Eli: Dan Bucatinsky	Tom: Richard Ruccolo
Brett: Adam Goldberg	Jackie: Sasha Alexander
Esther: Doris Roberts	Rayna: Christina Ricci
Marie: Lisa Kudrow	Director: Julie David

30 Second Bottom Line: Best friends of two gay men arrange for them to meet on a blind date. They try to resist bonding with one another even though there is a very strong mutual attraction.

Story Line: Jackie and Brett (Sasha Alexander and Adam Goldberg) are the best friends of gay men Tom and Eli (Richard Ruccolo and Dan Bucatinsky). Jackie and Brett arrange for a blind date for Tom and Eli who as one would expect, is OK but not great. Were it not for the fact that Jackie and Brett fall madly in love with one another and become engaged, the bickering between Tom and Eli would likely result in a short-term relationship.

Both Tom and Eli are looking for something but they are not sure they will recognize it when they see it. Eli is a crime reporter who is very sensitive, having grown up in a home with supportive touchy feely parents. Tom is a macho man schoolteacher who is a recovering alcoholic who is not afraid to do sexual one night stands. His parents are snobs that are the type that write restrictive rules for their country club to keep Jews and blacks out.

Tom and Eli will get together in the end or the movie will be a heart breaker. They fight and make up so the question is will they grow from their prior experiences to allow a long term relationship that is more like The Confession than …lost…in the film Boys to Men.

Tell Me More About It: Like the film The Deep End, this movie is an adaptation from a story without a gay theme to one where the sexual orientation gives what might be an ordinary plot a special level of interest.

Often in films with GBF (gay best friends), the gay character plays a supporting role to the person we really care about. Here, the gays characters receive mostly equal and at times superior focus.

Esther (Doris Roberts) is the receptionist at a health clinic that does AIDS testing where Eli goes to after he ends a relationship. She is a real pistol as she chats with him about his concern on the outcome of his test and the relationship she has with her husband who has a terminal illness. Supporting cameo appearances are made by Christina Ricci as Eli's sister and Lisa Kudrow as a clueless actress auditioning for a commercial.

There are a number of good laughs generated by Adam Goldberg and Sasha Alexander more so than from Eli and Tom. The outcome for the heterosexual couple was less in doubt than for the gay couple. Because you cared about Tom and Eli, you had to wonder about not just would things work out in the end but how many nails they would have to walk on to get there.

Bucantinsky starred in the stage play of the film which was called "I know You Are, but What Am I? where Niocle Tocantins was his love interest. On the big screen he did a great job making the relationship challenges work even with a change in sexual orientation.

R (strong sexual content and language)

George@reelmoviecritic.com

Dan Bucatinsky: Bounce	Richard Ruccolo: Luck of the Draw
Adam Goldberg: A Beautiful Mind	Sasha Alexander: Lucky 13
Doris Roberts: Full Circle	Julie Davis: Amy's Orgasm