January 06, 2010

Puccini for Beginners - 3 stars

This is a cute straight-gay-bi love triangle which does a good job of getting into issues of sexual orientation and finding your adult self in your 20s. Starring Justin Kirk, whom I love in Weeds, this small film has a lot of entertaining characters who walk dangerously close to being stereotypes without crossing the line.

Set in NYC with a down-to-earth script, the movie has a realistic feel, even though there is some dense dialogue.

It is very similar to movies with this theme like Kissing Jessica Stein and Three of Hearts which makes me think there is a gay movie producer who is trying to introduce LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, trans) culture to the straight world. Even though it's formulaic, the writer does a good job of keeping the dialogue fresh and the actors are real pros. I especially love the angry lesbian philosopher who bitterly judges everyone. Also nice is the surprise ending.

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