a film by Craig Chester
2005 | 99 mins | US
Craig Chester .... Adam Bernstein
Malcolm Gets .... Steve Hicks
Parker Posey .... Rhonda
Chris Kattan .... Michael
Melinda Dillon .... Dottie
Julie Hagerty .... Sherry
Sally Kirkland .... Mary
Paul Sand .... Norm
Michael Panes .... Lou
Noah Segan .... Twink
Jackie Beat .... Herself
Kristen Schaal .... Ruth
Thomas Kopache .... Joe
Todd Robert Anderson .... Charlie
Steve Geary .... Andy Dance Instructor
Deb Lemen .... Blonde Woman
Adam & Steve
an unashamed comical homage to love
of the boy-meets-boy kind
Available on DVD as part of the
TLA Releasing UK catalogue
www.tlareleasing.co.uk
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Love is in the air for recovering coke addict Adam Bernstein, when a prick of the worst kind
sends him rushing to the hospital and a chance encounter with one Steve Hicks, a resident doctor
more used to healing minds, than administering first aid - to a dog with a knife wound!
Destined to meet again, they do and a subsequent date that prompts the adage
'love at first sight' or should that be spelt without the g?
All of which is of concern to Steve's straight and sexually frustrated roommate Michael, together
with Adam's best friend Rhonda, a beautifully slim comedienne whose repertoire consists of jokes
coined when she was obese. And therein lies the problem, for that was seventeen years ago, at a
time when Adam and Steve first met. Only will long forgotten memories of a disastrous
one-night stand return to haunt then, as Steve gets serious with a marriage
proposal on the horizon or rather on Brooklyn bridge!
Clearly a work of love from noted out actor, writer, director and all round indie favorite Craig
Chester of KISS ME, GUIDO fame, this unashamed comical homage to love of the boy-meets-boy kind
is aided and abetted by Jackie Beat as her drag-fabulous self, Chris Kattan and Parker Posey
as the wisecracking, and having a lot of fun along the way, duo of the piece, together
with a group of rodeo dancers and a nifty showdown that puts the gay sparkle
firmly back in line dancing! Only was it ever away?
Yet competing for the acting honours are Sally Kirkland as ex-addict turned AA advisor Mary,
Melinda Dillon as Steve's mother Dottie, Michael Panes as comedy club compere Lou and Julie
Hagerty in a hilarious turn as Adam's accident-prone mother Sherry. Between them, Malcolm
Gets of CAROLINE IN THE CITY note injects a fine performance as the Steve of the title
and a man who finds the dating process scary and yet somewhat reassuring.
To that end, Gets and Chester create a genuine screen bond in their portrayal of two men who
soon find themselves thinking as one, in a film that notably deals with both the early 'getting
to know you' and later 'getting to know your friends and family' stages of a relationship.
Crosscutting such however in an emotive, yet never too serious fashion, are issues as
diverse as monogamy, homophobia and the almost requisite dysfunctional family and
no more so than that of Adam's parents of the fun loving but cursed variety!
Made by Funny Boy Films of LATTER DAYS credit, this is a work that lives up to its title, having
played on the biblical Adam and Eve pairing to bring forth a comical tale about Adam and Steve.
Sure not all of the jokes hit the mark, but even when they miss Chester charms us with his
incessant desire to please and a seemingly never ending series of one-liners, in a film that
alternates between slapstick, at times crude, in one corner and overt gay affection in the other,
coupled it has to be said with a set of impressive New York location shots, including
the gay pride statues.
And yet once the film gets past its somewhat bumpy retrospective opening, Chester takes time out
to deliver some neat observations on life and gay life in particular, in a work that is
as much about love, as it is about kissing. And of that, there's a lot of in this
spirited blend of humour, romanticism and show stopping song and dance,
namely the key ingredients of a romantic comedy!
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