“Kiss the Bride”

Oh Well

Amos Lassen

“Kiss the Bride” (Regent Releasing and Here TV) could have been a really good movie but it is terribly flawed. It is not all bad, however, and there are several enjoyable moments in it. It just does not live up to the current state of gay cinema which has been quite good of late.

Matt and Ryan were best friends in high school but they fell out of contact with each other. When Matt receives an invitation to Ryan’s wedding he is surprised–especially that Ryan is marrying a woman. Matt returns to his hometown and plans to rescue Ryan, his former lover, from falling into the arms of straight matrimony. However, Ryan’s fiancée, Alex, takes a liking to Matt and she appears to be somewhat ditsy, very cunning, and really cute. Matt tries to rekindle the old flame the two guys once shared but Ryan is determined to extinguish any sparks and dismisses their old romance as just a fling. Matt, on the other hand, realizes that Ryan is still the love of his life but now has to deal with him as his new “best friend” and Alex has become a “best friend” as well. Matt is also forced to deal the hometown that he thought he had left completely behind. As the day for the wedding nears, secrets open up and old feelings rise to the surface. Matt, Ryan and Alex are faced with balancing the past with the present and make a choice that will affect the rest of their lives as they look at the boundaries of love, sexuality and identity.

It is almost hard to believe that the person who directed the wonderful “Latter Days” also directed this. The performances of the cast members–Tori Spelling, Robert Foxworth and Joanna Cassisdy–are dreadful. The two male leads, however, are gorgeous to look at and there was a certain sweetness as they told how they each went their separate ways. The film also looks good even though it looks like it was shot for the small screen rather than the big theater. The script had great possibilities but C. Jay Cox’s direction was quite lacking. Some of the small things work in the movie such as those small human moments between characters.

I prefer to look at “Kiss the Bride” as a work in progress for the director and I am sure that if we keeps at it, there will be better things coming from him.

“Kiss the Bride”

Oh Well

Amos Lassen

“Kiss the Bride” (Regent Releasing and Here TV) could have been a really good movie but it is terribly flawed. It is not all bad, however, and there are several enjoyable moments in it. It just does not live up to the current state of gay cinema which has been quite good of late.

Matt and Ryan were best friends in high school but they fell out of contact with each other. When Matt receives an invitation to Ryan’s wedding he is surprised–especially that Ryan is marrying a woman. Matt returns to his hometown and plans to rescue Ryan, his former lover, from falling into the arms of straight matrimony. However, Ryan’s fiancée, Alex, takes a liking to Matt and she appears to be somewhat ditsy, very cunning, and really cute. Matt tries to rekindle the old flame the two guys once shared but Ryan is determined to extinguish any sparks and dismisses their old romance as just a fling. Matt, on the other hand, realizes that Ryan is still the love of his life but now has to deal with him as his new “best friend” and Alex has become a “best friend” as well. Matt is also forced to deal the hometown that he thought he had left completely behind. As the day for the wedding nears, secrets open up and old feelings rise to the surface. Matt, Ryan and Alex are faced with balancing the past with the present and make a choice that will affect the rest of their lives as they look at the boundaries of love, sexuality and identity.

It is almost hard to believe that the person who directed the wonderful “Latter Days” also directed this. The performances of the cast members–Tori Spelling, Robert Foxworth and Joanna Cassisdy–are dreadful. The two male leads, however, are gorgeous to look at and there was a certain sweetness as they told how they each went their separate ways. The film also looks good even though it looks like it was shot for the small screen rather than the big theater. The script had great possibilities but C. Jay Cox’s direction was quite lacking. Some of the small things work in the movie such as those small human moments between characters.

I prefer to look at “Kiss the Bride” as a work in progress for the director and I am sure that if we keeps at it, there will be better things coming from him.

While some of the performances are a little disappointing, this movie clearly derived from an excellent script by Ty Lieberman. The core story is both funny and touching and the humor is very good. Watch it, you’ll like it.