Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Curapedi 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.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Toadinthehole A closet 'bottom'(the term used by his friend in the film) finds himself in somebody's dreams. He's all dizzy from a recent breakup with the girl back home and all fresh to LA with his cute big eyes and smile to die for. Who will resist him? The boys are not unaware of his charms and shoot pool, throw balls, get pally and all sweaty with John and wonder why he looks so darn aloof when he walks straight past them looking mysterious and glossy. Little do they know that all our John is really doing is developing his photo career with his boss like any normal boy would, behind their backs. If only John knew what he was doing getting all tied up in his secret life!John's confusion takes him to that familiar architype 'the predatory queen' who with that man's man look(no girlyboy for him)is probably in post boyfriend fallout and keen to shift John into gay gear and top him. This seduction scene is the best scene in the film of course. Very very funny. And so well done. The whole film would make a great sitcom and as others have already pointed out here, the fact that it ends suddenly and all too soon could be its cue here in my opinion.....more to come? Yes please.Three cheers to its director, main lead and writer who may have unwittingly introduced a much needed theme to our movie screens...bisexuality, but notice how everyone in the film assumes that if the main character John sleeps with a guy he is automatically gay. Why? Is this the point the script is making or is that true to life? Is it not possible for John to like both equally? None of his friends say its cool to dig both. They think in black or white it seems to me. But that's the point...why?Obviously its nice to be left thinking a film has ended, but clearly there's much more ground to cover...so go for it Mr Rosen sir. Develop the plot in a part two, three four....Does John coming out as a Gay man mean he'll be saying goodbye to his obvious enjoyment sleeping with females? Or will he now be the exclusive Gay he never realised he was? See what I mean? No. Then see the film or think about it please. There are some questions here that further episodes could play with...It is my humble opinion that once you see the film you may like me feel that John's fratpad may expose some further closet 'bottoms'. I'm thinking of the character Jon played by Jesse Janson who kept picking on our hero and calling him gay etc. And in these days of Bromance if Mr Rosen will not write the next bit, then I will. Here is a tremendous opportunity to open up a few more bisexual closets or even a gay one or two along the way.This is a good pilot film for a promising TV series...if not...well then it should be...I rest my case.

scootmandutoo This movie surprised me on many different levels. I was scratching my head, however, coming here and finding a relatively low rating. The comments, though, are fairly spot-on.I am very wary when somebody gets listed as writer, star and director. In the case of this movie, I realized very early on that Mr. Rosen is not only very good with dialogue, but also with conveying characters that are multi-faceted.The performances in this film, especially of Rosen and his female lead, Rachel Castillo, are very strong. It is helped by a script that is very believable, for the most part.There were many instances where gestures and the economy of less dialogue caused moments that were very moving and impressive.What prevented me from giving this film a higher rating was the disappointing nature of the interaction between Rosen and his best friends. As another commenter stated, outside of his best friend, they hardly seemed straight. Which is quite odd, because some of the supporting casting is very well done.But the whole last scene seemed to me as if the production ran out of money. Exactly where you think there will be some dramatic tension when his friends may react to the fact that he had outed himself to another friend, the movie just stops and doesn't even deal with it.I assume Rosen was trying to make the case that after coming out, one's friends will treat you exactly as they did before (well, if they are enlightened friends, yes). But, in this movie, one never knows, because it doesn't get addressed, which makes no sense because prior scenes allude to the fact that it might be a problem.Summary: The positives: Some of the most realistic representations ever written about the coming out process, some very nuanced and strong performances.The negatives: It is an unfinished work. It just ends. Some of the friends are badly miscast.Overall....this movie shows Rosen has an awful lot of talent. Definitely worth checking out. But don't expect much in the way of the film's resolution. It is, as was written earlier, a slice of life. Just not a complete slice.

cfbrown77 There is nothing particularly bad about the Art of Being Straight, but there is nothing especially good. Rachel Castillo does deliver a delightful performance as the lead character's ex-girlfriend who is now in a committed lesbian relationship, but dealing with her attraction to the new guy who moved in next-door. Unfortunately, the parallel main plot and lead performance given by the writer/director Jesse Rosen is not as engaging as he explores his own sexual identity. Mr. Rosen acting is lifeless and his character is dull. However, the film's tone is warm, the dialogue is sincere, and the movie smartly avoids heavy angst (for the most part) and tedious academic explorations of identity politics; however, it just ends up coming up short. The movie is neither intellectually provocative, nor particularly sexy (I am not arguing for more graphic sex scenes, but the few sex scenes which were shot are so insipid and boring they should have simply been left out). The film also occasionally stretches credulity when it needs to be believable. But most problematic is that the movie fails to deliver much of a message beyond "life isn't always black and white"--something other films have conveyed in a much more thoughtful and effective manner. In the end, the film is a mildly interesting "slice of life" flick, but mostly it's just a harmless bit of fluff. It's something worth catching for free on cable, if you have an empty hour on your hands, but it is nothing worth going out of your way to see.

Keb-brand This is a very "slice of life" film. I normally prefer movies with a stronger plot. However, the quality of the performances completely won me over, and I wound up enjoying it a lot.Basically, the movie is about a young guy who moves to LA and has a gay experience with his boss. He's not sure what it means, and it's never really clear whether he is gay or not. The rest of the movie involves the repercussions for him and his relationship with his straight friends.In a parallel plot line, his lesbian friend is having trouble in her relationship, and is considering sleeping with a guy.The plot is pretty thin, and the movie was clearly shot on a very slight budget. But the performances are completely engrossing. Also, the sexually ambiguous nature of the two leading characters is something that I haven't seen depicted in film before. It feels very fresh and contemporary.