eCupid (2011)

Such a frustrating disappointment

People are voting emotionally.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

From the brain of someone who was far too influenced by the Wizard of Oz as a child comes this disappointing schlock. Behind all the attempts at relevance (i.e. talk of "apps" and conversations over a computer screen) lies that old familiar nugget of wisdom; there's no place like home...even if that happens to be a sex-less relationship where neither side talks or seems to care what or how the other is doing. We're supposed to believe that after 7 years, this fictitious couple can't seem to see the slightest of warning signs in their relationship or careers. But no, wait-- there's even more suspension of disbelief we need to invest in, which entails a magical app that conjures up fantasy guys who do everything except what an actual fantasy would entail. I get that the "Steam Room Stories" guys wanted to try their hand at feature-length film (and how they managed to get Morgan Fairchild is beyond me...maybe she babysat one of them during her hiatus in the 90s?) But this just isn't cute, funny, witty, relevant or unique. What it IS however, is not worth watching.

This film has more good looking guys than you can shake a stick at. The leads are all hunky and so are all the supporting cast. The story is very light and predictable but cute and sweet nonetheless. Morgan Fairchild makes a cameo appearance and practically steals the film, but then she has always been absolutely wonderful in everything she does. There are lots of twists and turns as well as really great photography and West Hollywood and LA never looked better. My bud and I watched the film in a single sitting as part of our mini film festival we are doing only taking breaks to check the cast here. Apparently, the leads are all working still and considering how good they are in this film it seems their futures are secure. This is the kind of film you never get tired of seeing again and again because it is so great to look at and the story is so uplifting.

As someone else pointed out, this plot is a very predictable collection of romantic comedy clichés - with the minimal distinction that the leads are two men. It's equality in the sense that even lousy movies can be made for us, so that we as homosexuals can think of ourselves as more than clever or stylish, but as trite, boring, simplistic, absurd and illogical as "Who's That Girl," "My Bosses Daughter" or "All About Steve" - just think, that last movie, which got nominated as Worst Picture of 2009, with Bullock and Cooper as Worse Screen Couple (http://tinyurl.com/n8z3qnf). Of course, this movie would never been recognized for a Razzie due to a lack of mass appeal. That it was picked as a selection at three gay film festivals (all three of which have some 4 or so dozen features selected) OR that it won some "awards" at three random festivals, awards which do not even get listed on a site such as IMDb (or any other similar sites) speak volumes at how minimal standards are today - when a truly interesting gay relationship story such as say DESERT HEARTS would have been the official selection and something like this would have been ignored by the selection committee.

I loved it. It was sweet and told a universal story of how it can take a long crazy journey to find the love that is right in front of you. All of that with a modern tech twist (an app that throws Marshall's wilting relationship with his boyfriend Gabe into turmoil in order to help him understand that his true love for Gabe was there all the time). It made a classic story seem fresh and interesting.The performances of the leads were subtle and the chemistry was unmistakable. The supporting "cupids" were cute, funny, and witty, and Morgan was wonderful as Venus herself. And it was great to have a movie that showed that gay relationships have the same problems as straight ones. Share this movie with someone you love!