One of the better gay-themed dramas from recent years, GET REAL follows a well-established formula (identified in some of the other posts here), and thus is a bit short on originality, but does feature some fine performances, and - in subtle ways - does manage to touch upon other issues which help to cut through the rose-colored romance that frames much of the story.
**MINOR SPOILERS**
I was glad to see a self-aware young gay character - there still aren't enough, and found the conflicted boyfriend (John) to be quite an interesting character as well - bringing to life (in many scenes) the connections between homophobia, violence, social pressure and generalized lack of self-awareness. The rather complex ending had its' good and bad points - the coming-out speech could've been sharper (this would've perhaps heightened the emotional tension of the scene), but I found the ending to be otherwise quite satisfactory - Steven, as a self-aware young gay man, possesses a strength and self-assurance that places him far ahead of John, whose cowardly retreats into violence betray a confusion that will only create problems in other people's lives until he gains the strength to work things out for himself. No strong, self-aware human being should ever need to put up with getting literally kicked around, which Steven is smart enough to already know, which his why he can ride off into the sunset loveless but confident - such a liberated ending (while no 'happily-ever-after' romance) more than validates the occasional 'after-school-special' moments that preceded it.
There are many moments here that could form the basis for any number of provocative follow-ups: the contradictions of John, or the relationships - supportive or otherwise - with parents (grossly under-explored in gay drama) or teachers. Overall GET REAL isn't flawless, but it's many perceptive moments of both sweetness and intelligence very much make it worth seeing.
**MINOR SPOILERS**
I was glad to see a self-aware young gay character - there still aren't enough, and found the conflicted boyfriend (John) to be quite an interesting character as well - bringing to life (in many scenes) the connections between homophobia, violence, social pressure and generalized lack of self-awareness. The rather complex ending had its' good and bad points - the coming-out speech could've been sharper (this would've perhaps heightened the emotional tension of the scene), but I found the ending to be otherwise quite satisfactory - Steven, as a self-aware young gay man, possesses a strength and self-assurance that places him far ahead of John, whose cowardly retreats into violence betray a confusion that will only create problems in other people's lives until he gains the strength to work things out for himself. No strong, self-aware human being should ever need to put up with getting literally kicked around, which Steven is smart enough to already know, which his why he can ride off into the sunset loveless but confident - such a liberated ending (while no 'happily-ever-after' romance) more than validates the occasional 'after-school-special' moments that preceded it.
There are many moments here that could form the basis for any number of provocative follow-ups: the contradictions of John, or the relationships - supportive or otherwise - with parents (grossly under-explored in gay drama) or teachers. Overall GET REAL isn't flawless, but it's many perceptive moments of both sweetness and intelligence very much make it worth seeing.