Bedrooms & Hallways

Leo (Kevin McKidd) is an endearing pup of a blue-eyed lad looking for old-fashioned romance with a happily ever after. Convinced to join a friend's drum-thumping New Men's Group ("Let these strong loving men heal you!" begs leader Simon Callow, who all but steals the film as a man in touch with his inner guru), Leo confesses an attraction to another member of the circle in the spirit of sharing. He's the only gay man in the group but his confession starts a cascade of sexual reassessment, all encouraged by Callow's hilarious new age Iron John. Meanwhile Leo's gadfly of a roommate is having sex in other people's bedrooms all over town with his new real estate agent lover (a sly, haughtily confident Hugo Weaving) and Leo reconnects with his childhood girlfriend Sally (Jennifer Ehle), who brightens the film with her sunny smile and wounded yet spirited tenderness. Rose Troche, whose guerrilla American indie Go Fish transformed a lesbian love story into a classic romantic comedy, here straddles screwball farce and sophisticated sitcom with a clumsy style that skews more toward the latter, but she invests it with genuine affection. As the funny but flippant comedy winds up to almost painfully trite pairings between the ricocheting couples-to-be, Troche's loving direction allows everyone their dignity and their charm, even through the most contrived and kooky complications. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

A Very Funny Film

I'm not sure how this charming little comedy escaped me for so long but I'm certainly glad I finally saw it. This 1998 film is directed by Rose Troche ("Go Fish") and stars Kevin McKidd as Leo (Lucius Vorenus in the HBO series "Rome"), James Purefoy as Brendan (Mark Antony in the same series), Simon Callow as Keith, whom I remembered from "Four Weddings and a Funeral", Hugo Weaving as Jeremy ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"), Tom Hollander as Darren ("Gosford Park") and Jennifer Ehle as Sarah ("Pride and Prejudice").

The plot is a hoot. Leo, who plays a young gay man having difficulty with relationships joins one of these men's groups made famous in the U. S. by the likes of the poet Robert Bly where its members get in touch with their manhood by camping out, beating on drums, handling "honesty" stones, et cetera. When Leo confesses that he has feelings for Brendan, who is supposedly straight, you know you are in for a hilarious ride or drumming, in this case.

One of my favorite scenes among many occurs when Leo is recommended a book that will take his mind off of sex. He has already read the first recommendation, an autobiography of Margaret Thatcher so he settles for the second suggestion PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. He then has a highly erotic dream where he is a servant who enjoys being whipped by Mr. Darcy. Just as funny is the episode when Leo's roommate Darren lets Jeremy blindfold him and tie him up spread-eagled on the bed and then proceeds to cut off his "Calvins."

Writing comedy is always a dicey undertaking since what amuses one viewer may not affect another. This little film, however, reminds us just how good British comedy can be-- if that is what this film is since the director is I believe Puerto Rican-- and is one not to be missed. September 1, 2008

Charming, charming, charming.

Fans of HBO's "Rome" and lovers of Brit cinema will enjoy this delightful film about the quest for love, the power of lust, and meaning of friendship. Kevin McKidd, all earnest, soul-searching blue eyes and wistful charm, is Leo, a gay man looking for a relationship. His roommate Darren (Tom Hollander) is obsessed with his new lover, a sex-crazed real estate agent named Jeremy, played by Hugo Weaving. Encouraged by a straight friend to participate in his small, new-age men's group, Leo meets Brendan (James Purefoy), a handsome Irishman recently separated from his girlfriend. Under the auspices of the group leader, hilariously portrayed by Simon Callow, the men--all of them, with the exception of Leo, claiming to be straight--explore their "maleness" and attempt to bond by sharing their feelings and their secrets. While Darren and Jeremy indulge in riotous sex in the assortment of houses to which Jeremy has keys, Leo finds that he is falling in love with Brendan...whose ex-girlfriend Sally (Jennifer Ehle) turns out to be Leo's own long-ago sweetheart.

If this sounds a little bit complicated, it isn't, and the sequence of events is never difficult to figure out. The storyline is charming and entertaining, if a bit predictable, and the acting is excellent. McKidd and Purefoy, who recently starred in HBO's series "Rome" (Purefoy as Mark Antony, McKidd as the Roman soldier Lucius Vorenus), generate a real chemistry in their love scenes together, in addition to being genuine eye candy, and all supporting actors (especially Weaving, with his curled lip and lewdly penetrating stare) do an very fine job. The film is funny and engaging, bawdy but never really vulgar, and a pleasure to watch from start to finish. August 13, 2007

weird ending . . . (SPOILER)

SPOILER: DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING: First of all, I have to say that if you are a fan of HBO's Rome, be prepared to see Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Marc Antony (James Purefoy) making out. I kept yelling at the TV "Noooo!" until my husband told me to stop being silly. I was being silly, but I think I was just jealous of Kevin McKidd (I'm a big fan of James Purefoy). Now that I have that out of the way, I have to say that we enjoyed most of this movie. It's a fun sort of romp and there are some moments that will make you laugh out loud. However, the ending bothered us. We live in San Francisco and have many gay friends, and they were disturbed by the ending too. It seems to suggest that being gay is a choice, as the gay man "Leo" suddenly decides he isn't gay after all. Umm, okay. Maybe he's bisexual? I don't know, it was just an odd ending. Great performances though, with other roles being played by the head elf from LOTR (Hugo Weaving) and Lizzie from Pride & Prejudice (Jennifer Ehle). August 7, 2007

Defining Sexuality

"Bedrooms and Hallways"

Defining Sexuality

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

If you like British comedy, you will love "Bedrooms and Hallways"
(First Run Features), a sophisticated, romantic and funny romp.
Leo and Darren are two gay roommates in London. Each is looking for romance. Darren (Tom Hollander) likes eroticism and wild sex. Leo (Kevin McKidd) is reserved and searches for a meaningful relationship, He joins a new age therapy group and develops a crush on one of it members--Brendan, who has just separated from his girlfriend of years. Leo confesses his feelings for Brendan during a group session and in doing so causes everyone in the group to consider his/her own sexuality. Darren, meanwhile, is carrying on a relationship with what seems to be a conservative real estate agent who is able to combine business and pleasure.
As the film progresses confusion reigns and the theme of the film emerges. It seems that everyone just wants someone to love and sexual preference falls by the wayside. The film examines the fluidity of sexual identity in contemporary society.
Darren's boyfriend uses the homes to which he has realtor access as if they were his own. Leo, at the same time, scandalizes his group when he publicly announces his crush on a straight member who has no problem trying out a new sexual adventure. Leo fears that he may want more than one dip into the gay pot.
"Bedrooms and Hallways" breaks all of the rules of sexual identity and even goes so far as to suggest that sexual desire is anarchic and that there is nothing better than breaking a taboo. Even further it says that the common ground between gay and straight identities is mutable. The investigation of sexual identities, however, never gets in the way of the comic goings on.
The scene at the group session is very funny in a subdued way. The men are all quite proud of their sensitivity but they show how insensitive they are when Leo declares his attraction for Brendan. The fact that Brendan is straight does not prevent him from entering into an affair with Leo--it just slows it down. What seems to stop the two is the fact that Brendan has just ended a relationship with a girl who just happens to be a girl that Leo dated in high school. While this is going on Darren is having romantic trouble with his romantic realtor.
With several plots going on at one time, the movie manages to keep everything going. It is the frivolity of the film that keeps it going.
Surprisingly enough, Leo and Brendan become a twosome. Leo, however, feels that he is losing his heart to a straight man who will leave him, What results s a humorous and good natured treatment of a triangular bisexual romance which involves an overly earnest gay man, a straight man and an adaptable straight woman.
"Bedrooms and Hallways" takes a good slap at the male bonding movement. The movie says to me that it is neither love nor sexual attraction that drives a straight man into a gay man's bed, or a gay man into the arms of a woman--it is narcissism as benign as it is. The question of pride in sexual orientation or gender is simply a by product of the self-help era of independence. What the movie really does is present a drawing room comedy about roommates.
Let me pose these questions in closing---does the sex act define us? By this I mean, if I have sex with a woman, what does that make me? Am I a gay man who had sex with a woman or is there such a thing as queer asexuality? Does sex with the opposite gender threaten queerness? Why are we all put into little boxes? Why can't we just be?
February 3, 2007

The Importance of Being Earnest . . . Sometimes

Oscar Wilde might have done it more eloquently, but his farcical streak runs deep in this delightful little British film about sexual certainties knocked askew.

Sincere, attractive, lovable -- and inexplicably alone -- Leo comes home one evening to find that his odd assemblage of friends and acquaintances has banded together to do that which he most dreaded -- throw him a surprise birthday party. In an inhospitable huff at confronting yet another birthday without a lovemate, he retreats to his bedroom to watch the telly, only to be pried from his retreat by the charming Jennifer Ehle. Then begins a flashback that unfolds the tale of how the evening's guest list came to be and why Leo is in such a funk.

The charm of this movie is that it takes one stereotype after another, plays each for the easy chuckles, and then lands the character somewhere unexpected. Yes, Virginia, fey party boys really can have a heart and a head. And yes, Virginia, fag hags really can fall for straight men. And no, Virginia, things don't always work out well for decent people, even in the movies.

The chief dramatic (and comedic) device of the film is a men's sexuality group that is the turntable onto which the main male characters are set and then spun off into their own sexual limbos. As the hand gleefully spinning the turntable, Simon Callow gives a hilarious send-up of all the New Age silliness of our era.

When all the spinning stops, the characters are all over the place. The uniqueness of this movie is that there are no pat outcomes. Some characters stand up, brush themselves off, and move on. Others are left prone, not sure what to try next or even whether to get up.

High art? No. A clever, heartful, and bittersweet tale of how all the modern options for pursuing all the nuances of our sexuality still don't always answer our questions or our needs? Definitely.



P.S. This movie is out on Region 1 DVD. I have no idea why this site shows only a German-language version on VHS.

P.P.S. You can see a more recent pairing of the two male stars of this movie (Kevin McKidd and James Purefoy) in HBO's miniseries "Rome".

January 9, 2006

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