Shelter (Trevor Wright & Brad Rowe) - Gay Movie Review

My take on the new gay-themed movie, Shelter (from Here! Networks); written & directed by Jonah Markowitz and starring Trevor Wright (Zach), Brad Rowe (Shaun), and Tina Holmes (Jeanne). Shelter's producer described it as the "Anti-Brokeback" Mountain and I'd have to agree.

The movie defies most of the gay stereotypes and clichés in cinema, by presenting the audience with two guys who don't speak with a lisp, aren't flamboyant or slutty, and who actually enjoy sports (surfing). They just happen to be gay. Most importantly, Shelter has a happy ending!

Synopsis: Zach has been putting his own life on hold for years. Because his sister Jeanne is mentally unstable, an alcoholic with a knack for making bad life choices, he ends up as a father-figure to her young son, Cody. When he begins to realize his feelings for his best friend's older brother, Shaun (a childhood mentor, of sorts, to him), he has to make a tough decision: family or love? Or both? Further, how will he come out to Jeanne, Gabe, and his ex-girlfriend Tori?

Note/Spoiler Alert: I tried to keep actual story details to a minimum, but I may have inadvertently revealed a spoiler or two in my review. Consider yourself warned. ;-)

Watch the official theatrical trailer for Shelter here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STM9V0ev0lM

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Shelter
• gay
• movie
• review
• film
• cinema
• media
• Trevor
• Wright
• Brad
• Rowe
• Tina
• Holmes
• surfing
• coming
• out
• stereotype
• stereotypes

[TheAmnesiaGrrl]

I agree that gay characters should definitely be treated as equal to straight characters, and therefore being gay shouldn't be at the forefront of their personalities, however I do think it is important to also have people- not necessarily gay- who don't fit gender stereotypes. Some men are effeminate, some are masculine, and same goes for women- regardless of sexual orientation. So it's important to have characters like that too, just not as the punchline and *only* the punchline.

[redy4u7336]

one of myy top ten gay movies of all time!

[HIV19FAG]

Duh..every gay relationship ends in tragic...we`re fucking gay...but i want ti put an end to that too...so i want to ask you out...hi im mike )

[itsmrhoax]

This was such an amazing movie.

[mason62100]

I was actually really happy that the sex scenes were so tasteful. The fact that the kissing was so passionate made me want a relationship like theirs instead of a meaningless hookup. Such a good movie!

[Pyjamez]

I found this movie a few months ago, and upon first watch it became my all time favourite ever. Watch it all the time, and the soundtrack is great.

In response to criticism on how positive the coming out was, I feel it reflects my own coming out quite well. All of my friends were very accepting and only a few of my family members had some issues coming to terms with it.

I just love that this movie takes a different approach to the whole gay love story, making this movie accessible to everyone

[pompom2001]

True, not all coming out experiences are positive, but not all are negative either!

I completely agree with the physical aspect of it! The eye contact is beautiful and conveys to the audience the passion and love that doesn't need to be brought in explicity.

[S0Iari]

Good movie review, it's on Netflix dvd so I greatly enjoyed it, I was really pleased with this film... I was in a pretty crappy mood and this really cheered me up... it's kind of a inspirational gay film saying that even when you think everyone will hate you for being gay, you just gotta reach out for happiness if you want it.

[S0Iari]

@launwatch Did Trevor have sex with the girl? I didn't think he ever did.... His situation was similar to me, I was a teen in the closet dating a girl and I would just get sick to my stomach whenever she'd want to have sex.... could never bring myself to do it.

[blahlalaaaaa]

i agreed with a lot of what you said. though i thought the length of the film was fine. so much was conveyed, brilliantly, in very short scenes. i agree that the physical relationship was tasteful. hollywood has gone porno, and regular actors should not have to do pornography, and audiences shouldn't have to see pornography in regular films. i disagree with you about the acting quality of the sister's character, though. i thought her performance was great, as was all the acting in the film.

[pumagirlsf]

Great review for what I think is a great film... and I'm a straight girl.

Agree w/your complaint about it needing to be a bit longer to help really fill in the gaps. I've watched so many gay-themed films; to me, this is far and away the best of them. Beautiful Thing being a close 2nd. Shank was also great but so very dark and so very brutal. Brokeback was just depressing.

Anyway, good job!!

[gadgetfreak84]

@elmagicomessi Clever