Had this collection of four festival-winning gay shorts been about heterosexual relationships, it probably would never have been released. But since gay-themed films have proved to be box office gold, we're forced, as with any exploited genre, to put up with the dregs. P. David Ebersole's "Death In Venice, CA" follows an older, troubled academic who believes himself in love with a hunky 17-year-old. For all its pretensions, the film confuses love and lust, making a mockery of the characters. Barry Purves' animated "Achilles," about Greek legends Achilles and Patroclus, is well made, but it's positively undone by the medium. Jerky animated movements make the graphic sex scenes laughable, so it's hard to take the film seriously. Terracino's quirky "My Polish Waiter" follows a customer infatuated with his waiter. Too bad the performances will make you want to fast-forward. The final short, George Camarda's "Miguel, Ma Belle," about an HIV-positive man dumped by his dentist boyfriend, relies on soap-opera theatrics to reveal a cliched relationship. Not recommended. (L. Russo)
Boys in Love
(First Run Features, 83 min., not rated) Vol. 12, Issue 3
Boys in Love
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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