It’s an old story: two college buddies go separate ways after graduating. One travels, couch surfs, bums around; the other gets a job, gets married, buys a house. And, like always, the one shows up unexpectedly at the other’s place, gets him drunk and stoned and puts his marriage into jeopardy. And then they decide to have non-gay gay sex for an amateur porn competition. Old story. Lynn Shelton’s film about the ultimate game of gay chicken is a hilarious and surprisingly touching look at male buddyism. The story and performances are all honest and appealing, and its cinema-verite style provides a perfect tone. This is the best of the recent wave of bromantic comedies.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2009.