Denied (2004)

Simply one of the poorest movies ever made. I made it through 35 minutes and threw in the towel. I read enough summaries and reviews to know that it might be a realistic plot but it was horribly put together so it did not matter. Perhaps with a different budget and director the movie would garner 1 star. I felt like I was watching a first year film student's attempt at being artistic and he/she miserably failed. The lighting is beyond poor. I was so bored I counted the minutes until the first scene where the lighting was sufficient to recognize character faces (22 minutes). The sound editing is just bizarre with random scenes with no sound and then bizarre sound effects thrown in for god knows what reason. Sound levels are all over the place and most of the dialogue is inaudible. If I could give it a negative star I would.

I rented 2 DVD's at a local DVD rental store and the 3rd was free so I picked Denied.The plot and description sounded good.I started watching it and realized it was horrible.The picture quality and sound were atrocious.Nobody seemed to be really acting(I could be wrong)but it was like watching someone's home videos of their lives. The picture should have been digitally remastered, the audio or sound should have been done properly,and it desperately needed to be edited because some scenes dragged on way too long and were boring and lame.And then maybe it would be worthy of being released.What a waste! It was painful to watch and I don't know how it even found distribution.The only part I really liked was near the end when Merrick(Matt Austin) admits his feelings to Troy(Lee Rumohr)and they get it on.At least these 2 guys are cute and easy on the eyes.And then Troy decides he's fed up with the head games and living in a small town decides to leave for good.His affect on his best friend was surprising and touching! It is a nice story that undoubtedly occurs but this DVD seems like a very rough cut of what should have been a decent movie if it was remade with a higher budget and done properly.I was surprised to see Stefan Brogren(of Degrassi high/next generation) in such a low budget amateur film.There are some good Canadian films out there and some bad ones,but this one is an embarrassment.

Let me just say that they acting is so sub par that it doesn't even register on the gay-dar scale! There is little back story shown to show how these two young men have been friends and are still close - that might have helped.The notion that the Jock is gay and the off-beat roommate is just sexually curious when the girlfriend/wife isn't around doesn't take flight.The actors look at each other too longingly to keep their lust for each other a secret from the rest of the world.While the Jock is HOT - the scenes of him just standing in his underwear could have been improved if he did more than just stare - and what sex scenes that were filmed were so spliced together that they made you cringe and look away.It's difficult material to put into a movie - but lighting the film could have helped - the grainy shot with a single camera doesn't give the edge it should have.Jock man - hot in his undies, Scruffy boy - kinda hot when he finally kisses the jock for the first time.The women in the movie only served to annoy the viewer and distract from the overall production - as a stage play with just the two guys - this could be something better.At least know the jock is hot and the scruffy boy has a furry butt and doesn't kiss after gay sex, but that's normal for someone who won't admit they are gay! I can't rate it completely awful - but at least I can send it back to Netflix and never speak of it again!

This movie has going for it what very few 'gay movies' have; the characters and the plot are realistic. The principle actors were very good in their roles. The only real problem was getting the acting down on film. Lots of the scenes are pretty dark, and sometimes it's hard to hear exactly what's being said. But, these are problems that lots of low-budget films, and, again, the story makes up for it. Some people I know say that the long shots of one character during a scene, or the periods of silence between the actors make them uncomfortable, but that's why i like the movie. It's very realistic. People don't talk like they do in Kevin Smith films. Sometimes you just sit with your boyfriend and don't know what to say for a while. Again, Acting-Good, Story-Good, Cinematography-Medium. If nothing else, see it because Matt Austin, who plays Merrick here, is the Green Ranger in the current Power Rangers Show. Small World.