This is one of those "review of a gay love story that makes me feel superior about mine" posts...

In this case the story is a movie called "Adam & Steve." Good one, huh? It is not, on the whole, being well received by the critics.

Roger Ebert sez:

...There is an underlying story here, and some comic ideas, that in the hands of a better director (or more ruthless editor) could have become an entertaining romantic comedy. But...The director, Craig Chester, is also the co-star; as an actor, he has the wrong director.

Chester stars as Adam Bernstein, first seen in the 1980s with best pal Rhonda (Parker Posey) dressed as Goths and entering a gay disco on Glitter Night, the wrong night for them. Adam makes eye contact with a dancer named Steve (Malcolm Gets), and it's love at first sight, but "We don't dance," they explain. "We're Goths. We're dead."

Their romance develops despite the usual plot convenience (fear of commitment), but there's a crisis...Will they reconcile? Can Rhonda and Steve's straight roommate, Michael (Chris Kattan), be the go-betweens?

This reminds me of something that was important to me thematically in developing my little lesbian romantic comedy. I never wanted the solution to the crisis to be something like Colley sitting down with Keitha and saying: "You know, Annabel really loves you, and..."

The lovers had to make it on their own. I think I was wary of making a gay version of all those stories we used to get ("Mississippi Burning," "Cry Freedom") that were nominally about civil rights for blacks, but managed to have white characters at the hub for "identification."

I've said this before, but I identify with Keitha and Annabel, and I want others to as well. I identify with Colley too, of course (I'm the writer, I identify with all of 'em); my point is, he's not there to ease the story for any uncomfortable straights who may be in the audience.