"Long Term Relationship" (Film Review)

It has taken me forever to get my hands on this film, originally made for the gay cable channel, Here! Apparently, this is a favorite movie among some Blockbuster customers as it is always checked out. Last night I finally got to watch to it. Long-Term Relationship(97 mins.) is billed as a romantic comedy and for the most part, it does deliver that much and a little more.

Glenn (played by Matthew Montgomery, a so-so attractive guy) has been doing what some 30-something gay men do: "whoring" around, going from one meaningless fling (if you can even call it that) to another. Then, one day, he decides he has had enough of the single scene in Los Angles. How he arrives at this moment of epiphany left me confused as there is little explanation for this turning point. I guess that is the "beauty" of this genre of films--the contrived becomes uncontrived. So Glenn next consults the personals, hoping to find his soul mate.

Glenn soon meets Adam (played by hunky Windham Beacham--is there anything about him a gay man would not like?). who conveniently is a true southern gentleman who has just moved from Atlanta. Glenn falls for Beacham, but then complications arise. Beacham has a secret--one that shocks Glenn and his skeptical friends. The secret is also good for a few laughs. But the next complication seems even more of a greater hurdle and it raises the eternal question--are they compatible with each other?

The movie throws in a very progressive set of parents for Adam that surprises Glenn. In contrast, some of Glenn's friends are distant from Adam, creating some tension along the way. Both Adam and Glenn must navigate these relationships in order to sort out their own budding love affair.

The film overall is sweet, though thankfully not saccharinely so. It has some funny lines, even though others are pretty corny. I would recommend watching this film with a romantic date, though never with a one-nite stand unless you want to undermine the agenda for the evening later on.