All Over the Guy

Plot

Actor and playwright Dan Bucatinsky wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his play I Know You Are, But What Am I?, though for the big-screen version, his slightly fractured love story was given a same-sex twist. Eli (Dan Bucatinsky) is a journalist working with a major L.A. newspaper who is single and not loving it. Eli is also gay, and makes no secret of the fact that he's looking for a nice guy that he can settle down with. Eli's best friend Brett (Adam Goldberg) knows a woman named Jackie (Sasha Alexander), who says she has a friend who would be perfect for Eli. Thus Eli is introduced to Tom (Richard Ruccolo), a special education instructor and devoted nightlife enthusiast. Eli and Tom's first date turns out to be just short of a disaster; Tom indulges in his overweening enthusiasm for alcohol and tobacco, and Eli is disgusted to learn Tom has never seen Gone With the Wind. Things appear to be over for Eli and Tom before they even started, until they meet by chance while shopping a few days later; this time, a conversation rather than an argument develops, and the two end up spending the night together. Eli begins to think love may have finally found him, until Tom dashes off the next morning, leaving Eli to wonder if Tom has any interest at all in a long-term commitment. All Over the Guy also features small cameo roles by Lisa Kudrow, as an actress not skilled in voice-over work, and Christina Ricci as Eli's cynical sister. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Gay romantic comedies have come a long way since In & Out. That's the message of All Over the Guy, in which several characters use the 1997 Kevin Kline starrer as an example of how to make a pandering and homophobic movie that masquerades as an empowering groundbreaker. Executive producer Don Roos, who directed the gay-themed The Opposite of Sex, and director Julie Davis have made one of the most matter-of-fact gay movies to hit the screen, a structurally simple love story which happens to star two men instead of a man and a woman. There's neither a hot-button hook nor anyone debating whether to come out of the closet -- just earnest performances and witty dialogue. Dan Bucatinsky, who stars as Eli and was romantically linked to Roos at the time, neither courts nor shies away from gay jokes in his screenplay, employing them only as a natural part of the teasing camaraderie that characterizes the featured friendships. He perfectly captures Eli's balance between skepticism and yearning, and Richard Ruccolo makes a credible departure from TV's Two Guys and a Girl as the unsentimental stud, Tom. Sasha Alexander and Adam Goldberg are winning as the film's bickering heterosexual couple. Among the supporting performances, Roos regulars Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow are forgettable, but Doris Roberts, as the cheerfully vulgar clinic receptionist who becomes Eli's confidante, nearly steals the show. Look also for Joanna Kerns, late of TV's Growing Pains, playing against type as Tom's alcoholic mom. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast

• Dan Bucatinsky - Eli
• Richard R. Ruccolo - Tom
• Adam Goldberg - Brett
• Sasha Alexander - Jackie
• Christina Ricci - Rayna

Lisa Kudrow - Marie; Doris Roberts - Esther; Tony Abatemarco - David; Joanna Kerns - Lydia; Nicholas Surovy - Jim; Andrea Martin - Ellen

Credit

Patrick Rush - Casting, Sharon Klein - Casting, Peter Mitchell - Costume Designer, Julie Davis - Director, Mary Morrisey - Editor, Glenn Garland - Editor, Susan B. Landau - Executive Producer, Don Roos - Executive Producer, Andrew Williams - Composer (Music Score), Fanee Aaron - Production Designer, Goran Pavicevic - Cinematographer, Dan Bucatinsky - Producer, Lee Howell - Sound/Sound Designer, Dan Bucatinsky - Screenwriter

Previous:	All Over Town (1937 Film), All Over (1976 Film)
Next:	All Over the Town (1949 Film), All Passion Spent (1986 Film)