Originally reviewed Nov 30, 2005
I rented the movie The Man I Love from NetFlix and it came with decent ratings. Amazon, NetFlix and TLA Video all have it at 3.5/5 stars. The viewer reviews were mostly positive so I thought it might be worth a watch. Having watched it this evening, I regret to report that it was not all that good.
The good: Martin and Lucas have a few touching scenes. There are a few good scenes with Martin’s mother, a funny one where Lucas’ father finds out that he’s got a boyfriend, and scene where the two are dancing. The acting was good Characters seemed genuine. I liked the concept of the story… Lovely scenic views.
The bad: Seemingly random scenes that don’t appear to have any contribution to the story line. Someone dancing on the Arc was one. Huh? There were a few others that were so fleeting and didn’t make enough sense to be memorable. Also watching Martin drag his mother and Lucas to the cemetery and though his struggle with his disease was difficult to watch. He was really miserable. From a Netflix review: “The heart of the story, represented by the main character, is self-centered and sadistic. He repeatedly manipulates, tortures and abuses everyone around him.”
The ugly: Unbelievable story line and poor plot development. First, Martin decides he likes Lucas after having just met him. Considering Lucas’ aloof and unfriendly nature at that point in the movie, there’s no credible reason why. Lucas is actually pretty mean to him as he tries to get rid of him. Then, poof! Suddenly they have become friends. How did this happen? I thought perhaps I’d fallen asleep and missed something. Martin is all about getting with Lucas, but when Lucas comes around he spends the rest of the movie trying to get rid of him. Then after kicking Lucas out for the night, Martin moves away and leaves Lucas heartbroken not knowing where he is. Then Poof! next you know they’re getting married. The plot had such gaping holes at times that I wondered if we’d ventured into a dream sequence.
The verdict: Interesting premise, some touching scenes, good concepts. Bad plot and character development make this movie difficult to watch and follow. 2 out of 5 stars [apples]for me.
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