Profile
Photos
Comments
Our local cinema, The Gateway, is presenting a '6 Gay films from TLA
releasing' mini fest showing all 6 films in rotation over 7 days. After seeing
their first, "I Dreamt Under Water"--read my review on Friday, August 22--I had
no desire to go back and see any of the others but Dolores was coming over to
clean my fridge and oven and I wanted to get out of her way so I decided to go
see "Dog Tags".
(An aside--the Gateway theatre has a board where theatre goers can write what
they thought of the movies they have just seen--3 of the films, so far, have
gotten really lousy reviews!)
This is the synopsis of the film as published by TLA:
'Abandoned by his father and raised by a single mother, Nate Merritt joins
the Marines to support his soon-to-be fiancee. While on leave in Palm Springs,
he meets a seemingly free spirited young gay man, who leads him on a path of
better understanding; of himself and the surprising identity of the father he
never knew.'
My feeling after watching this film was that it could have been so easily
made into a good, if not great film, as there are many themes and subplots that
could have made this a different, better film than the run of the mill gay, or
nongay, film.
Paul Preiss, who plays Nate (I think, as none of the actors are listed as to
what roles they played) is a little too old for the part he plays but there are
many interesting aspects to his character that should have been delved into
more--the fact that he will take a 'job' in the Marines (something I found
strange--the Marine recruiter came to pick him up at his house--didn't do that
when I enlisted!!)--at his age he is still living with his mother and doesn't
seem to contribute to paying the bills--that he will turn down a porno producer
to make a gay film though he doesn't have to be 'gay for pay' and can just
masturbate--his search for his father seems to come pretty late in his life and
who his father is should be obvious to any movie watcher--one line that is sharp
was someone telling him to go see the guys at the bar as anyone of them could be
his father which explains a lot about his mother's attitude.
The other main character is Andy--an out and proud gay boy/man (I assume to
be around Nate's age and looks like a kid) who is a father of a young baby and
the mother has run away leaving Andy and his own mother to bring the boy up. In
a way Andy brings Matt out but I really think it is a one time thing for Nate.
Andy plans to travel around the USA in a red convertible with his child. How he
pans to eat, sleep, take care of the baby and himself is never explained as it
seems only the women work in this film.
In many ways this could have been a stronger film, a better love story, a
deeper drama if the film had gone more into the two guys stories--there are too
many questions left unanswered not only about what will happen to them after the
film ends but what brought them to the point they are in the story. I presume
some will see "A happy ever after" for Nate and Andy but I don't see that
happening--and I am the romanticist!!!
And the whole 'drive in movie' allegory(?) doesn't really tie in with the
theme of the film.
Seen many of them.Most of them were poor to fair.
Do not have any favorites of them.
AJ right about being a pretty boy than making a good film.
Thanks.