Blog From The Bench

This is a review of Straight Men and The Men Who Love Them.

File this one in the category of "gay people will buy almost anything with the right packaging and title". I've noticed recently some of my most popular reviews have been of box sets with names like Sexy Gay Favorites and Passionate Gay Classics. They're never quite what the title promises, and thankfully Straight Men and The Men Who Love Them is another example of a title just meant to sell a collection of odd shorts from around the world. Why "thankfully"? Because I hate the idea that "gay" men find "straight" men objects of desire to the point where they would "love" them. Hate to burst anyone's fantasy, but gay men are attracted to each other and rarely find classic traditional straight men much of a turn-on. Sure a straight guy can be attractive, but honestly a straight woman can be attractive to to many gay men. But when you get down to the nitty gritty business of love - straight men would never cut it. They don't take care of themselves mostly, and they don't have the potential to make a gay guy very happy... unless they are in truth gay men. Trust me on this... if you're really a straight guy, gay guys may think you're cute but you are inexperienced and would be a lousy target for them. You're probably not THAT attractive to make them want to "convert" you to the other side of the fence. Now they may want to redo your living space and force you to dress better, but that was covered by Bravo pretty damn well.

This disc contains 8 short flims and an odd trailer. Most of them were made overseas, and the only uniting theme is they usually deal with a man in the closet somehow. It would be more apt to call the collection "Closeted men and the men who force them out". The best short here is about a straight guy who meets a gay guy when he mistakenly thinks he's meeting a girl for a blind Internet date. They meet and talk, and discover they have a lot in common. They agree to be friends, and nothing more is made of it. That short is the only US entry on the disc and is called "Coffee Date". It's the best thing on here.

If you like Spanish boys or Italians, then the rest of the disc is for you. Mainly we get grainy short films from foreign countries that seem longer when you watch them than their average 12 minute length. They have plots that usually concern two men who fall for each other in some way, and must come to terms with their relationship. All have subtitles, and all seem substandard and hardly even up to the Boys Life collections that were so popular at gay film festivals. Really these aren't inspiring, and the only thing you may find is some nice eye candy once in a while. Pity, but it's just not that strong.

Apart from an intriguing title, it's a let down. Sound familiar?