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Before and After

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Nathan Weir cosplay as Cyclops from the X-Men

From Instagram

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It was discount Tuesday at my local theater, so I decided to see “I Don't Understand You,” a comedy about a gay couple celebrating their 10th anniversary with a trip to Italy. The title refers to their recurring problem of not understanding Italian— hilarity ensues… no, actual death and destruction ensue. Let me explain.

The film inverts the horror movie trope of innocent tourists trapped at a secluded farmhouse, trying to escape a psychopath. The twist is that because they don’t understand Italian, they accidentally start killing their hosts, and trying to cover up one murder only leads to the next.

The idea might have been funny with more experienced writers or a more experienced director. But the movie was written and directed by an actual gay couple (David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano) whose writing and directing resume is rather light.

One problem is that the story takes too long to set up. Gay couple Dom and Cole (played by comedians Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells) spend time talking about adoption, flying to Italy, having a romantic dinner, and meeting friends for another dinner. It’s thirty minutes of setup, none of it funny.

Eventually, Dom & Cole drive off to celebrate their 10th anniversary at a remote farmhouse, hosted by an old woman who doesn’t speak English. But when the power goes out… oops! (Spoiler alert) the old lady falls down the stairs. (Actually, this was spoiled in the trailer.)

In theory, Dom & Cole are hapless Americans who accidentally killed a few people. But at one point, Cole suddenly starts acting like an actual psycho, stalking an innocent woman. Weird.

The movie should have become a screwball horror comedy… but it didn’t. I don’t think I laughed once. I wasted my time and money on this movie, so you don’t have to— avoid it even if it’s available on a streaming service later.

Note: Andrew Rannells is an out gay actor, but Nick Kroll is straight (and married with children). Knowing this, I never really bought them as a gay couple, even when they kissed a few times.

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When “Overcompensating” first showed up on Amazon Prime’s menu, I watched maybe 2 minutes, then turned it off. Later, a friend commented on it, saying that for a story about a college student coming out as gay, it was bland.

“Overcompensating” was created by, written by, and stars Benito Skinner. He made a name for himself on YouTube and TikTok doing celebrity impressions and lip-syncing songs. He must be popular enough for Amazon to give him a TV series.

Benito plays a college freshman coming to the realization that he’s gay. Anywhere else, that story would be covered in one or maybe two episodes, but Benny’s journey takes the entire eight episodes, and he doesn’t actually come out of the closet at the end. Maybe my friend thought it was bland because very little of importance happens in each episode. There’s lots of talk about sex and lots of simulated sex, but nearly all of it is boy-girl-straight sex.

Who is the target audience? Can it be gay men? Are they that interested in listening to straight frat boys talking about fucking pussy and saying “No homo” all the time? Maybe the real audience is straight women who might find Benny’s non-threatening closeted gay boy charming.

That brings us to the show’s co-lead, Wally Baram, as Benny’s BFF, Carmen. With a name like Wally, you might think Carmen is somewhere on the LGBTQIA spectrum, but I think she’s a woman. Baram is the best thing on the show. Her character is more complex than Benny’s, and she is a much better actress.

To be honest, Benny’s acting style is pretty mid— mostly consisting of a confused expression. The show may be based on his own college experience, but even in 2015, coming out had to be a lot easier than this.

That brings me to the biggest problem with the show (aside from Benny’s limited acting skills). Benito Skinner is too old. He’s 32 playing a 19 year old college freshman. Watching him moon over another guy is weird and unbelievable. Why is this obviously gay man on the cusp of middle age, pretending to be a closeted boy toy?

Benny is obsessed with Miles (Rish Shah, who is 28 years old playing 19). While he’s central to the story, Miles’s character is underdeveloped… bland even. We eventually meet Benny’s high school crush, played by Lukas Gage (also in his 30s playing a 19-year-old). All of this coming-out dramedy would be a whole lot more compelling if it were performed by guys who looked a lot younger.

On the whole, I found the character arcs of Benny’s sister Grace (Mary Beth Barone) and her douche of a boyfriend (Adam DiMarco) more interesting than Benny. At least they had character arcs.

And after 8 episodes of watching Benny lie to his friends, betray them, and reject gay friends, Benny is still a spineless closeted jerk.

The only time I laughed out loud in the entire series was when an improv group asked for a word to use as the basis for their next skit. Someone shouted out “queef”. It was such a random word. And as a gay man, I should not know what it means! (A vagina fart).

There’s lots of nudity - women bare their boobs, and there are a few scenes where guys drop trou to show off their butts (including Benny). Benny has a roommate played by Austin Lindsay. He appears in a few episodes, but he’s less than a character - his sole purpose is to appear fully naked, cock exposed. (I did laugh when he used a towel to floss between his butt crack.)

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More at:

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This references Las Meninas, a painting by Diego Velázquez completed in 1656. It depicted the five-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa surrounded by her entourage of maids of honour, chaperone, bodyguard, with Velázquez himself working at a large canvas. Behind them at the doorway are the King & Queen of Spain.

The painting currently hangs in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

Jorge Monlongo - Adventure Time

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It was discount Tuesday at my local theater, so I decided to see “I Don't Understand You,” a comedy about a gay couple celebrating their 10th anniversary with a trip to Italy. The title refers to their recurring problem of not understanding Italian— hilarity ensues… no, actual death and destruction ensue. Let me explain.

The film inverts the horror movie trope of innocent tourists trapped at a secluded farmhouse, trying to escape a psychopath. The twist is that because they don’t understand Italian, they accidentally start killing their hosts, and trying to cover up one murder only leads to the next.

The idea might have been funny with more experienced writers or a more experienced director. But the movie was written and directed by an actual gay couple (David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano) whose writing and directing resume is rather light.

One problem is that the story takes too long to set up. Gay couple Dom and Cole (played by comedians Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells) spend time talking about adoption, flying to Italy, having a romantic dinner, and meeting friends for another dinner. It’s thirty minutes of setup, none of it funny.

Eventually, Dom & Cole drive off to celebrate their 10th anniversary at a remote farmhouse, hosted by an old woman who doesn’t speak English. But when the power goes out… oops! (Spoiler alert) the old lady falls down the stairs. (Actually, this was spoiled in the trailer.)

In theory, Dom & Cole are hapless Americans who accidentally killed a few people. But at one point, Cole suddenly starts acting like an actual psycho, stalking an innocent woman. Weird.

The movie should have become a screwball horror comedy… but it didn’t. I don’t think I laughed once. I wasted my time and money on this movie, so you don’t have to— avoid it even if it’s available on a streaming service later.

Note: Andrew Rannells is an out gay actor, but Nick Kroll is straight (and married with children). Knowing this, I never really bought them as a gay couple, even when they kissed a few times.

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These are the facts. We have to stop Trump from destroying our Constitutional Republic Democracy, even if it’s the last thing we ever do l… http://dlvr.it/TLGt56

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