This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

IMDB gave this film a good rating and sounded interesting so I thought OK give it a go. I couldn't turn away, the acting was phenomenal. A 'small' film with unknown actors but beautifully done and acted. Anywhere else it would have been turgid and unbelievable but i loved everyone,everyone makes this film shine. The actors maintain the believabiility the sensitivity and innocence of their characters It's a shame its taken 20 years to discover this gem of a film. Anyone who would like to enjoy a romantic film whether they are straight or gay can't help but admire these actors

"Get Real" (1998) is a simple work, told with great craftsmanship and capable to approach a complex universe of feelings that arise among gay teenagers as they accepted their sexual orientation.This is a film for all ages, but especially recommended for gay people who want to think about their adolescence and empathize with other lives in similar circumstances.The film has a great delicacy and sensitivity. Shore plays nicely with the silences, achieving a highly emotional space. Also the dialogs of the characters are very realistic and are well adapted to their ages.You can see the full review in my site: www.arqueocinema.com

Pretty much the standard high school melodrama replete with the usual cast of characters: (a) gay boy who is out at least to himself and to (b) a girl confidante who is dealing with her own self-image issues, (c) the school jock/head boy who is in denial to himself and the world but suddenly can't keep his hands off character(a) as long as no one sees them, (d) the usual assortment of Neanderthal classmates & adults (e) a couple of confused, but sympathetic girl classmates who suddenly see the light and, of course, (f) the protective omniscient mother & incredulous, hostile, clueless father. Obviously it's been done before with varying degrees of success and with variations in the supporting cast, sometimes as comic-tragedy, sometimes as tragic-comedy, and always awash with angst, suspense & drama. This offering was fairly well done. The jock seemed overly mercurial and the main character at times seemed annoyingly insensitive to the jock's desire to protect his fragile self-image in the mean streets of secondary school, but then real people aren't always consistent with our expectations and they often display irrational self-defeating behavior. If you can't get enough of coming-of-age, rites-of-passage, high school soap operas, this is somewhat better than the average. On the other hand, if you give it a miss you needn't worry about the gap it'll leave in your résumé.

I first saw "Get Real" in mid-May 2006. Looking back at this film and when it was released (1999 in the USA) it is startling that the sexual repression that is so prevalent in the film, can still exist in this day and age. The film "Maurice" (1987) took place in 1910 and the repression was worse and yet that film had a much more positive ending.In 'Get Real' the two characters, Steven Carter and John Dixon couldn't be more different in their sexual experiences. It's Steven Carter the younger boy who has had more sexual contact with men and its John Dixon who is unable to deal with his sexual feelings. I find that the character, John Dixon, is the most fascinating of the two boys because he is living a double life. He presents an image of strong, athletic and smart, but he is also filled with anxiety, confusion and doubts.Like the most of us. John Dixon's greatest fear is that people will find out about his true sexual identity. In the end John Dixon is in severe denial, he is blind to the reality of his sexuality and but it cannot be denied. Is this love these two boys are experiencing? This is a newly discovered sexual companionship, and a very deep emotional connection that neither one has ever experienced before.It is all new and exciting. This intensity clouds what is really happening to them.The only way they can express honesty to each other is for the boys to reach for some booze, that is the only way some very painful truths will surface. There are two very powerful and revealing scenes that are key to the whole film and that are emotionally raw and memorable. Yet they make promises they never can keep. John Dixon was so afraid of any one finding out he was gay, that he piled on needless lies, to his parents and friends and then he began to resent Steven and despise himself.These two boy's were very dependent on one another and the result was they became very needy, which then had the effect of suffocating one another. They needed to come up for some air.Sadly, John Dixon doesn't realize that a lot of Steven's friends and family know about him. John's friend's suspect the truth and so does his father. He could of said something to them, but that is easier said than done.John Dixon is so consumed by fear he can't see 'straight'. John strikes back at Steven Carter in a most vicious way. John Dixon tells Steven Carter that he loves him but his actions reveal the real truth. It's not how you 'feel' towards someone that shows you love them. It is how you treat them, and that is with respect and decency. Is this love or hate?