Morgan is a twentysomething year old who used to be a good basketball player and a champion cyclist with a lot of things going for him before the accident. During a road race last year he gambled on a dangerous manoeuvre which left him paralysed from the waist down and now he simply spends all his days going from his bed to the couch and just watching TV and drinking beer. You are not tempted to feel too sorry for him as it is clear from the outset he does enough of that for himself. His boyfriend walked out on him whilst he was still in the hospital and now he dishes both his mother and his best (girl) friend who he expects to be at his beck and call night and day.
One day when he runs out of beer and no-one will help him out, he has to drag himself to the store to get some more supplies. Passing through the park he espies and chats to a young man shooting some hoops and they arrange to meet up later. Neither are sure of each other’s sexuality or if this is even a date, but it turns out that they needn’t have worried on either point.
Dean is a quiet soul who has spent the last couple of years nursing his mother who recently died of cancer. Totally charming and somewhat inexperienced in affairs of the heart, he falls for Morgan a tad too fast to be realistic, but it seems like the feelings are mutual so they practically move in with each other almost immediately.Meanwhile Morgan wants to participate in the same road race again this year, if nothing else so that he can deal with the demons that he still has regarding the accident. His desire turns into obsession and when everyone including his Doctors, mother, best friend and Dean are against this he gets enraged and loses the plot …. and Dean at the same time.
This wee movie, like many micro-budget gay indie films is sometimes a little uneven in its production. It is loaded with such good intentions tackling the widely ignored topic of gay disability, but it labors a little too long on Morgan’s anger. It’s also somewhat of a mystery that Dean would not only fall for him so quickly but would stay with him so long especially when he was still processing his own grief. And character of the best girl friend was totally unconvincing to the point of being annoying, and she had zero chemistry with Morgan.
That said, there were some sweet and funny moments such as when they handled the delicate matter of whether Morgan’s private parts could still function, and I cannot deny I am still a sucker for two cute boys finding each other, especially when they are superbly played by two young actors like Lee Minaya and Jack Kesy.
The ending was predictable but then again we knew if Morgan did mend the errors of his ways, how else could this have ended?
Directed and co-written by Michael D Akers who’s forte is gay themed movies and also made the highly enjoyable ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’ . ‘Morgan’ is now out on DVD and can be viewed on AMAZON VOD too.
