SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
... View MoreReally Surprised!
... View MoreLack of good storyline.
... View MoreI think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
... View MoreAfter watching about half the film I kept thinking that an educated, intelligent, successful person would never so easily hook up with some guy he had a chance encounter with at a liquor store, let alone almost immediately claim that he "really loved" the guy. And, if that wasn't sufficiently incredible, he certainly wouldn't stick around once the guy started hitting on him for money for drugs, followed by making a scene at a bar proclaiming that "you don't own me" and "I'll do whatever I want." I even checked in this forum at that point to see what others thought about the plausibility of all this and initially agreed 100% with a reviewer who wrote several lines beginning with "There is absolutely no way any sensible person would " and who concluded "The implausibilities in the story are the film's major weakness." That's exactly what I felt too.But I gave it some further thought and watched the rest of the movie with a bit of fast-forwarding. There are a lot of people, intelligent or not, educated or not, sophisticated or not, who sometimes do totally irrational things when driven by infatuation or, more bluntly, by lust. It may imply a degree of vulnerability but people who seem to have their act together can still be vulnerable as well.I doubt at this point in life I'd be so easily drawn into doing something so stupid, but then opportunities to be irrational with someone as sexy as the character Denny don't come my way for reasons other than my sensible, world-weary personality.Real people do incredibly stupid things when it comes to sex. If they're lucky, they're not too badly hurt by the experiences and they do return to making sensible choices as was the case with Rusty. Quite often people in movies do things that we would never do and act in a way that seems irrational to us, but most of us know real people who do such things. The news often reports on famous, supposedly well-respected, sensible people who do incredibly reckless things because of sex. We may even look back on our own lives and recall some amazingly implausible things we did because of sex.Nonetheless, even after accepting Rusty's illogical behavior as realistic for some emotionally fragile people and also noting that the two main characters in the movie are definitely easy on the eyes, it is still by no means a great movie. There was never any sense of Rusty being driven by his infatuation for Denny, we were just told that he really loved him and had to believe that was what was making him act foolishly. Neither the story nor the acting helped to make us understand why Rusty did what he did.
... View MoreMy final take on the title is that a Lucky Bastard is one never to have met and become entangled with a crack addict. The manipulation of educated, successful Rusty, which comes by every single word out of Denny the drug addict's mouth, seems to be remembered verbatim. Rusty's susceptibility comes in part from his being a decent guy who does not expect others to lie. Al Green sang about a kind-hearted woman who revives a poor half-frozen snake. When the snake bites her in return, he brushes aside her betrayal by reminding her that she knew what he was when she warmed him to her bosom.Life's too short to watch bad movies, and this is one I found myself compelled to watch completely. The actors are all capable and believable in the many layers they must weave. The production values won't make you cringe, and the script manages to show a lot in a brief time, without wasting any. The music is unusually good, which is why I'm on line to find out more about it (found it as Amazon mp3 downloads). You don't need to suspend disbelief to enjoy this film. Instead, let this film lead you out of whatever naiveté insists we'd never misstep in the path of an addicted conman without conscience. Here's where you can glimpse how fallible such a belief makes you.
... View MoreI've seen a lot of gay films, and many of them have been just okay. This one, however, was just plain bad.There is absolutely no way any sensible person would give a meth addict $200. There is no way any sensible person would claim to have fallen in love with someone he picked up in a convenience store (especially someone in a supposed committed relationship). There is no way any sensible person would then allow that meth addict to say, "I'm yours, but you don't own me. I can fool around with whoever I want."The implausibilities in the story are the film's major weakness. The bad acting would run a close second. The guy who plays Denny is all smirk and swagger, looking like the love child of Sting and Neil Patrick Harris. He is a complete douchebag with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. What does Rusty know about him that causes him to fall in love? That he's HIV+. And that's about it. Some argued in their review that Denny is somehow damaged and Rusty feels the need to "fix" him in the same way he restores old houses. I don't buy that at all; if that was the intent of the writer/director, it should have been set up a hell of a lot better in the early part of the film.The actor playing Rusty is wooden and bland. At no time do we see the torture he is supposed to be suffering that leads him into this destructive relationship with Denny (which is really an extended one- night stand).I could go on and on, but it would be as pointless as this piece of crap film.The score, by William V. Malpede, alternates between haunting and intense. It's fantastic, and by far the only redeeming aspect of this film.
... View More***Please read carefully, this is not a rant (because someone reported abuse)!*** It is really amazing how things sometimes cross your path (rather than the other way 'round)! I was shocked to discover how this film really resembled my life, its simple truths! A friend of mine suggested I see this film on the grounds that my Phd in architecture concerned LeCorbusier's influence on Gio Ponti. "Why," I said in amazement, "how can it be that a gay themed movie has anything to do with THEM?" "Well, watch the film," he said, "and you will find out," he added with a sly smile. I got so anxious to see the film, as you can guess, and was totally engrossed by the thought.I soon found out that the lead, Rusty, was an architect, like me, and at some point early in the film was assigned a Gio Ponti house renovation - I was thrilled! Well, they didn't get to move on with the script toward that direction (we never get to see the house, unfortunately), but I did not care, I did not have the time to realize it because I was so totally taken by the fact that the crystal meth addicted hustler Rusty passionately falls in love with and has a meaningful relationship for two days (or, is it one? the film got me confused here because, you know, we see Rusty's boyfriend going on a business trip first thing in the film, leaving him his birthday present, and then at the end, after all that has happened it is still his birthday - can it be that it is next year? but then his boyfriend was on a business trip for that long? or, more obvious, he gets to open his present one year after, since it is the same box? this is heady) and as I was saying was so taken by the fact that the really caring hustler's name was Danny, that I didn't notice Gio Ponti was nowhere to be seen.Because Danny is the name of my ex. He was a hustler, too. (So now you know why my friend had put on that sly smile of his!) We were so in love, but his addiction destroyed everything we had. Watching this film was a really painful experience; it brought everything back.He was telling me too these hot, convincing things like "I really care for you, I don't wanna lose you,gimme 200 bucks, so f*** me hard all night, oh, please don't leave me!!gimme the money I tell you!!! yeah, harder," so, when someone declares his love that passionately and repeatedly, it is hard not to leave everything behind and go to the wonderful things he promises you, since you are a rich, handsome, successful architect (but you really love small budget things, this is why you live in a cheap motel).And those trips he had, oh...One was a regular; he had this thing with the wolf and the three piggies, so when he got really high, he started mumbling "I'll huff and I'll buff and I'll blow you!" - really weird stuff! Like when Danny starts shooting himself - with Polaroid shots, that is - and the scene is filled with creepy sophomore narcissism.So then I told him "This doesn't work out; I'm gonna work out." When I got back from the gym he was still there. We had a little conversation. Not long after that he relapsed, so I told him "This doesn't work out; I'm gonna work out." I can't tell you how many times I said this thing allover again, having fallen for his great heart, but I can surely tell you after working out that much, I got the terrific body I now have! And all in the course of a few days, just the way it happened in the film! Isn't life amazing sometimes?
... View More