Divorced computer programmer Todd got more than he bargained with when he allowed his slacker brother to set him up on a Blind Date. The ‘Kelly’ he had been chatting to online shared his passion for art-house movies and they had already established a bond even before they met. Turned out that his brother had been playing a prank, and although Kelly was very real, he was also a gay man. By the time that Todd had sussed out that this cute man he was sharing a table at the Coffee Shop was in fact the date he had been waiting for, he let his homophobic guard down for one moment, and the two movie buffs cut their losses and treated themselves to seeing an Ingmar Bergman double-bill so the evening wasnt a total loss.To pay his brother back for the prank, he took Kelly back to his home after the ‘date’ and they pretended to be making out. This freaked the brother out so much that next morning he not only announced that he was moving out, but that their mother was flying in that very night to deal with the news that one of her sons was now gay.
The rumors quickly spread to Todd’s office and the more that he proclaimed to all his colleagues and family that he was 100% straight, the more that no-one wanted to believe him. It got too such a fervent pitch that Todd even started questioning his own sexuality. He eventually decided that there was only one way to decide once and for all, and fortunately for him his new best friend Kelly, who now had more than a wee crush on his straight friend, went along with it.
So this rather adorable wee comedy about sexual confusion that is brimming with stereotypes from gay hairdresser to Mommie Dearest and homophobic men and patronizing fag hags, that piles on cliche after cliche that should have annoyed the hell out of me, made me laugh a great deal instead. Even with the fact that Todd was so very obviously gay despite his loudest protestations, and despite the very irritating attempt at making a typical rom-com happy ending, I will confess that I found the whole thing rather charming.
Maybe it was because of the two fine lead performances of Jonathan Bray and the ever-delightful Wilson Cruz. Or maybe more simply the fact that a cinephile like either of them, would be a perfect date for me. Preferably a gay one.
