Shut Up & Kiss Me (2010) User Reviews

Shut up and Poz me!!!!

[gabolariosm · 3/10 · 11 April 2013]

So basically this movie is about Grey's self-centered ideas of love, in which if Ben loves him, he should let him walk all over him, allow him to cheat around and possibly infect him with HIV, because he is honest and tells him from the beginning that he doesn't care enough to compromise in anything, but Ben has to completely change how he thinks, acts and feels about all things for them to be together...

And Ben insecure, stupid and desperate for attention, allows it all just to have someone...

At the expense of himself, his ideas and his dignity (He didn't have much of either tho, so the loss was not significant).

LOVE! *with a sarcastic tone* ◔_◔

The acting/directing is just as terrible as the script, but kudos for it being very realistic, because the world is full of narcissistic brutes with aids and weak minded losers so desperate not to be alone that they would do anything just to be with someone, even if the person they are with doesn't give a penny about them or how they feel and think...

This movie successfully depicts the workings of a completely toxic gay relationship!!!

The movie is supposed to be based in Ronnie Kerr's life experiences and in the movie he plays Ben... After watching the movie i kinda feel in real life Ronnie is actually represented by Grey, but if it indeed he is playing as himself, then he has to be very stupid to have allowed someone treat him like the Grey character does and then dedicating an entire movie championing his selfish ideas of what love is... All in all, an entertaining, but very poorly executed and stupidly written movie about having no self esteem.

Not so bad

[ofumalow · 5/10 · 1 July 2013]

Though pretty poorly crafted (it looks like it cost $1.50 to film, and that includes craft services), this romance struck me as rather sweet--but then like the main character, I'm a romantic rather than a sex-driven pragmatist. Calling it a "comedy" is a huge stretch, since it's pretty much entirely a drama with relatively little humor. The performances were decent and while some people here clearly can't relate to the protagonist, I do. The biggest false note (SPOILER) is a strange, abrupt ending in which the hero suddenly seems to accept his lover's promiscuity without any actual working-through-this preparation on screen. It's one of those endings so arbitrary that it makes you think "Did they run out of money to finish the film properly, and this was the best they could do?"

An OK romantic tragedy for a rainy day

[chriswg75 · 4/10 · 4 January 2011]

I saw this title on Netflix and decided to give it a chance. Overall, I appreciate what they were trying to do with this movie. Yes, it was on a cheap budget and the acting was a little less than you would expect from bigger budget and/or professional actors. In addition, some of the film's effects (like the main character talking to the audience explaining terms of the gay world) were unnecessary and a rip off of other films (like Broken Hearts Club).

On the other hand, the characters seemed genuine and I liked that the main character had a wide range of friends (not just gay hags and queeny gay boys). I also liked that the characters seemed like people you would meet in everyday life. Up until the ending, I liked the story and character development and found myself empathizing with the main character.

The problem is with the ending. Without going into too much detail, I have to say that the main character sacrificed his values and morals for someone he thought he loved. It almost leaves you feeling upset with him (I hardly felt sorry or sad for him, and I certainly wasn't happy for him). And the story failed to convey to me why the main character would love the guy who hurt him so much.

I'd say if you have 1.5 hours to kill and its free,watch this film. The characters seem real and not typical stereotypes, plus there are some funny scenes and lines (especially the first half). But don't expect to go away with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Shut up and... just shut up.

[doctor_dolittle · 13 July 2011]

"Shut Up and Kiss Me" is a disappointment for low-budget gay cinema. What could have a been an examination of modern relationships being approached from an old-fashioned mindset turns into a noxious portrayal of settling for less than you deserve. Our story revolves around Ben, a man in search of love in ALL the wrong places. He tries video dating, internet profiles, setups from friends, all to no success. Finally, by pure fate, his new neighbor, Gray, comes running into his life. For all of Ben's troubles with trying to find Mr. Right, Gray has Mr. Right and a ton of personal troubles. For the better part of an hour, we are given a cutesy development of their relationship as they try to dispose of their emotional baggage. The journey is sweet, though very short-lived, for by the time we reach the final fifteen minutes, we are given stupid choices stacked atop one another by both of the leads. This would be suitable enough if this were a study in how easily one can be blinded by love, not knowing the person you thought you did, or even just trying to look past someone's flaws that will inevitably be a relationships downfall. However, what started out as enjoyable quickly turns into disgust as you will find yourself chastising the characters like you would a friend in an abusive relationship. You know it does no good, but you still have to voice your opinion. For those looking for a sweet, light, decently made low-budget gay-themed film, stop at the one hour mark and save yourself from disappointment, which unfortunately is not what the characters in this film do.

Oh Man Is This bad

[ekeby · 2/10 · 2 June 2015]

I'm sorry, but as a gay man, I found this really, really bad. I mean, it's offensive, it's so bad. I feel sorry for anyone--especially inexperienced or young gay guys--who thinks that there's anything authentic about any of this.

It's fakey. The dialog is not only trite, it's boring. When it tries to be funny, it's cringe-making. But when the dialog is dealing with love, commitment, or just trying to show how two gay guys talk together, it's just fake. It's too writer-ish. People just don't talk that way.

And that's one of the big problems with this kind of movie. It's people *talking* about life. It's not a movie that *shows* people living a life. And if you've got a dialog-driven movie, you better have A+++ dialog or why bother?

It's not that this movie doesn't depict situations that gay guys deal with, it does. It's just doing it really, really badly.

Direct to DVD trash....

[amberbaer · 1/10 · 6 December 2010]

Thank God I got to watch this for free as part of my online Netflix account, because if I had paid money for this, I would have been asking for it all back.

Knowing that it was going to be bad, I didn't know just how bad, and within the first 30 minutes of this thankfully short movie, I wanted to turn away.

The acting is beyond wooden, no emotional range outside of sad puppy dog face is seen on the lead actor. The secondary actor gets the chance to repeat the same tired old lines from every "you can't love me I'm H.I.V" story that's been done in the last 20 years. I'm a man whore looking for love with the one that will love me and let me play around because that's who I am, like it, love it, love me or leave.....Oh God, I just gave away the plot.

There are 2 good points to this whole movie: Dylan Vox is hysterical as a trick gone wrong....funny stuff, but then he's always funny in these roles. And the other part, sudden nudity....we cut from fighting in the kitchen to "sword" fighting in the bedroom with barely any transition, at least the actors are decent size, otherwise I would had to laugh at that part of the movie too....and the "shut up and kiss me" line was over-used....just like the tired and trite dialog throughout the whole movie...writers should not be permitted to act out the lines that they're written...and this movie drives that point home like putting a steak in the heart of a vampire....kill it now before it makes more! Now that was funny....this movie is just a**

In the words of the immortal Karen Walker...

[Coralknight · 2/10 · 9 September 2016]

"oh, no, honey...no..." The funny thing here is I immediately saw the lead character, Ronnie Kerr and thought "wait...I just saw a total piece of crap/waste of time with this guy in it yesterday" and sure enough, went to IMDb and saw not only was he also the lead in the tragic assault to gay cinema called "Saltwater", but also wrote both of them. I'd say that was the only funny thing about this film at all, but I have to be completely honest and say there are a couple of really good performances which were obviously ad-lib-ed (no, not Mark Cirillo's same tired character he does in every performance that will give him a part because he will do full-frontal) but rather the opening scene with the director...yet even HER awesome performance was butchered through very bad editing and B-roll throughout-style camera-work. Look, I get that everyone needs a hobby...but at this point I'd say this niche genre of cheap, badly written/acted/filmed gay films is reaching saturation; no one gets a "pass" anymore, so come back when you have REAL and NEW to say (or at the very least entertaining).

Settle Up & Kiss Him

[thesar-2 · 4/10 · 16 February 2011]

With a hilarious opening and promise, unfortunately Shut Up & Kiss Me went south fast…in regards to quality.

My guess was $10,000 budget, and I thought was being generous. In reality, I was thinking $5,000. It turns out it was $15,000 and it shows in the After-School sets, exterior shots and fake-café/gym scenes. I'm putting that all aside – as, kudos to them to making an independent movie. Let's see if the heart was there.

Yeah, for the most part. These aren't professional actors. Obviously. Did they give it their all? Absolutely. They believed in the product. And the lead (and writer) Ronnie Kerr, who plays Ben, was actually not only good, but at times, sweet and funny. Does he have a while to go to go beyond porn-star-status? (More later…on the porn part, that is.) I hope.

Ben's looking for love. He tries video dating…internet dating…and friend setting him up dating. Only stalking will help him come out of his shell. End justifies the means…take it for what it's worth, but he meets jogger Grey (Gabelein) and they strike it off. Only, Grey states up front: he's not a one-man man.

Get used to him reminding everyone, especially the audience, that he said that up front…

Anyways, he proves it, at least twice and you'll wonder if this will damper the relationship. Well, watch the incredibly short 78-minute feature to find out.

Despite the extreme low production value, I liked the feature. Kerr had me rolling in scenes, as did other characters, namely his best-straight/stereotyped-buddy and business partner, Vinnie (Russo). And believe it, the opening was a great shot. Original, funny and looked like it was set to take this feature to the stars. Unfortunately, it didn't, but the rest was worth a shot. Even if you don't agree with the end "message."

On a side note: there is gratuitous full-frontal male nudity, for roughly twenty seconds during a sex scene. Kerr seems to be some kind of body-builder, and the first reaction when I "saw him" was: "Well, I guess he doesn't use steroids."

Side Note II: I can't believe how much I had in common with the character of Ben. It was uncanny. Now, before you judge…I wouldn't agree AT ALL with his final decision and before you think I'm a "stalker"…fail to interest me, and you have nothing to worry about. :-)

Gave me a good time but then left me with emptiness (very 50/50)

[Gustavo_Valadares · 5/10 · 16 October 2021]

It works very well as a romantic comedy/drama about the obstacles of reaching the ideal relationship that works in the world of gay dating.

The positives can be said about the actors and actress being super gorgeous, the story gets engaging right at the beggining, it's very light, there are good hot scenes, and gay guys are not overly steryotyped like every gay drama.

Now, the negatives...

there are a lot of pointless subjects tossed in the air without any reason that gets involved in the story at times but it's never clear how much it weights at the end or at what degree we should care about them; themes like: hiv, bissexuality, having kids, monogamy, commitment, future. They are thrown in the story, it does have some relevancy but it's never clear how.

Honestly, I was fully enjoying the movie all the way past middle because a lot of stuff was being built to make a good satisfying or unsatisfying ending, characters were being developed, conflicts happened but suddenly, in the last 10 minutes of the movie (or even less) it is presented some weird ending that doesn't resolve any of the problems and causes a lot of confusion and revolt. It's VERY clear that the script writter doesn't know how to deal with conflicts in the slightest!

Feels like they shoot the movie with a good script all the away to 2nd act an then they got tired or didn't know what to do than threw a simple "And they lived happily ever after (or not)... the end". Very odd.

The 2 main actors are completely in the 50/50 scale too:

• Ben it's interpreted by a guy who is very good at acting like a "boy in love" with shining puppy eyes, romantic posture and voice, he is also great in acting as normal relatable guy, however, when the sad part happens he doesn't convey at all that he is sad, angry or confused, contemplative or anything, it's so akward. The cliché emotional part where you have to shout "go away and never come back" it's so soft spoken, he also puts a smiling face when fighting in a very weird way, it doesn't feel any natural at all, although I should add that the script doesn't help much,

• The main romantic interest of our protagonist it's played very well as charming guy in a way that it's very compellingand attractive, but... that's it, nothing else in him seems authentical. He can't express very well love or passion, he can't express internally conflicted, he can't express devious intent, sad, suprised, angry. All the way to the end he is a very confusing 'object of desire' only.

All his meaningful scenes are very confusing, there is a discussion scene that in one shot he looks so deep at our protagonist with a change in posture that I was thinking he was going to turn violent, but no, it was a one weird take, other time he says he is conflicted but he seems very chill, other time he says he is destroyed but he seems so inconvincing that appears tha he is just messing with the protagonist (is he?), this character itself is super weird by the addition of the bad script and akward acting interpretation....

Other nitpick is that I don't think that anyone ever uses the 'gay lingo' they try to explain in the movie, so why even bother puting there? Just to add some style? Okay I guess..

Finally, the morals at the end are very deplorable, I really hope it's not really the personal experience of the director... In case you are wondering, the title of the movie is 'that' because the 'wonderful' moral of the movie is thist, by the way:

"It's okay being constantly hurted by your loved one as long as he is honest enough to rub it in your face, just suck it up and you'll be fine"

or

"If you feel a strong connection with someone in a meaningful way, you have to let the other one act any way they want because what you think and want it's just selfish and pointless in a relationship"

Admitedly, the last 1 0minutes of this movie is such a mess that made me think much more poorly than good of the movie...

And, to anyone who already watched this I ask: was this a bad ending played as good, or was that a good ending played bad?

Real movie

[funshop · 7/10 · 8 February 2020]

I enjoyed this movie mostly because it portrayed a very real gay situation. The ending was the only part that seemed to be fake.

Shut Up and Give It A Try!

[fb-993-276009 · 8/10 · 5 March 2011]

A fresh take on familiar themes--this 78-minute movie packs a decent amount of humor and poignancy in a short amount of time. While the main plot evolved around dating, I really enjoyed the friendship between the main character (Ben) and his straight best friend/workout buddy (Vinnie).

There were a couple of brief sex scenes that may surprise (shock, delight, etc.) some viewers, but for the most part this film focuses on the importance of friendships and the challenges of dating in the gay world.

This indie flick was likely shot on a budget, and like many movies you need to be in the right space to get the most out of your viewing experience. If you can be patient and suspend your disbelief like a good movie-goer should, I think you'll find this to be an enjoyable film that examines a variety of friendships and romantic relationships.

P.S. I'm SOOOO glad this was available on Netflix Streaming!

Not As Bad As Some May Say

[hjames-97822 · 7/10 · 31 August 2015]

OK, I am a Ronnie Kerr fan. I admit it. I wish he would write and produce more films. He's likable, built and likes a happy ending even if he has to invent one.

Look, making indie gay films isn't easy. It''s a miracle most of them get made at all. They almost never have enough money. They have to use peoples houses for sets. They have to shoot video because film costs a fortune.

The lighting is only tolerable. The sound too. The dialog is sometimes lame. But there's some very good scenes in this movie. The sidewalk soaking is one. But the opening with the silly woman from the video dating service is, I admit, annoying.

Ronnie likes to market his movies to the 30-40 year old gay crowd and older. Some of us want to see more mature gay mean dealing with their own issues. There's more than enough twink stuff out there as it is.

I wish Kerr would come back. I'll buy when he does.

I liked it

[stevenw-1 · 9 February 2011]

I love that the notion of a non-monogamist man and a fully monogamist man decide to make it work. They do love each other and, I trust, they continue to set boundaries and grow from this. There are very complicated and "gray" feelings that can come up between people. Often, I have seen first-hand such a couple go through life completely fooling themselves. In this film, the writer bravely shows us a couple who recognize infidelity and decide to trudge ahead. That is very honest. I've seen reviews here where some feel our main character is copping-out in some way. I think he's really willing to accept his man without any false hopes that he'll change in the future. One can go through life waiting for Mr. Right who can do No Wrong. One can wait an eternity and never meet anyone in that process. Life is short, love who you love and accept who they are. Our main character should be confident enough to realize that, although his partner may have quick sex with someone else at any point, it's ultimately meaningless. He may also change since this could be his first truly meaningful love. Most people get really selfish in relationships and refuse to share...but it often happens without them knowing it. It happens to many people gay and straight. This couple is fully up front with that from the start and I find that very brave. It may not be one persons idea of a true, loving relationship but it will be for someone else. A couple ultimately decides what is allowed in their relationship and there is no set template in society that should decide that for them. What is considered wrong for some people and what is considered right is really nobody else's business but the two men involved in this relationship. I found the acting by the two lead men very credible. Ronnie Kerr has long been a favorite of mine and Scott Gabelein (resembling a young Dennis Quaid) is very good as well. I was quite surprised at the main character took the route he did, but I don't blame him one bit. I'm glad he chose to experience this situation at least once. It may work or it may not - but at least they both are trying.

Enjoyable but with issues

[myonge-72119 · 7/10 · 21 March 2020]

Have to say that on the whole I enjoyed this movie. It was certainly not blockbuster or Academy Award material but it was an enjoyable watch. (Let's be honest not all Academy award winners are worth watching either if that is what you were looking for) I guess the issue for me was the reasoning behind Gray's(?)argument that Ben should just accept his playing around because that's just the way he is, was a little ingenuous since he was not even willing to consider Ben's side of the argument or his feelings.

Other than that the movie was fun to watch. thank you for producing it.

A film that deserves respect

[jromanbaker · 8/10 · 19 May 2020]

Ron Smith and Scott Gabelein are both good in this film and there is too much trashing of the script and the performances on this site. I saw it by accident and I was moved and interested in their emotional development. Yes, I do mean emotional because despite a brief bedroom scene there is nothing to see of their physical intimacy. I do not want to give away spoilers so I will simply mention that this is a love story in the true sense of the word. Attraction and then emotion are in the foreground and this is beautifully conveyed. It was clearly made on a small budget, but does that really matter if the heart of the film is two endearing and very believable characters ? There is a lot of talk and some of it is banal, but then so is some of the dialogue in a Rohmer film. There have been criticisms here about the writing, probably from people who would respect a Rohmer film and I think they are wrong. People do talk in this way, trying to be witty and falling flat. Often I found here that the clichés were accurate, but back to the central point. This film is well worth seeing as it reflects many problems in gay relationships and I will watch it again for its sincerity and its respect for love.

Cute until the end.

[mlago-28-21308 · 6/10 · 21 April 2022]

I find the ending of this movie problematic. First of all, the jump from the restaurant scene to the last scene doesn't make sense. Secondly, how is judgmental for Ben to want monagamy in his relationship? Why should Ben be expected to change. "It doesn't mean anything." If that's true than why did you do it?

Really cute story, love the characters

[celebration72 · 10/10 · 13 April 2019]

This is a Really cute story, & I love the characters but the story kinda jumps & the scenery is very poor, but all in all I have this 10 stars because most of us have lived the storyline of this movie. It's a sweet movie & it's worth watching. Just don't expect a blockbuster movie.

Yes, I liked it.

[tommy5677 · 10/10 · 11 September 2020]

Ronnie Kerr, now Ron Smith, writes and stars in this adorable romp that illustrates the challenges of dating and relationships. Ben's friends accuse him of being a commitment phobe but an idealist at heart he just can't imagine settling and seems to be on an unrealistic quest for Mr. Right. Enter Grey, a man Ben falls in love with almost immediately. But, is he really Mr. Right?

The low budget feel of this movie is palpable throughout. From lighting and sound to film quality issues, it almost feels like it was shot on video tape. Annoying distractions but the script is good and occasionally it's hilariously funny. The acting is really OK

Get past the drawbacks and you've got a cute movie here. I recommend it.