BearCity (2010)

This film tells the story of a young slim man who is embarrassed by his attraction to older plump men. He finds love via a series of unlikely mishaps."BearCity" is hailed as the bear version of "Sex and the City". Though it is clearly the filmmaker's attempt to do so, the result is a less glamorous and more ridiculous version of "Sex and the City". The acting is bad consistently across the board, and the story is full of clichés and even ridiculous moments. Are we really expected to believe that someone spilling coffee on his T shirt would remove that T shirt at once? And the numerous romantic moments always get truncated by expected appearances of other people? And the scene of trying clothes on - oh that's exactly when they want to be "Sex and the City" like, but the result is painful to watch! I won't be rushing to watch the sequel.

The two main characters are a "twink" and a "silver daddy". Neither is a bear. Almost all their FRIENDS are various types of bears, but they aren't. And the romance isn't that good, is basically about one character getting over his worry that his friends won't like his new boyfriend if they get together. And of course, in the end, they don't care at all.The supporting characters have the best lines and situations. I wish the MAIN STORY were as interesting.This is reminding me of "Bear Nation", which is essentially a collection of interviews of bear CHASERS.Is there some reason that "bear" movies can't have bears at their lead characters?

This lovely movie explores bear and gay culture marbled with both reality and surreality, and sentimentality with catty jokes, all on a non-political island of sexy bearish joy.The appeal of this independent movie was evident as it circled the globe in LGBT film festivals, getting awards, and sending huge theaters full of bears into knowing smiles, giggles, and LOLs -- I heard even more jokes watching the DVD because laughter from live audiences drowned many of them out! BearCity's charm comes from Doug Langway's cobbling together of strong professional talent with very real and yummy non-professional bears.Gay bears are a new subject for romantic comedy feature films. In many ways fictional stories can be more realistic than documentaries; BearCity was inspired by real events and people."The Bear Movement" is to me more a "re-emergence" against social pressure to shave, look civilized, and young -- a re-emergence driven by the just plain hotness of masculine hairy men -- that attraction just can't be kept under control for more than a few decades in a row. Judging from how similar California bears are to Brazilian bears are to Turkish bears are to English bears, it has enormous and wide-spread gay appeal and genetic talent that many ladies seem to enjoy too.Bear appreciation is, as are most things, based on personal taste. If you see a table full of bears in a restaurant and need to ask what a bear is, you'll never understand. Weight, masculinity, body hair, whiskers, muscle, shaved heads, flattops, etc. are all part of the list of bear features each bear and chaser puts in their own order of "woofiness". Why do bears woof? Because they like to, and they also like to growl. Grouch Marx woofs wolfishly at a woman in one of his movies. Again, can't be explained. Why do bears make so many bear puns? A bear is a visual pun at its core, and human bears have a spiritual parallel to ursine bears as well.And if you watch the trailer on YouTube with a cold heart and loins, no worries, bears just aren't your sexual taste. Most entertainment is aimed at non-fans -- this is only the first feature-length fiction about bears. If BearCity touches you in one or more places, no amount of ursine puns or situational silliness will spoil your enjoyment of it. Bears like a good laugh, drink, meal, cruise, seduction, romance, dance, drive, swim, nap, etc., and have given up trying to make non-fans comfortable with them!The DVD's commentary, documentary, and photo gallery add to your appreciation of what went into making BearCity.I can't wait for the sequel!

A movie is good when a script is plausible, the directing taking risks while making smart, wise choices, the actors loose themselves and find an inner voice, and the music, wardrobe, location and atmosphere comprehensively transport me from my personal reality to the reality of the "living" movie. It is under this simplified rendition of how I watch movies, that judge whether a movie is good.I do not project my past onto the art of the movie makers.I go to movies to escape from my here and now and to go on the creative journeys others provide. The only question is: Is the movie a complete trip, as described above, to sustain my journey, my escape.So, did BearCity take me on a journey? Yes! All the necessary pieces were in place. There was humor and anger, laughter and louder laughter, and with each scene, the plot and tension pulled me in deeper and deeper. There were no serious or minor missteps that made me remember I was escaping.At movie's end, I - like 80 percent of the audience who journeyed with me - stood and applauded. So, while my life and the lives of the character's may not be trace the same biographical story, the movie itself provided me with a journey into another life, another world where I could wholly believe in life. 9 out of 10.