Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Between Love and Goodbye (2008) Written and Directed by Casper Andreas

"This is messed up.  Only in New York would you get married for a lease." -Dennis, Sarah's friend.

This is the recipe for a New York Indie Gay film.
Take two wannabe artists, in this case Kyle (Simon Miller) and Marcel (Justin Tensen.)  Kyle wants to be a rock star.  Marcel wants to be an actor.  Marcel is French, which is important to the recipe, since it brings up the next ingredient, the Greencard.  Add one angry lesbian, Sarah (Jane Elliot) and two apartment leases.  Now, in order to bring it to a boil, add one transsexual prostitute sister, April (Rob Harmon) who wants to move in with Brother Kyle.

Think this through; how would you like to have a house guest in your one bedroom apartment for two months, who doesn't work, because nothing pays as well as hooking?  And, let's face it, no apartment is big enough to share with a transsexual hooker with issues.  This is the situation Marcel finds himself in.  But he can't really compete with the siblings against the world dynamic the two boys developed in the wake of their mother's suicide.  And April really does not take kindly to anything that diverts Kyle's attention away from her.

Together, they start up a band, Inertia's Kiss, and as they become more involved with it, and each other, Marcel is relegated to a back burner, where he does a slow simmer to a full head of steam.  He tries, and tries, and tries to fix things, but April is never far away, and with her continuous string of disasters, including being forced to reidentify as a boy, Cole, when her body rejects her breast implants, Kyle cannot or will not kick her out.

He really should have.  The dynamics of New York tenancy laws seem to me to be designed to create blood feuds, and who gets custody of the apartment is harder to solve than who gets the children.  Things go from bad to hideous, and pretty darn quickly.

This movie is an interesting mix of things that work, and near misses.  One, it features lots of songs from Inertia's Kiss that mirror what is happening in the relationship.  And Kyle can sing.  But the songs are lukewarm at best.  Perhaps that adds veritas to the whole struggling band scene, but I can tell you, it isn't great for the cinema.  Two, the boys are unbelievably cute, frequently naked, and very romantic.  But somehow, their chemistry seems just a bit off.

The biggest thing the movie has going for it is the performance of Rob Harmon, in his one and only acting gig.  His menace and manipulation ooze from every pore.  April/Cole is a classic Borderline Personality with codependent issues.  For anyone to hit that performance so perfectly, they either have to be a genius or a Borderline Personality with codependent issues.  It makes me want to check out The Gay Rivera, televisions first gay reality show where he was a contestant, just to see if he is like that in real life.

The worst thing it has going for it is the ending.  It reminds me of the days before the Gay Rights Movement when it was okay to put gays in movies as long as it ended in tragedy.  Trust me, no one lives happily ever after.

Casper Andreas is a man with vision.  He is also a man in need of a little more polish.  A better budget would probably help matters as well.  Still, there is undeniable potential here, and I will be hunting down some of his other works to see if he ever realizes it.  I think this gets three stars, the technical problems off set by occasional brilliance.

Gay Movies:

La Mission***Burnt Money***8: The Mormon Propo$ition***In The Flesh***The Sensei***The 24th Day***Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon***ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction***East Side Story***Dorian Blues***Creatures From the Pink Lagoon***Satyricon***Ice Men***Richard O'Briens Rocky Horror Tribute Show***Prom Queen***The Kids are All Right***Between Love and Goodbye***The Mudge Boy***That Man: Peter Berlin***A Single Man***Almost Normal***Outing Riley***Outrage!***Law of Desire***Love is the Devil***Cowboy Junction***Horror in the Wind***Bedrooms and Hallways***Cut Sleeve Boys***Big Eden***For A Lost Soldier***Midnight Cowboy***Redwoods***The Massuer***Boy Culture***Breakfast With Scot***The Fluffer***Flesh***Little Ashes***L.I.E. ***Dorian Gray***9 Dead Gay Guys***Shank***I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry***Beautiful Boxer***Bangkok Love Story***Schoolboy Crush***Shelter***Back Soon***Dog Tags***Theft***The Mulligans***The Velvet Goldmine***Swashbuckler***Smoke Signals
***C'Thulhu***Milk***The Picture of Dorian Gray***Brideshead Revisited***Notes on a Scandal***RocknRolla***Mamma Mia!
***Priscillia: Queen of the Desert***The History Boys***Brokeback Mountain***The Broken Hearts Club*** Yaji and Kita: Midnight Pilgrims ***Surge of Power ***In & Out ***Mambo Italiano ***Touch of Pink ***To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar ***Wolves of Kromer ***Rocky Horror Picture Show ***Taboo ***Deathtrap 


Gay Themed Series:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Dante's Cove
Hex
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Rome Season One
Rome Season Two
True Blood
True Blood: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Season One


Gay Animation:

Pirate's Booty***Sensitive Pornograph***Loveless: The Complete Series***Loveless: Hope on the Run***Loveless: Soul of Chains***Loveless: Lost and Found***Embracing Love: A Cicada in Winter***Embracing Love: Cherished Spring ***Stonewall & Riot***Drawn Together Movie: The Movie***Drawn Together: Season 2***Drawn Together: Season 3

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age