East Side Story (2006)

One of the better gay movies

My boyfriend and I watched this movie for the very first time this past week. At first I didn't think it was going to be that good but I gave my boyfriend the benefit of the doubt and watched it anyways. I thought the one pretentious gay boyfriend was too stereotypical....unless that's the way they really are in L.A. Having seen some of the other gay movies that are out there, this is one of the better ones. It's one that I am going to add to my collection. October 25, 2008

A Little Bit of Everything

"East Side Story"

Amos Lassen

A Little Bit of Everything

Culture clashes, sexuality, gentrification, and politics are the issues handled in Carlos Portugal's new movie
"East Side Story". Add a heterosexual twist in a movie set in East Los Angeles and you have a good time.
When gay Hispanics start moving into a neighborhood that has been a traditionally Mexican enclave, you have a movie screenplay. When the new neighbors start renovating houses and adopting children from abroad, some of the neighborhood residents begin to feel challenged.
The cast is exceptional as each represents a different aspect of society and does so without appearing to be a cliche. Steve Callahan as Wesley is the center of the film. Having moved into the neighborhood, he wants to be part of it and to learn about the culture of the people. His boyfriend, Jonathon (Cory Schneider) is very funny as the jealous one who sees the house as an investment. He also is scared of his neighbors and does not want to stay in the neighborhood. Diego (Rene Alvarado), a want to be chef is torn between his higher aspirations and loyalty to his family and David Benton plays Pablo, his secret lover, is a real estate man and a weasel that is in conflict with his sexuality. He eventually proposes to Diego's sister, Bianca (Gladys Jimenez) who has tramping her way through Europe. This is his way of hiding his homosexuality.
Surprisingly, the cost of real estate in the area begins to rise and rise and rise and people begin to move to the East Side. A new transportation system is to be put in and luxury condos are scheduled to be built. The future of East L.A. is questionable and we get a glimpse of reality of what happens when a neighborhood is gentrified.
This is quite a surprise for a low-budget film. The direction is almost perfect and the drama is touching and the humor is very, very funny. It is basically a coming-out story that doesn't at all feel like one. It is done in a modern way as the scenes and message is loud and clear without overshadowing the personal story of Diego. It infuses humor with poignancy. The actors are good-looking, the story is compelling and the music is just wonderful. Above everything else, this movie has heart. Love, care and hope explode on the screen right next to dreams fulfilled.
"East Side Story" shows us how bias hurts and that we fear what we don't understand and what we fear we destroy.
If you like romance, you will love "East Side Story". It is well-acted, literate scripted romantic movie. The actors are eye candy and thereby titillate but it is the direction and script that make this moving so endearing. Lively characters also help to make this movie a winner.
"East Side Story" tells of a young man in his twenties who after several vain attempts manages to find himself and someone to share his life. Jumping off of the premise of the original "West Side Story", it looks at the class differences between the wealthy in Los Angeles's Echo Park and the middle class Latino community of the area whose neighborhood is being gentrified by the more well-to-do.
Good looking Diego is ready to take a major career step as well as a romantic step with his boyfriend, Pablo who is in the closet. But there are problems that arise. One of which is his new "Anglo" neighbor and another is with his aunt Bianca who is "starved for love". Also his Latino neighborhood is intolerant. Diego helps run a family restaurant has literally no friends and his relationship with Pablo is hurt by his boyfriend not being open about his sexuality. Diego is also somewhat closeted but really wants t come out and when the gay couple move in next door, the opportunity is there to do so. Diego falls for one of his neighbors and the fun begins.
"East Side Story" is a wonderful film that deals with the way minorities are treated. It shows how we fear what we do not understand and when we are full of fear we tend to destroy. The movie has a great deal to say and does so with humanity and poignancy. What we have in reality is a coming out story that does not seem like one at all. There are none of the clichés so often associated with movies about coming out and the actors are absolutely amazing.
What the movie lacks in plot it makes up for in so many other things--hot actors, lightness and wonderful humor. We do not often get a chance to see a film about a gay Latino who struggles to be himself and openly gay, Carlos Portugal has made a film of which he can be incredibly proud.
October 12, 2008

Two-dimensional cliche but fun

This is a fun, but heavily flawed, movie. It's charming as eye candy, and the story is light and amusing enough that it certainly passes the time favorably. But sometimes the comedy is too broad, the characters have crossed the line from believable to not, so the entire film suffers as a result of a screenplay and director who needed to take a heavy handed approach, or at least needed to know what the target was. Was the film meant to be a light-hearted romance, or over-the-top nonsense? We've got both here, and that means we've also got characters of little depth.

The villain, and I am referring to the live-in parter, one third of the romantic triangle that has developed, has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and is of so little appeal overall that one can't figure out how he's managed to have a faithful, devoted, good guy lover for two years.

We open with an over-the-top homosexual-hating chef who is nearly frothing at the mouth, who after being fired by the part-owner of the restaurant who is himself gay (almost angelically gay, in fact, we nearly envision him with a halo, he is so perfect), the dying chef places a curse upon the place of business with his final words. After that, either because of the curse or more likely the owner's being an outed gay in a neighborhood culture that is vehemently anti-maricon (so to speak) the business starts to fail.

The owner might be more upset about this except he has other worries: his one-time real estate agent lover who has just rejected him after the "I love you" words is now dating his young and vibrant aunt, determined to stay in that closet forever, and out angelic hero is now newly attracted to one half of the gay couple who has just moved in across the street.

The couple across the street are an unlikely pair, if merely because one is so straight-acting, he doesn't seem gay at all, and he seems unaware of the true character of his partner (a deleted scene clues us in even more to how bad the guy is), which means he is not overly bright, yet otherwise seems intelligent and sensitive. The other half of the pair is a snob from Mississippi (that has to be meant as a joke; it's such a contradiction) who isn't very bright but whose best friend is also his letching wealthy boss - but at least these two talk the same language.

The aunt is a real hoot and steals the show. She is vitality plus, and is the one who goes through the greatest amount of character growth through the paces of the film. From a globe-trotting, social-climbing "Blanca who has changed her name to Bianca" we see her begin to own up to her responsibilities to her family and her heritage. In a gay romance story, it's the female who owns the film.

Obviously we're touching on racism and homophobia, and a Mexicana strong cultural vocal rejection of homosexuality. We also have self-loathing types, both the real estate agent who is striving to pass as straight, and a woman who is self-loathing as to her heritage, who obviously wishes she'd been born anything but Mexican, as Mexican probably means she can only rise so far in class, and no more.

Some hot kissing scenes, and definitely good-looking male leads, but nothing too explicit. Just randy, hot guys looking for love and finding their place at the end. If they are all just a bit two-dimensional and cliche, I guess we can live with that. August 4, 2008

Nice people...Bad film

Well...Home-movie to be precise. I guess a lot of effort went into it, but the result is without a doubt the worst DVD that I [still] own. Somehow you keep hoping that things will eventually turn out OK because most of the participants seem so charming -in real life. But no, when the last potential climax turns out to be an anti-climax again, and the end-credits begin, you know you'll never watch this film again. Don't see for yourself. May 31, 2008

What a bad story

I not sure what the people who gave this movie a good review where smoking. It was such a horrible moive, I could not finish watching it. The best part of the movie was when the main character takes off his towl. May 21, 2008

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