This barely competent dramedy concerns a group of African-American friends—-four gay men and one lesbian—who meet up in New York City a year after graduating from Brown University. Relationship mayhem ensues as Magnus (Jussie Smollett) discovers that his supposedly committed lover (Dustin Ross) has not only been attending orgies but also clandestinely shot a pornographic video in Magnus's own apartment. Meanwhile, the puppy-ish Sebastian (Blake Young-Fountain) has decided he wants to lose his virginity by sleeping with longtime friend Joey (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman); Kyle (Anthony Burrell) is dodging romantic attention; and Langston (Shanika Warren-Markland) is summoning the courage to take up an implicit invitation to have sex with a bar waitress. Written and directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, The Skinny smugly lurches along with a lot of momentum-killing breaks for soft-core porn action, which only detract from the reasonably good performances here. Not recommended. (T. Keogh)
The Skinny
Breaking Glass, 100 min., not rated, DVD: $21.99, Dec. 18 Volume 28, Issue 1
The Skinny
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.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: