The premise sounded cute, and I do have a penchant for comedy, so I purchased this film assuming that it would be a typical independent gay video. In other words, I expected it to be poorly acted, poorly directed and have a marginal plot used as a barely justified excuse to show lots of beefcake. Surprise! Although there were certain aspects of the plot that I found ridiculous (the main one being the idea that the rich, handsome, muscular, intelligent advertising exec would hire a relatively skinny immature male hustler and then fall in love with him) the picture managed to grab my attention fairly early on and hold it. The main problem for me was that I personally found the hustler to be the least sexually appealing of the three main characters. Since the ad exec (to my taste) was ten times better looking than the hustler he lusts after, I didn't buy it for a second. However, I was pleased by the fact that the film didn't seem to pander to viewers only interested in seeing naked torsos, and the humor came across as genuine and, in spots, quite clever. As the film progressed, I found myself warming to the characters, and their situations suddenly seemed almost believable. In the end, I decided I liked this movie quite a bit more than I thought I would. You may too, as long as you don't expect too much more than a pleasant romantic diversion.
Review of 200 American
