C.O.G. (2013)

This shouldn't be called really a Gay themed movie (the lead isn't gay at all) but for the sake of few gay scene it does called like it. This movie runs a story like in the Bible "The Prodigal Son" sort of like that. An arrogant, over confident, humble, smart ass, boastful, full of pride person that as he step into trying new in his life he found a lot of contradiction of what he believes in himself. As he met new people, he experience a lot of mixes, on thoughts, characteristics, etc; that not all people around him is just how he pictured, for example is his own mother( his mother also cares for him but its not as what he believe).The movie is just a mix scenes of experiences of a person though you might learn in life but acting were not so good played.

I expected to last 10 minutes and then click off. I thought it would be a comedy. I wound up mesmerized. I approach all films with extreme caution, because I expect either a liberal message, or a Christian one, and I don't want to be manipulated.This one offered neither. One reviewer mentioned a "nihilist" viewpoint, but I'm not sure about that either, because there were some good people depicted in this film. Hence the world is not hopeless.The young actor and his older "mentor" were equally great. I rarely say that about anyone. No one could have played their parts any better.The Oregon scenery was breathtaking, and the music was effective in creating a sense of bewilderment. The decay of the human soul was set amidst the purity of pristine farms, pines, and fog.The world is a dark place. That doesn't mean everyone is dark and everything is hopeless and doomed. I guarantee you that some factory workers are decent normal people who take pride in their work ethic.Having said that, the types depicted here were real and do exist in abundance in the real world. That comes as a tough pill to swallow for idealists. We want to believe that the poor are humble and sweet. Actually, many are trash, which is why they stay poor.And yet we need their labor and their bravery in battle. It's twisted and ironic, but so is the world.I was expecting this film to trash Christians and Christianity and call them all hypocrites, but that's not what happened. The couple that housed the boy were lovely people, and the church congregants appeared genuinely peaceful and loving.I could have done without the gay thing, but I think I get it. His mom probably shunned him when he came out, and he felt guilty about who he was, so maybe he thought going out west would change him. Especially with his female friend.But the gay thing just added a layer of awkwardness to an already awkward situation. Even straight, he would have been a fish out of water.The final scene was brilliant. His mentor had good and bad within his soul, but ultimately arrogance took over. Christianity often attracts lost souls and sinners, and it's very hard to keep their true nature from rearing its ugly head.It was a terrific movie. Check it out if you have the patience for character/dialog-driven plots and can tolerate the bleakest view of human nature.

"C.O.G." is the journey of one man based on the real life journey of writer David Sedaris. David (Jonathan Groff) is an academically-minded man in his twenties who has destroyed every relationship with his own arrogance. He's not entirely aware of it, as he thinks he's on a journey with his girlfriend after they read The Grapes of Wrath and decided to get back to nature. But really his ex-girlfriend had no such journey in mind.Now on his own, he's determined to be true to himself. This involves sharing his nihilistic, anti-religious views with anyone who dares to have a conversation with him, but not being totally open with his homosexuality.He finds himself working in an orchard which, as you can guess, involves people who have a relationship with God, people on the conservative side who don't get the gay culture, and people who don't like pedantic intellectuals teaching them about real literature. David doesn't fit in very well.I loved the first half of the film. The more he mocked religion, the more I loved it. But as David finds himself in trouble (due to not fitting in very well and due to his ability to destroy any relationship he has with his arrogance), the film starts taking on a different tune. One which seems to be the exact opposite of what drew people in in the first place. While it could just be that I didn't get whatever they were trying to say, the second half of the film seems to go against what people would have liked in the first half. Those that would like the messages in the ending probably would have been turned off by David's first anti- religious rant (which comes in the opening scene). And, to me, that would lead to a film with no audience remaining."C.O.G." stands for Child of God and you are going to have to have an extremely open mind to all points of view, both pro and anti organized religion and to sexual orientation, to enjoy this film. I appreciate Jonathan Groff taking on a character like this, but I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to have enjoyed his character as much as I did at the beginning as he moves too far away from that in the remainder of the film.

the stupidities in this wimpy movie are just beyond any way to count. first, we see this wimpy guy on a bus which is more like a doomsday bus to hell instead of going to oregon. the exaggerate scenes of a female fellow traveler sitting beside him, keep yelling, cursing, screaming filthy dirty complaints to him, a total stranger, simply not probable at all. then we see two young people doing the sexual thing in public in front of him and other passengers is another absolutely impossible and exaggerated scene so dramatically arranged to give you some thought-to-be interesting episode on the bus is another crap the stupid screenplay trying to make you believe this film is such an unique crap. BUT IT'S NOT, okay? then we see this wimpy young man, a college graduate, trying to drag a huge and heavy empty gas tank into the remote town from the apple farm, that pathetic arrangement is nothing but stupid. then this guy meets a guy in town trying to sell him the idea of god, the so-called c.o.g. crap but he claims that he is an atheist....the stupidity, unnatural scenarios, improbable exaggerations are on and on. and you dare to tell me that you are more thoughtful and more philosophic that you can always appreciate something stupidities and transform them into profound precious living lessons? givemeabreak, will you.