Over the years, I've had discussion with various gay friends about "gay sensibility." Does such a thing exist, and, if so, how is it defined? One way a term can be defined is by negation--telling what something is not. "Outing Riley" will define by negation very clearly what "Gay Sensibility" is not. This is a heterosexual teen comedy--only it's not the least bit funny, if you're older than 14 and have an IQ higher than 70.
Here's a sampling of this film's "humor": Luke and Connor are in a bar where a horse race is being televised. A woman joins them and asks if they have any money on the horses. "Yes," they say. "On number 2, My Face." So they begin cheering the horse on by saying, "Come on, My Face." Finally, as the race ends the woman realizes she's been made a fool of, shouting out in the bar, "Come on (ejaculate) on my face." Ha, ha! Isn't that just a gut-buster? Another scene--a flashback--shows the father getting exercise equipment for Christmas. He tries out the rowing machine or the slant board (I'm uncertain exactly which it was), and after straining his midsection with a few moves, he expels a loud, explosive fart. If that's your idea of comedy, you'll love this film's "humor." And guess where Connor and Luke arrange to meet Bobby's boyfriend Luke? At a hot dog stand named Weiner Circle. Ain't that just too funny?
We are introduced to Bobby's three Irish brothers and his sister. Oldest brother, Jack Riley, is a priest, and the depiction of his character here makes him a disgusting person, which, perhaps, was the filmmaker's intention, though I doubt it. Jack reveals to his brothers bits of scandalous information that he's learned in the confessional. During a baptismal scene, Jack is paying more attention to trying to hear what his two rude brothers and sister are talking about in the church pews while the baptismal ceremony is going on at the altar. He's hypocritical. He's bifurcated--a priest in the church and rectory but someone else quite different when off the church property. Brother Luke Riley is a pothead and magic mushroom devotee, even though he's married, the father of two daughters, and apparently in his early 30s. And then there's Connor Riley, the overweight internet porn addict--also married and a father.
There isn't an iota of conviction in this film. I didn't for a minute believe that Bobby Riley was gay. Pete Jones remained a straight man playing a gay character. I couldn't believe in Bobby and his boyfriend Andy's love for each other. We see mighty little of Bobby and Andy together, for one thing, and when we do see them together, they are awkward and stiff with each other, incapable of speaking naturally, and certainly not behaving as lovers of several years.
We're to believe that Connor and Luke both come to accept Bobby as gay because they arrange a surprise Coming Out party for him. Nonsense. The priest gives out with the usual Catholic line--the church doesn't condemn a homosexual, just homosexual acts. He says he's still praying for Bobby and hopes he'll make a better choice. This guy is the hypocrite to end them all.
Finally, the only gay moment occurs in a brief ten second (or so) fantasy scene that Bobby has which recalls an Esther Williams water ballet as choreographed by Busby Berkeley. So all is not lost, after all!
I don't think a writer, director, or actor has to be gay to portray gays and their lives successfully. I conclude that Pete Jones is an inept writer and director whose heterosexual sensibility and penchant for gross-out teen comedies was glued unto a story about a gay man coming out.
If you want to know what it's like to come out as a gay or lesbian to a family of religious parents and siblings, I'd recommend the excellent "For the Bible Tells Me So." There's no comedy there, though there are, for the most part, happy endings of acceptance. And, yes, there are comedies about gays and lesbians coming out, but "Outing Riley" isn't one of them.
How did this film get made?
Here's a sampling of this film's "humor": Luke and Connor are in a bar where a horse race is being televised. A woman joins them and asks if they have any money on the horses. "Yes," they say. "On number 2, My Face." So they begin cheering the horse on by saying, "Come on, My Face." Finally, as the race ends the woman realizes she's been made a fool of, shouting out in the bar, "Come on (ejaculate) on my face." Ha, ha! Isn't that just a gut-buster? Another scene--a flashback--shows the father getting exercise equipment for Christmas. He tries out the rowing machine or the slant board (I'm uncertain exactly which it was), and after straining his midsection with a few moves, he expels a loud, explosive fart. If that's your idea of comedy, you'll love this film's "humor." And guess where Connor and Luke arrange to meet Bobby's boyfriend Luke? At a hot dog stand named Weiner Circle. Ain't that just too funny?
We are introduced to Bobby's three Irish brothers and his sister. Oldest brother, Jack Riley, is a priest, and the depiction of his character here makes him a disgusting person, which, perhaps, was the filmmaker's intention, though I doubt it. Jack reveals to his brothers bits of scandalous information that he's learned in the confessional. During a baptismal scene, Jack is paying more attention to trying to hear what his two rude brothers and sister are talking about in the church pews while the baptismal ceremony is going on at the altar. He's hypocritical. He's bifurcated--a priest in the church and rectory but someone else quite different when off the church property. Brother Luke Riley is a pothead and magic mushroom devotee, even though he's married, the father of two daughters, and apparently in his early 30s. And then there's Connor Riley, the overweight internet porn addict--also married and a father.
There isn't an iota of conviction in this film. I didn't for a minute believe that Bobby Riley was gay. Pete Jones remained a straight man playing a gay character. I couldn't believe in Bobby and his boyfriend Andy's love for each other. We see mighty little of Bobby and Andy together, for one thing, and when we do see them together, they are awkward and stiff with each other, incapable of speaking naturally, and certainly not behaving as lovers of several years.
We're to believe that Connor and Luke both come to accept Bobby as gay because they arrange a surprise Coming Out party for him. Nonsense. The priest gives out with the usual Catholic line--the church doesn't condemn a homosexual, just homosexual acts. He says he's still praying for Bobby and hopes he'll make a better choice. This guy is the hypocrite to end them all.
Finally, the only gay moment occurs in a brief ten second (or so) fantasy scene that Bobby has which recalls an Esther Williams water ballet as choreographed by Busby Berkeley. So all is not lost, after all!
I don't think a writer, director, or actor has to be gay to portray gays and their lives successfully. I conclude that Pete Jones is an inept writer and director whose heterosexual sensibility and penchant for gross-out teen comedies was glued unto a story about a gay man coming out.
If you want to know what it's like to come out as a gay or lesbian to a family of religious parents and siblings, I'd recommend the excellent "For the Bible Tells Me So." There's no comedy there, though there are, for the most part, happy endings of acceptance. And, yes, there are comedies about gays and lesbians coming out, but "Outing Riley" isn't one of them.
How did this film get made?