Men, Men, Men

The gay male Italian version of Designing Women, with a touch of Maude thrown in for good measure, Men, Men, Men may not resonate with viewers under 40, but those over 40 will be instantly drawn into this very identifiable midlife tableau. Politically incorrect and unapologetically focused on the lives of four well-off middle-aged men, the film adroitly assembles flimsy and predictable plots into a unified backdrop for this humorous but moving examination of friendship, aging, and love. The movie presents four major gay stereotypes without nuance or apology, but plenty of humor: the man who finally leaves his wife and child; the mama's boy; the doctor who enjoys examining hunky patients; and the aging Adonis whose young lover leaves him for a woman. In director Christian de Sica's hands, this well-matched ensemble cast becomes us, with our middle-aged neuroses, our lost loves, and our failures. Pratfalls, visual jokes and a few sudden reversals of fortune keep this movie so light you might be surprised to discover that you've been crying. I cringed over the misogynism here--women are predatory, dumb, or objects of pity--but it really isn't any worse than the man-baiting in The First Wive's Club. Recommended. (K. G. Schneider)