The friend who rented this thought the story line was that something actually WAS in the water which turned everyone in town gay for a short period of time. That would have been an interesting idea for a film. Unfortunately, this benighted offering gets its title from a joke told by one of the characters about a third of the way through the film. Sadly, the film is as lame as the joke.
The story follows the residents of Azalea Springs, a small, Southern town, as they deal with an AIDS hospice opening in their midst. Most who live in the town are unhappy about the idea, and more than a few are downright hostile. However, Alex Stratton (Keri Jo Chapman) thinks it's a good idea, and despite the objection of her overbearing mother (Barbara Lasater), and wimpy, uncaring husband (Matthew Tompkins), she goes to work there. Once employed she reunites with Grace Miller (Teresa Garrett), her best friend from high school. Meanwhile, Mark Anderson (Derrick Sanders), son of the owner of the local paper, wants to cover the story in a light sympathetic to the hospice, but his father (Tommy Townsend) is only interested in sensationalistic news. And Mark has a few secrets of his own, which he shares with those who attend Brother Daniel's (John Addington) weekly meetings to cure those with homosexual tendencies. And Spencer (John Hallum), the requisite wise old queen with great style and wit, is busy overseeing the death of his unacknowledged lover. However, when Alex and Grace's friendship turns to romance, and Mark finds happiness in the arms of Tomas, a Latin house painter, the whole town is turned upside down. Will these couples be happy together, or will the forces of prejudice keep them apart?
It's hard to know where to begin with this film. Just about everything in it was poorly done. The writing was atrocious. Characters are merely stereotypes who are not developed at all. Their actions make little sense because they seem to have little motivation. And the dialogue was either painfully wooden, or ridiculously clichéd. Even the production values weren't very good, as the cinematography was rather uninspired.
The acting was equally bad. Lasater is so over the top, that you stop listening to her tirades (and that seems to be all she has in the way of lines) pretty early on. Sanders and Townsend are both wooden, and show no sense of any kind of father-son relationship. Tompkins' jilted husband is merely ridiculous and annoying. Garrett attempts to breathe some life into her character, but doesn't succeed terribly well. The only one who does reasonably well is Chapman, and it's not enough to carry the film.
Sad to say, I think there was a good premise here, but the execution was so poor that it just doesn't manage to generate a film that is either entertaining or thought provoking. In the end, it's just a curiosity piece, which fails to engage the viewer. You win some, you lose some...
The story follows the residents of Azalea Springs, a small, Southern town, as they deal with an AIDS hospice opening in their midst. Most who live in the town are unhappy about the idea, and more than a few are downright hostile. However, Alex Stratton (Keri Jo Chapman) thinks it's a good idea, and despite the objection of her overbearing mother (Barbara Lasater), and wimpy, uncaring husband (Matthew Tompkins), she goes to work there. Once employed she reunites with Grace Miller (Teresa Garrett), her best friend from high school. Meanwhile, Mark Anderson (Derrick Sanders), son of the owner of the local paper, wants to cover the story in a light sympathetic to the hospice, but his father (Tommy Townsend) is only interested in sensationalistic news. And Mark has a few secrets of his own, which he shares with those who attend Brother Daniel's (John Addington) weekly meetings to cure those with homosexual tendencies. And Spencer (John Hallum), the requisite wise old queen with great style and wit, is busy overseeing the death of his unacknowledged lover. However, when Alex and Grace's friendship turns to romance, and Mark finds happiness in the arms of Tomas, a Latin house painter, the whole town is turned upside down. Will these couples be happy together, or will the forces of prejudice keep them apart?
It's hard to know where to begin with this film. Just about everything in it was poorly done. The writing was atrocious. Characters are merely stereotypes who are not developed at all. Their actions make little sense because they seem to have little motivation. And the dialogue was either painfully wooden, or ridiculously clichéd. Even the production values weren't very good, as the cinematography was rather uninspired.
The acting was equally bad. Lasater is so over the top, that you stop listening to her tirades (and that seems to be all she has in the way of lines) pretty early on. Sanders and Townsend are both wooden, and show no sense of any kind of father-son relationship. Tompkins' jilted husband is merely ridiculous and annoying. Garrett attempts to breathe some life into her character, but doesn't succeed terribly well. The only one who does reasonably well is Chapman, and it's not enough to carry the film.
Sad to say, I think there was a good premise here, but the execution was so poor that it just doesn't manage to generate a film that is either entertaining or thought provoking. In the end, it's just a curiosity piece, which fails to engage the viewer. You win some, you lose some...