I gave it six out of ten stars, half of which were A's for effort. The basic premise is entirely plausible, but some of the subplots are pretty silly. Circumstances revolve around an ad agency and its owner. If you've ever worked in an ad agency, and I have, this is kind of a comic book idea of what that would be like. None of it rang true for me. The photo shoot scenes were also painfully amateurish.
Nevertheless, two of the lead actors eventually won me over. The guy who plays the Australian hustler does an extraordinarily good job--very understated--with a difficult stereotype: the hustler with a heart of gold. Pretty Woman is referenced early on, but when we meet this guy, the level of trust we have for him is nothing like we instantly feel for Julia Roberts. He's slightly menacing, clearly hiding something. Through the course of the film he gradually reveals his gold heart, and it's done at just the right pace. It was a surprise to learn he's not Australian--the accent had me fooled.
The guy who plays his love interest also does well, even though he struggles with some impossible dialog in his office scenes. The guy who plays his boss is the weakest link in the chain. His performance is in that close-but-no-cigar category. Acceptable, but not much more. The other performances are a grab bag, quality-wise.
Is it worth renting? If you're working your way through the LGBT oeuvre like I am, yes. Keep you expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Nevertheless, two of the lead actors eventually won me over. The guy who plays the Australian hustler does an extraordinarily good job--very understated--with a difficult stereotype: the hustler with a heart of gold. Pretty Woman is referenced early on, but when we meet this guy, the level of trust we have for him is nothing like we instantly feel for Julia Roberts. He's slightly menacing, clearly hiding something. Through the course of the film he gradually reveals his gold heart, and it's done at just the right pace. It was a surprise to learn he's not Australian--the accent had me fooled.
The guy who plays his love interest also does well, even though he struggles with some impossible dialog in his office scenes. The guy who plays his boss is the weakest link in the chain. His performance is in that close-but-no-cigar category. Acceptable, but not much more. The other performances are a grab bag, quality-wise.
Is it worth renting? If you're working your way through the LGBT oeuvre like I am, yes. Keep you expectations low and you won't be disappointed.