I Think I Do (1997)

Bob (Alexis Arquette) and Brendan (Christian Maelen) were college roommates who are both gay and attracted to each other but never came out while in school. Years later they meet at a reunion where a straight friend of theirs is getting married. Bob has a boyfriend--hunky Sterling (Tuc Watkins) but still has feelings for Brendan. And Brendan still wants Bob...I caught this back in 1997 at a small independent theatre. I loved it so much I went back to see it again the same week (something I never do). The picture was very low budget--and it shows. The threadbare sets are a distraction. Arquette said the production kept running out of money. Also the cast mostly consisted of unknowns. Still this has a good script, energetic performances and complications spinning out of control. It's also very tame in terms of gay sex--there's no nudity (the closest we get is seeing Maelen in his underwear) and kisses are done off screen (when Watkins kisses Arquette you hear it but don't see it). Usually that makes me angry but this was made to appeal to all audiences. A fun light-hearted movie. Well worth seeing. Also interesting to see Marni Nixon on screen and not dubbing somebody's singing voice!

This movie is so dreadfully awful, I can't believe I sat through it just to see how this miserable, unfunny, and poorly acted, directed, and written pathetic excuse for a movie would end. RUN... RUN... RUN for the hills if you ever come across it. The clichés are horrible, the acting no better than a high school play, and the lead character is the most annoying I've ever seen. He's self-loathing, psychopathic, and a twit. The supporting cast are a bunch of cardboard cut-outs and poor excuses to the word "actor." Some earlier reviewer said that this movie is up there with "Beautiful Thing." Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!? My guess would be that the writer of the film patterned the Bob character after himself, which would explain a lot. People don't deserve to be subjected to such trash.

This film is horrible. SO poorly written that it surprises me that anyone can suggest otherwise. The acting is camp, over-the-top, community-theater-amateurish, and generally really bad; almost to the point of insulting. This is not a funny film. It rides on the expectation that gay men are hungry for ANY depiction of gay characters who don't die or suffer. I am not a macabre person, but I found myself wishing that these characters would die. I certainly suffered. But like a seeing a train wreck I couldn't turn away... I couldn't believe it could get any worse. It does. Save yourselves. As a post-script, it might interest some to note that this "voice-to-the-stars" Marni Nixon has a small role in this. There's a reason she didn't hit it big as an actress.

This movie is a total riot. I enjoyed the cast as an ensemble. Tuc Watkins is outstanding as the aging Soap Star, and Patricia Mauceri (who co-starred with Watkins on One Life to Live) is a total delight. The ending is a little fantasy like, but who cares, I had a great time watching it - and you will too!