Available Men

It's the first short movies compilation in a long time that I have really enjoyed.I find 5 films out of 7 interesting and well done. The two I am not so fond of is the third story and the follow-up animation.If I had to chose the best one, it would be the story about an older lady Irene and her gay friend Eric :) It is simple, but touching and including a lot of life wisdom. Below you can find my ratings for each of the films (5 is the max):1- 4 stars2- 4 stars3- 1 star (booring)4- 1 stars (way too long)5- 3 stars6- 5 stars7- 4 stars

"Available Men" is a Wolf Video compilation of seven supposedly "sexy short gay films." The number is correct, and they are short (ranging from 6 to 30 minutes). One doesn't even have a gay subject, and the word "sexy" has no business being in the description for at least six of the seven. I'll rate each one individually.The compilation starts off with "Available Men", a rather amusing farce in which two gay males on a blind date are to meet at a certain hotel, at the same time that a high powered Hollywood agent is supposed to meet with an in-demand but somewhat nasty new screenwriter. You can guess the mixup, and predict the laughs, but it is rather funny and the only one of the shorts that doesn't go on too long. 4 stars out of 5."Straight Boys" is the story of two male college roommates, one of whom has a crush on the other. Of course, the straight best female friend of the gay boy helps him to see the light. 3 stars out of 5."Hello Thanks" touches on the experience of running personals ads, and how the ad is tweaked to find the elusive "Mr. Right." 2 stars out of 5 (Notice a trend with the ratings?)"Tumbleweed Town" is a "Brokeback"-wannabe, using toy cowboy figurines and stop-action photography to tell a "love story" that seems much longer than the 8 minutes it actually lasts. 0 stars out of 5.Most of us probably know someone like "The Underminer," a friend who is so self-centered that he will throw a depressed friend into a deeper funk with his insensitivity. Nothing worth telling. 1 out of 5."Irene Williams, Queen of Lincoln Rd" is a sweet story (by a gay filmmaker) about a colorful senior citizen living in Miami Beach. What it is doing on this particular compilation is a mystery. 3 stars out of 5.You may have seen "Sissy Frenchfry" on LOGO, where it has been on rotation on their "shorts" program. Relatively big budget film, lasting a full 30 minutes (seems longer), telling the story of a rather strange high school presided over by a fey principal (Leslie Jordan) and an openly gay student body president. You know the ending five minutes into the film. 3 stars out of 5.

I am uncertain why I always expect more from shorts that are, by definition, short, punchy, lacking (sometimes) substance and style, and frequently leaving me with that "lost time" feeling.Now I love Richard Ruccolo. (See  All Over the Guy .) This is one of my favorite movies. But "his" short is nothing too interesting or substantial, and was disappointing to me.Some of the shorts were entertaining, like a gay student body president who gets challenged by the new straight guy, or the serial personal ad writer. Others were entirely forgettable. Like the stop-motion gay cowboys.My favorite short was "Irene Williams, Queen of Lincoln Road," about an elderly lady in Florida with her own sense of pride, style, and substance. Though even this short goes a little over-long, it has a sense of humanity and warmth which conveys more meaning than the rest of the collection put together. It's not the most professionally-made, but has the most interesting subject and story.It's worth a rental, certainly, but it's mediocre at best.