No, Boat Trip is not my usual fare. A buddy movie about an accidental gay cruise? Puleeeese. Well, my usual fare was disrupted by the offerings on Chilean cable. Surprisingly, Chilean cable makes Korean cable look varied and interesting by comparison.

Boat Trip, starring Cuba Gooding Jr, is about a man who, breaking off a bad relationship, decides to go on a cruise with his buddy. His buddy Nick is rude to the travel agent so they are booked on a gay cruise where he meets the only woman in evidence. She's the dance teacher and after a lifetime of bad dating decisions, has sworn off men, but thinking he's gay, she decides she'll hang around with him. You can just skip to the end of the paragraph if you've heard this one before. You probably have. The bad girlfriend realizes she's made a terrible mistake and goes after him. And there's a Swedish sun tanning team thrown into the mix as well as a lot of stereotypical gay jokes.

Now, what kept me from switching to The Simpsons dubbed in Spanish was the acting. Cuba is fine. Not great, not terrible. Same goes for the guy playing his obnoxious pal. And Vivica Fox as the bad girlfriend and the woman who played the love interest. They were all good enough, but the real draw for me was Roger Moore, playing an aging queen looking for a young companion. Every time he was on screen I was riveted and amused. He played the part like Bond, if Bond had been gay. He was glossy and over the top and really, really funny about it.

This is by no means a great movie. In fact, it's really not much of anything and my life would have continued just fine if I'd never seen it. Some of the jokes were utter groaners and I had guess most of the story within the first 10 minutes. I'll admit they did a pretty good lurch off formula late in the film, but they went right back to what we all expected before the end. However, I was in the mood for something light and silly and this fit the bill, though without Roger Moore it would have been unbearable. Not being gay, I can't say whether it was offensive, but some people are offended by anything and they spent most of the film making fun of the straight guys and a little bit of time trying to get the obnoxious sidekick to change his homophobic prejudices. That was largely played for laughs, but this never was a serious film.

If you are looking for something pointless and light to waste an an hour and a half on Boat Trip isn't a bad option. Personally, I prefer Planes, Trains and Automobiles or That movie with Billy Crystal about the round up that I can't remember the name of. But neither of those was on Chilean cable.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age