Gay romantic comedies are a relatively new movie genre, and they’re still finding their footing, with some doing the job better than others. On balance, they’re steadily improving for the most part, but some offerings still need work. Such is the case with the debut feature from actor-writer-director Max Talisman, a film that definitely has aspects in its favor but others that could use some tweaking. In a nutshell, this romantic comedy tells the story of two men named Zack, one lovelorn (Talisman) and the other trapped in an unsatisfying relationship (Joey Pollari), who meet and fall for one another. However, their romance follows a well-worn, underwhelming, occasionally sappy romcom narrative formula that’s anything but original (regardless of the sexual orientation of the romantic leads involved). What’s more, the plotline is peppered with more than a few stereotypical characters and scenarios, elements that, frankly, feel a little stale and somewhat lazily constructed. On top of this, the performances of many of the cast members (especially among the supporting players) come across as too animated or too forced to be taken seriously, both in their over-the-top, almost cartoonish portrayals and in the sometimes-exaggerated dialogue they’re asked to deliver. At the same time, though, the film also incorporates a plethora of hilarious, highly original, truly inspired one-liners that conjure up colorful images leaving viewers wondering, “How did they ever come up with that idea!” And, despite the screenplay’s all-too-frequent reliance on the aforementioned stereotypes, the picture includes many imaginative and genuinely funny gay-themed moments that pop up seemingly out of nowhere, evoking big laughs at times when least expected. It’s also heartening to see a gay release that makes use of “real” characters in its story (i.e., a plus-sized male protagonist (Talisman) who becomes involved in an entirely believable relationship with an average Joe (Pollari) and does so without going out of its way to draw attention to the fact that it features an atypical couple for a gay film, one that doesn’t default to employing buffed gym bunnies in the lead roles). So where does this mixed bag of attributes leave audiences? For my money, I felt like I was watching a filmed version of the first draft of a movie, one that definitely had potential but that needed refinement in its writing, acting, character development and overall story arc. However, as with releases in any new cinematic genre that’s still coming into its own, there are going to be bumps along the road, and “Things Like This” is no exception. The same can be said for the work of a first-time filmmaker who’s still in search of finding his directorial legs. On both counts, though, there’s certainly promise to be had here, even if there’s still ample room for improvement to get things to where they ought to be.
