanish readers this means: "I love you no matter what". After all, this mistake of movie night selection is a classic I would remember for ages.
Here's the trailer:
Written by Saturn.Ed
Comments