My Review: The Skinny

Patrik-Ian Polk produced, wrote, and directed his 3rd film, The Skinny.

Here's the premise:

 THE SKINNY, a sharply scripted comedy about a group of four young, black, gay men (Magnus, Sebastian, Kyle, Joey) and their lesbian best friend (Langston). They arrange to meet up in New York City one year after their graduation from Brown University. Their plans for a weekend of fun start off well, relaxed in each other’s company as only old friends can be. But old tensions quickly resurface.

Drinking, drugs, hidden desire and the demands of promiscuity put friendship, trust and even lives at risk. In between sharp one-liners and a great soundtrack there’s a few important lessons that these pleasure-seekers must learn for themselves. Written with a real sense of the demands of urban living, these bright and believable characters will remind you of someone you know. Remaining true to his past work, Polk addresses issues in THE SKINNY that face the LGBT community such as date-rape, infidelity, and HIV/AIDS awareness.

After watching it, twice, I was... well... disappointed. There were several pieces that didn't come together for me and the plot really slipped near the end. I will give my vague bullet point review.

• The theme of the film seemed to be this: no one knows anything.
• The dialogue was not cute. There is more adult conversations in Degrassi.
• I wasn't convinced these characters went to Brown, especially Sebastian.
• Magnus is not a name you should give a character, unless he's a mutant or a wizard.
• And speaking of him, I didn't care about him. He just seemed to be another victim. In fact, the entire main cast were victims.
• Who willingly takes unknown drugs at a club they normally don't go to? Or who takes unknown drugs after the age of 21? Oh I know, the same character who gets raped and later jumps on a parade float (WTF?)
• The characters looked alike way too much. At one point, I wanted them to wear name tags so I could tell them apart.
• A lot happened in 4 days.
• Most of the movie seemed to be in a bar. If I was going to see my best friends, I don't think I would spend most of the time in bars.
• Magnus' ex was too much and his reasons why he was a bad boyfriend was so cliche.
• The friends didn't act like best friends, just friends.
• The plot was all over the place. I wasn't sure what was the real story of the movie.
• The bathroom sex scene was out of place.
• Who hides under a table in a bar?
• This film makes Eating Out or Latter Days look like Citizen Kane.

I wouldn't recommend this film. I hoped it would have been better... maybe next time.