Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)

First-time director Tommy O'Haver garnered a lot of critical acclaim for this contribution to the "new queer cinema." But he seems more clued in as to its weight than the reviewers. O'Haver rightly calls Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss a Tommy O'Haver "trifle" in the credits and he's on the money in estimating what his film is worth. For sure, the movie has much going for it; it's wholeheartedly enjoyable and packed with the usual dynamic that saturates most gay-themed films: what does one do when that object of desire is heterosexual? In this case O'Haver at least gives his protagonist, Billy, played by Sean P. Hayes, another obsession besides the Brad Pitt-lookalike, prophetically named Gabriel, who is enigmatically acted by Brad Rowe. This is because Billy is a photographer, as addicted to finding the perfect picture as the perfect man. His world is formed by old movies: From Here to Eternity and Imitation of Life are his criteria and the flirty foreplay by which to gauge whether or not a love will have stamina and staying power. Of course, Billy is bound to be disappointed by gay-friendly Gabriel, who is struggling in his own way as much as Billy. Full of the usual mix of second-string players who inhabit the gay milieu (e.g., the best female friend who has man trouble of her own, and the older, secure pal who has secretly held Billy in his sights for some time), O'Haver's film breaks the mold by keeping to a dark note. It resembles a Pedro Almodovar spectacle initially with its saturated look and primary-color palette. But three-fourths through, Billy and his gang walk into the contemporary gay equivalent of a Gidget movie. The shift is surprising and even sometimes funny. Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss has a lot going for it, but it's still just a trifle, and not a milestone in the genre. --Paula Nechak Amazon.com

The Kiss

"Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss"

The Kiss

Amos Lassen

"Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" is the story of a struggling gay photographer, Billy (Sean Hayes), who is tired of being the other man. He falls in love with Gabriel, an aspiring musician and waiter who is in all probability straight. Billy tries to get Gabriel (Brad Rowe) to model for his new project which is a series of photographs based on famous Hollywood screen kisses. At the same time, Billy tries to win Gabriel's affections. There is sexual tension between the two men.
Hayes is wonderful as Billy and Paul Bartel is superb as Billy's mentor and the film is a lot of fun. The issue of gay boy/straight boy is played with dignity and Tommy O'Haver has done an amazing job as director. The characters are believable and you may very well recognize the behavior of someone you know. O'Haver blends stereotype and reality into a totally believable film and we learn that in terms of physical attraction there is very little difference between heterosexuals and homosexuals. Here is a film about relationships and how difficult they are regardless of sexual orientation. Furthermore the film is like dessert--very sweet. It only asks us to sit back and enjoy. There is a lot to look at and plenty of good looking people. "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" manages to maintain the "will he/won't he?" after the audience gives up hoping that Billy and Gabriel will find happiness. It is enough for me to say that I won't say if the two come together but the ending is something else.
October 12, 2008

My Life Exactly...Almost...

This DVD is a great one to have 'just because'. Not only is it witty in many of the right spots, but the heartstrings become comfortably taught during many of the more intimate/emotional portions of the piece - especially during this particular time in history when Gay Rights seem to be evolving each day; it's almost a look back to our (GLBT peoples') own struggle - it's comforting almost. April 26, 2008

Fellini Meets Rob Reiner

Director Tommy O'Haver seems to have been unable to choose between making Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss a no-nonsense romantic comedy or a Fellini epic. (Check out the excellent director's commentary, where he mentions Fellini's Fellini - Satyricon as a potential model.) Whether this is a distraction or part of the movie's charm will depend on the viewer, but either way it's an enjoyable and worthwhile movie.

Although characterized as a "gay film", the dilemma the main character faces will be familiar to everyone in all but the particulars. The reason his cute love interest may or may not be available (is he or isn't he?) isn't important: we've all probably had the experience of falling in love (or lust) with someone who is tantalizingly unavailable to us; we've all probably chased someone who is "wrong" for us and ignored someone who is "right"; and we've probably all been in a situation something like the hysterical bedroom scene.

For those who've only seen Sean Hayes in Will & Grace and had some doubt, the good news is that he apparently can act. Brad Rowe more than adequately fills the eye-candy quota. The musical choices are delightfully eccentric. I'd recommend this movie to almost anyone. July 31, 2007

A romping good time!

I bought this movie because 1)I LOVE anything Matthew Ashford and 2) Sean Hayes is hysterically funny!

Poor Billy's life is a shambles. His career is nosediving and his love life needs a boost. Enter sweet (and sexy) Gabriel who transforms (without ever actually succeeding) in making Billy's dreams come true.

It is a story of unrequitted love and dashed dreams. You might cry at how, no matter what Billy tries, he can never seem to catch a break. We root for the underdog, and at the end, we are all rewarded because Billy's life finally gets better. June 23, 2007

A Pre-"Just Jack" Sean Hayes on a Modest Journey of Self-Discovery

There's nothing wrong with a pleasant film about a gay photographer struggling in LA with not only his career but his growing infatuation with a handsome, ambiguous model. Its modesty is its chief appeal and its chief limitation, as screenwriter/director Tommy O'Haver knowingly dubs the 1998 film a trifle in the credits. Cast before he hit big as Jack McFarland in "Will and Grace", Sean Hayes affectingly plays Billy with nary the supercilious flamboyance that has become his TV character's trademark. It's nice to see that he can do more subtle work even if the material doesn't demand much from him. In typical bo-ho LA fashion, Billy is trying to make a career of taking Polaroid snaps that recall classic screen kisses from the silver screen. He meets Gabriel, a waiter and aspiring model who has a girlfriend but gives signals to Billy of a more prurient interest.

The is-he-or-isn't-he dilemma Billy has about Gabriel takes them separately to Catalina where things work out in a way quite unlike any 1950's Hollywood movie, at least the mainstream kind. That's really it. Naturally, there are scenes of lip-syncing drag queens and Billy's movie-inspired fantasies, but it's mostly by-the-numbers stuff. What does work is the way O'Haver does not make it all about sex and reveals characters in a more gradual manner than one would expect given the premise. Brad Pitt look-alike Brad Rowe fulfills the physical requirements of this role as the desired Gabriel, while the rest of the cast perform gamely in stock roles - Meredith Scott Lynn as Billy's best-girl roommate and Paul Bartel as Billy's queenly photography mentor. A nice musical soundtrack has been assembled, while the quickly released DVD unsurprisingly has no extras. March 24, 2007

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