Just One Time (2000)

This sweet comedy of sexual confusion begins with Anthony (Lane Janger), a New York City fireman who's madly in love with his fiancée Amy (Joelle Carter), but who can't shake his fantasy of seeing Amy being sexually intimate with another woman. With their wedding looming over them, Amy finally agrees to play along--but only if Anthony will do the same for her. Reluctantly, Anthony agrees to go out on a date with their young gay neighbor Victor (Guillermo Diaz). Anthony brings his fellow firemen along for safety, only they end up having more fun than he does. Meanwhile, Amy starts spending time with Michelle (Jennifer Esposito), a lesbian woodworker, and starts getting a little more comfortable with the idea than Anthony ever expected. What makes Just One Time stand out is the respect it gives its characters. Each is a well-written, fully realized individual, not merely a plot device. The story is unpredictable and gently funny. Though the dialogue is often clever, much more humor is found in body language--the myriad ways that people communicate things they're afraid to say out loud. It doesn't hurt that the entire cast is extremely sexy and wears skimpy outfits in the hot New York summer. Esposito is particularly charming. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

More fun than I remember

I rented this film again on a whim; I didn't love it the first time, but seemed interested in seeing it again. It has a couple good actors/actresses in it: Jennifer Esposito and Guillermo Diaz.

I really liked it this time. I think during the second "viewing," I'd gotten over the sorta silly premise: that the straight man wanted to have a tryst with his fiance and another woman prior to their wedding, and this was a sufficiently big problem for man and woman that they spend the bulk of their time, for the week or so before the wedding, trying to resolve it.

This is not a gay-and-lesbian movie, per se, as the main characters are straight, but there are some important and well-sketched secondary characters that are glb and that contribute to the story in sometimes surprising ways. There are some laughs and some decent moments here.

Basically, this isn't a classic, but it is fun, and is interesting as the folks in this film try to resolve their doubts and issues (and prejudices) with each other and within themselves.

Plus the production values are decent here, and the whole film is put together pretty well. I'd give it a chance. November 14, 2006

Should Be Renamed: One Narcissistic Time...or...One Big Yawn!

Sorry, call me old fashioned, but I like to care about a story's characters! This movie, with the feel of a moronic T.V. sitcom, is simply dull as mud. I could not feel the slightest bit of rapport with anyone! It's a juvenile storyline, but not the least bit funny. One can only hope people this dopey only exist in the writer's imagination!

In case anyone is wondering, the word "Narcissistic" means: egotistical, selfish, self-centered and that exactly describes the main character. There's more than enough narcissism in the world! I don't need to watch it on the tube, too! December 19, 2005

Commentary track? Why bother?

This is a harmless enough bit of fantasy. I actually like that the main, straight character is played - very convincingly - by an openly gay man. (I actually had no idea that Lane Janger was gay until I read an interview after the release of the film.) It's a good rental, maybe an interesting subject for a date night when you're getting to know someone.

Now, I have the DVD which includes a commentary track with Lane Janger and Guillermo Diaz. They keep the movie soundtrack way too loud to hear the commentary and Janger is barely audible at times, as if his microphone fell off. Or maybe he's just mumbling. But this may not be a bad thing since this is one of the most boring, unrevealing commentaries I've ever heard on a DVD. You'd think the writer/director/star would have some things to say about his own film but half the time it feels like Diaz is prompting him to talk about an actor or a scene. And there are huge stretches of silence. There should have been a moderator on this one.

Still, that may not bother other viewers. It's a cute movie worth checking out. Recommended to any women dating men who want them to get involved in a 3-way. March 28, 2005

Ah, the Frailty of Manhood!

There are times that Lane Janger (writer, director and lead of this film) looks terrific when captured at the right angle, and other times that he looks tired and ragged around the edges. The same could be said for his film. There is potential here, and it shines through occasionally, but unfortunately not consistently.

Despite the fact that the ultimate effect is cute (isn't that a terrible word to describe a film?!) and charming, I found myself scratching my head once or twice about the basic premise of this sometimes enchanting little ditty. I guess Janger is trying to warn us that no fantasy lives up to the reality. OK...an age-old piece of wisdom...no arguments here, BUT he never REALLY lets his two lead characters experience their fantasies. They just seem to get lost and frustrated on the road leading up to it.

Anthony (Janger's character) wants to see his beloved fiancée, Amy (played by a very winning Jennifer Esposito), have sex Just One Time with another woman before they get married and HAVE to put their fantasies to bed. That's where the first question arises: why do married couples have to stop having fantasies? OK, small detail, let's move on...

Amy does not want to grant her beloved Anthony his somewhat cliché, pubescent, masturbatory fantasy, and tries to get around the problem by one-upping him: if he has sex with a man for her, she'll give herself to a woman for him. Now pride and egos start getting in the way of anyone calling the nonsense off. Enter Guillermo Diaz: your ... excuse for a romantic comedy's gay sidekick. Not to say thatMr. Diaz plays his role poorly; he's actually adorable! That said, his role is no more than a convenient plot devise: the sweet, non-threatening, virginal gay neighbor, who enters on cue, but never causes too much discomfort, either for Anthony or the viewer. Same goes for the conveniently lesbian neighbor played by Joelle Carter, who is planted there to give Amy her brush withhomosexuality.

Whereas Amy at least gets a lesbian kiss of free will out of it all, before she throw up her hands and screams, "bring on the bands and ring the wedding bells", Anthony stays annoyingly heterosexual. Oh, he does have a kiss, but it's aggressive and full of anger and frustration. When he wakes up the next morning next to his token gay friend, he's horrified at the idea that something might have transpired. Thank God, his bedmate is able to clear that fright up within 30 seconds!

Actually, a rather insulting bit of tripe, but if we more emotionally self-assured and mature homosexuals are generous enough to forgive heterosexual men their occasional lapses of taste and decorum for the sake of defending their obviously fragile manhood, then you might actually enjoy the 94 minutes that this film has to offer. July 3, 2002

Even an elephant could forget this one

The writer and director also takes the lead role... a recipe for disaster. The story idea is a good one that could possibly lead to comedy, but it hasn't worked too well here.

If you're a fan of Jennifer Esposito, be warned that she has a very minor role in this movie. June 28, 2002

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