Web series are a useful way to tackle subjects that may not get a lot of focus elsewhere (especially with gay-themed material, which often veers hard toward lurid melodrama or amateurish wackiness - or both - when put into features). I'd say this story benefits from the web series format, with a number of brief but well-made looks at the love story of "boy" (AKA Ben) and "daddy" (AKA Greg). The makers were even nice enough to include several deleted scenes.
This is a very nice, pleasant watch, with a very good performance from BJ Gruber (who reminds me a bit of Chris Pratt before Pratt became so big) as the younger man and Jim Newman as the older man. Ben's friend, Michael Snipe Jr, continues the tradition of the talk-to who tells our hero how to feel and what to do, while having enough of a varied life (he's HIV-positive, has threesomes, etc.) to remind us of the relative safeness - or ideal ways, depending on your point of view - of said hero. David M Farrington plays Greg's ex, who mostly has his own best interests at heart, trying to manipulate Greg and his romance with Ben (presumably so Greg will be with him again). Both men are decent enough, in thin roles.
The difference between the two supporting characters is one of the questions that Daddyhunt never answers, and possibly didn't even mean to ask - are we supposed to take anything out of the younger man having a pure-hearted friend, while the older man just has a selfish ex?
The other question I had while watching the series was the contrast between a sexualized title and sexualized terms of endearment (with their names taking much less prominence than "daddy" and "boy") when the characters themselves aren't all that sexual. There is obvious attraction, but the moment which comes closest to a sexual encounter instead becomes a debate about whether to use condoms or PrEP, before it ends badly. This actually is a very compelling subject for this type of movie to take on, but we only got a taste before we get back to the softer romantic separation and finally the big, sweet reunion more closer to Hollywood than West Hollywood.
I don't think all gay-themed films need big sexual content, and I don't think this one suffers greatly without it, but the tone of much of the scenes leading up to what we got made me feel like a moment of sex or just plain physical fun and playfulness at the end was missing.
Overall, this was a good, likeable effort with handsome, charismatic actors who have easy chemistry and give solid performances, and I certainly recommend watching it.
This is a very nice, pleasant watch, with a very good performance from BJ Gruber (who reminds me a bit of Chris Pratt before Pratt became so big) as the younger man and Jim Newman as the older man. Ben's friend, Michael Snipe Jr, continues the tradition of the talk-to who tells our hero how to feel and what to do, while having enough of a varied life (he's HIV-positive, has threesomes, etc.) to remind us of the relative safeness - or ideal ways, depending on your point of view - of said hero. David M Farrington plays Greg's ex, who mostly has his own best interests at heart, trying to manipulate Greg and his romance with Ben (presumably so Greg will be with him again). Both men are decent enough, in thin roles.
The difference between the two supporting characters is one of the questions that Daddyhunt never answers, and possibly didn't even mean to ask - are we supposed to take anything out of the younger man having a pure-hearted friend, while the older man just has a selfish ex?
The other question I had while watching the series was the contrast between a sexualized title and sexualized terms of endearment (with their names taking much less prominence than "daddy" and "boy") when the characters themselves aren't all that sexual. There is obvious attraction, but the moment which comes closest to a sexual encounter instead becomes a debate about whether to use condoms or PrEP, before it ends badly. This actually is a very compelling subject for this type of movie to take on, but we only got a taste before we get back to the softer romantic separation and finally the big, sweet reunion more closer to Hollywood than West Hollywood.
I don't think all gay-themed films need big sexual content, and I don't think this one suffers greatly without it, but the tone of much of the scenes leading up to what we got made me feel like a moment of sex or just plain physical fun and playfulness at the end was missing.
Overall, this was a good, likeable effort with handsome, charismatic actors who have easy chemistry and give solid performances, and I certainly recommend watching it.