Coffee Date (2006)

Coffee Date is a fast-paced comedy filled with sexual shenanigans of a misguided kind. Straight-laced Todd (Jonathan Bray) embarks on a blind date with Kelly, but his mundane world is quickly turned inside out when his female date turns out to be a hunk (Wilson Cruz, Party Monster ). Friends and family even his mother not only think he s gay, but help thrust him towards this new romantic endeavor! Surrounded by an excellent supporting cast including comical Jonathan Silverman and Oscar®-nominated Sally Krikland, Coffee Date is a refreshing, madcap comedy of errors and the perfect metrosexual date movie. Product Description

AWESOME MOVIE!!!

Awesome movie, I loved it, it was sooo fuuuunnnyyyy. Debbie Gibson did a great job playing a small role. Gay noy gay, you got to see this. Its not dirty but very sweet. November 1, 2008

Ooooops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Coffee Date"

OOOps!!!!


Amos Lassen

A hit at GLBT festivals, "Coffee Date" is still going strong. It's a very funny and touching look at the nature of friendship and sexual preference. Within it are some of the best performances and good writing that we have had in independent gay cinema in quite some time
The beginning of the film is about an internet date that goes all wrong. That very same date ends up being the start of a beautiful friendship. The director, Steward Wade, expanded what was originally a short film to a full length movie by having the friendship between the two main characters, Todd and Kelly, develop in many different directions.
There is a lot to admire here. For a low budget film it has a lot to say about sexual identity as it looks carefully at hetero-homo angst. Here it is what would happen to a straight man if everyone he knew thought he was gay.
Jonathan Bray is Todd, the straight man in the film. He is not just straight but he thinks himself to be the epitome of straightness. Having been a âaefratâ boy, he aspires to the world of the yuppies but looking for something more than dates of one night. When he goes on a blind date arranged by his brother, he is surprised that his date, Kelly (Wilson Cruz) is a man. What surprises him more that despite their sexual differences, they have a great deal in common.
Todd, in retaliation against his brother, plays a joke by pretending that he and Kelly slept together. Todd could have never expected what was to follow. His mother adores gay men and fees as if she has a new lease on life with a gay son while, at the same time, Kelly is grappling with feelings that he has for his new straight friend.
What makes the entire situation even more interesting is that is something that, indeed, could happen. We have seen that in our struggle for acceptance and equality, many straight men have aligned themselves with us. Even the most self-secure heterosexuals can possibly doubt themselves when they are faced with complete disbelief. With that, âaeCoffee Dateâ falls into all the areas associated with the premise. Masquerading as comedy are the old, tired ideas of both homo- and hetero- sexual behavior and the real laughs are few and far between because the entire situation is plausible.
However, "Coffee Date" does play with stereotypical notions which meant as comedy do not amuse. When Kelly shakes hands with Todd, Todd, who realizes that Kelly is gay, wipes his hand on his shirt and I found this to be somewhat insulting. I also found Todd's reaction to a gay man standing next to him at a urinal to be insulting as well as the standard gay palaver about Streisand and Garland.
With that said, the movie is by and large entertaining. All of us, at one time or another, have been labeled as what we are not. Some of us have fallen for straight guys as well even though we know that affection will never be returned. I am sure that all of us have had blind dates and they were not always what we expected. If you focus on the plot which is somewhat shallow and superficial, you wonâ't get much from the movie. However, if you sit back and relax, you will not only have some great laughs but a story that is easy to identify with. Even with the laughs, the film is quite sensitive and touching.
September 25, 2008

... And then there was the ending.

In a world where gay movies produce stereotypes and clash the "straight" world with the "gay" world, Coffee Date produces a breath of fresh air when a straight man and gay man end up on a blind date and then turn into friends. The movie produces various giggle opportunities when the straight character ends up with a reputation for being gay and is widely accepted by everyone, to the point of his mother wearing PFLAG shirts and his office coworkers giving him a very interesting birthday present. Throughout the entire story his new gay buddy stays at his side as a sympathetic albeit amused ear, and the chemistry between the two men is electric.

However, the movie takes an abrupt turn about thirty minutes from the end, changing the movie from a romantic comedy about two men becoming good friends with leaning towards an eventual romance and ends with the straight man making a complete jerk of himself by using his new gay buddy to prove that he's not straight and they decide to be only friends.

The ending ruined the movie for me. I know that some people aren't comfortable with two men walking into the sunset together holding hands, but just because the ending might not be kosher for everyone doesn't mean that the ending should be changed just for the general populace... Let me explain what I mean: the build-up and chemistry can not be denied for this pairing, especially after their first date together. There are way too many signals conveying that love is in the air... and then that plot is dropped and changed quickly as if the movie originally had a different ending, was changed for the sake of the studio, and didn't get a proper editor. That frustrates me, and I wish that I had been warned of that before I spent my time on the film. August 23, 2008

A Sweet Surprise

What a delightful, charming and refreshing look at gay/straight/friendship/love relationships. There were SO many opportunities for cliche that I couldn't help but sit on the edge of my seat just waiting for them to happen. But they never came. I was constantly surprised at how well the writers (and the truly endearing leads) wandered into situations that could have been simply rehashes of the standard old dreck and yet with a surprising earnestness, a genuine humanity and the kind of subtlety rarely seen in the genre managed to make them seem natural, believable and actually quite touching. And the chemistry between the leads is so palpable that it totally works. This is now officially in my top 10 favorite gay movies. August 22, 2008

Light but Irrestible!

Not knowing what to expect when I purchased the DVD, I really enjoyed this film. Yes, it is light, fun and at times a little lacking in pacing. But, when it does catch fire it becomes a madcap comedy reminiscent of the Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart comedies of the forties. "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "Harvey" immediately comes to mind. It's definitely romantic - but not in the way one usually thinks of romantic films. You would never think of this film as low-budget. Not with the quality of writing, directing and acting. Love that Sally Kirkland! She's always perfect. The two male leads are perfectly cast and project a real caring for each other that goes beyond the usual sexual stereotypes. A believable connection between two human beings It really was wonderful to see this on the screen. I don't know how the director was able to snag the remaining cast as they also were absolutely perfect in their roles. SEE IT! See it for the fun of it. See it because it does not cop out and make fairy tale endings. And it does this with a very sensitive, realistic, and light comic touch. It can also make you feel a little wistful and sad but, at the same time, happy to see a dose of realism in what could have been a fairy tale ending. I am looking forward to more of these types of films. Coffee Date August 4, 2008

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