As I waited for the ushers to cart out the trash from the first screening of "Shelter" at the Regency Theatre, an elderly woman sauntered out of the pitch black and struck up a bit of idle chit-chat with me.
"The film is about two gay guys. But, not much goes on in the movie," she assured me.
"No fights, nothing."
Not having screened the film yet, I was inclined to respond in an upbeat fashion.
"Maybe that's the message. Maybe life doesn't always have to be an ordeal."
When the curtain fell, and the storyline unfolded, I was forced to consider the woman was either out-of-her-cups or had fallen asleep during the movie.
Yes, the film starts off fairly routine.
An appealing young man is holed up with his sister and her young child in a spotty part of San Pedro (in that respect, a downer for sure!).
Although a relationship with a pretty young gal appears to be on keel, he is struggling - on the other hand - to achieve success as an artist.
On a trip to pick up some gear at his best friend's house in an upscale part of town - he casually runs into the older brother - a handsome virile surfer.
One thing leads to another - and suddenly - the pretty dudes end up in-between the sheets together.
The romance unfolds so naturally, and believably, that it appears for all-the-world to be a kind-of fairy-tale love story.
Only in the movies, right?
But, as fate would have it, loved ones - a sister, for instance - throw a damper on things.
"I can't deal with you being a fag right now, not with all my problems," she whines.
Suddenly, the young man goes into a tailspin, doubts his feelings for the surfer, and ends up going through a traumatic period of angst, denial, and uncertainty about the lifestyle that possibly lurks ahead.
As the kinks work their way out, the predictable happens.
The winsome twosome reunite in a classic Hollywood-style ending.
Yeah, gays are not immune to the bull**it producers doll out under the guise of marketability.
"Shelter's" strong suit springs from its strident capacity to take a fresh approach to otherwise cliché material over well-travelled territory.
Yes, this project is a long cry from its groundbreaking forefathers such as - "Boys in the Band", "Lone Companion", and "Brokeback Mountain".
There is a lot of eye-candy scattered about the landscape to gobble up, too - lush beach settings, for instance - populated by tanned yummy-looking people.
Who knew Prince Charming was so easy to stumble upon in a world of tortured gay men?
However, I found one aspect of the feature a bit troubling.
In spite of the fact the surfer is older and has obviously slept around a bit - the issue of HIV status and "safe sex" - is never broached.
I found the producers negligent in this regard and their actions unconscionable.
In fact, this film sugar-coats a number of important gay issues.
In the final analysis, "Shelter" ends up being sheer fantasy.
A bad message to promote to the young gay community.