A Brilliant Conflict

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I absolutely love the episode where Patrick and Richie get to know each other, it is so authentic and as a woman made me think differently about men in general. Richie is a keeper! Too bad they don't show nudity. The series is emotionally raw, culturally educational, not over dramatized, and keeps the viewer interested even if they don't connect with one of the characters due to the engaging interactions within the cast. The addition of a female friend who is straight, edgy, sassy, bs detector, and cute makes me want a gay male bff. The character development is well written and acted. Really glad I happened upon this series, it's been a pleasant surprise.

Tales of the City began as a chronicle of gay life in San Francisco first as a newspaper column then as a novel and finally as a TV mini-series. Looking doesn't even come close to this masterpiece. Even latter day HBO mini-series like Sex and the City owe a lot to this fore runner. Looking is one of those shows that pretends they invented sex when everyone knows sex has been around for a very long time. As Cole Porter said so well "Birds do it, bees do it - even educated fleas do it." The characters in Looking kind of remind me of fleas but not the educated ones. If you haven't heard of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City - it is worth checking out. Maybe your local library has a DVD of it.

"Looking" is sort of this generation's "Boys in the Band", the 1968 play (and 1970 film) that centered on gay men living in New York. We follow three men living in San Francisco, each at different stages in their romantic lives. One, Agustin, is moving in with his long time boyfriend, leaving behind perpetually single, and possibly commitment phobic Patrick, while their friend Dom is weary of growing older and hooking up with younger men. As the season progresses, these story lines get more complicated, as Agustin's carelessness jeopardizes his relationship, Patrick finds himself in a love triangle, and Dom finds himself falling for his older business partner. The show really just employs traditional soap opera conventions to it story lines, but what strengthens it are the actors and the writing. Jonathan Groff is likable and believable as Patrick, as is Murray Bartlett as Dom, and Frankie J Alvaraz, who plays Agustin is good in his role, but his character is unlikeable (and maybe deliberately so). The supporting cast is fantastic too and the scripts are both witty and engaging, Russell Tovey is fantastic as Patrick's new boss. The show's story lines are fairly realistic, and the characters are three dimensional and develop as the season goes along. They are selfish, they seem like real people. This is one thing I really liked about Looking. I can't wait for more.

Looking follows a trio of friends in San Francisco as they deal with various dating conundrums and relationship drama. The first season consists of just eight, 30-minute episodes – which sucks, because this series is great and addictive.Some people have called Looking the gay(er) version of Sex and the City, although that doesn't do the newcomer justice. There are funny bits, sure, but these flow naturally from everyday, believable situations. The tone is more documentary, far less exaggerated, and there isn't a new hook or theme each week. It's just a continuing story that is soap-like without getting soapy. The series doesn't rush, giving intimate scenes – with engaging, natural dialogue – room to breathe. Andrew Haigh's influence as a director is clear. He previously made the well-received movie Weekend, which has the same style. (Though not he but Michael Lannan is the main writer and creator of Looking.)The cast is charming and convincing. And fairly hot, which doesn't hurt, as there is some not-too-crude nudeness. The three main players are Patrick Murray (Jonathan Groff) a twinky game designer who has awkward sexual tension with his boss, Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) a scruffy artist who has trouble finding his inspiration and Dom (Murray Bartlett) a mustached, beefcake waiter with ambitions of opening his own restaurant. Supporting are the scruffy artist's boyfriend (O.T. Fagbenle), Dom's business partner and potential love interest Lynn (Quantum Leap and Enterprise's Scott Bakula), Patrick's aforementioned boss (Russell Tovey of Being Human), Dom's best girl-friend Doris (Lauren Weedman) and last but not least; Richie (Raúl Castillo), Patrick's hot and sincere love interest. An entire, sweet and sexy episode simply follows Richie and Patrick on their first date.It's great to see a group of characters who are representative of gay life without trying too hard. They aren't caricatures and the series doesn't strain something trying to check all the boxes of all the sub-scenes within the gay scene. It doesn't run screaming from gay stereotypes but also doesn't overly sashay towards them. The Big Gay Issues have yet to take center stage – marriage, adoption, discrimination – the show being less militant than something like Queer as Folk. (Opinions may differ on that being good or bad for the gay cause.) Though there is barely a straight person in sight, and only one recurring woman in the cast, anybody watching the series could easily relate to the emotional turmoil these characters go through, regardless of their own orientation.I generally prefer quality over quantity, but Looking is too high- quality for me to not want more quantity. So it's good that a second season is in the works, due late 2014 / early 2015. I guess that it will feature a love-triangle (or two) and I hope that it will show a bit more of the origin of the 'main three'. You don't see them together a lot and their dynamic with each other hasn't really been explored. As long as it stays this good, I will certainly keep Looking.More reviews at: www.popcultjunk.com / Twitter: @PopCultJunk