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More than Only: Season 1 'Puzzles'

By Golu
I saw the film "More Than Only" almost 5 years back and honestly I even forgot about it. Had to go and re-read my review about the beautiful film I saw. When I got my hands on this short film series, I did not realize that the makers have continued to series to show us what the lives of Michael and Justin has turned up to me after the film ended (which was they got married and had a surrogate daughter with their best friend Brooke). There are three seasons and I will maybe review them separately. This first season is 3 episodes of about 30 minutes each.

Michael and Justin are a happy couple and living with their almost teenage daughter. Their friend and the surrogate mother Brooke is still very much a part of their life. The series begins with Michael's parents visiting the couple to spend a day. Given Justin's really bad experience in childhood and his parents reactions, he is always nervous of this visit and always tries to go out of his way to impress his in-laws but all his fears are unfounded when as always they come full of love for Michael and Justin as a couple and their unwavering love for their grand-daughter. Juston is happy to be reassured of the love of the parents and he has deep rooted mental issues. The next day when he. Takes his daughter for shopping, he meets another family where the father is extremely condescending to his son calling him all sorts of things and this triggers Justin badly. He tries to control and hide from Michael, but it soon starts to become very evident that all is not well with Justin. Michel immediately gets into action and sends their daughter to his parents house. He asks for medication from Justin's therapist, takes time off and he and Justin go to their beach house for a break so that Michael can be there for Justin. In the last episode, we see how Michael is there for Justin every step of the way and how by taking one step at a time, Michael brings Justin back from the dark corners where he had found himself after the incident. 

A very rare portrayal of gay happiness and contentment without violence or tragedy. Her the villain is mental health and childhood trauma. It truly takes someone with much love to care for and love someone going through traumatic times because of a bad childhood. The contrast between families here is amazing. While Michael's parents have tons of love to give, Justin cannot get out of his trauma and his father's harsh words just continue to reverberate in his mind. Their daughter thankfully is full of mischief as a young teenager but also extremely understanding and knows exactly when something is wrong between her dad's relationship. One can't even imagine what Justin must be going through but it's even harder for the partner like Michael here to be fully understanding and be there for his love for the sake of family. This is a stark reminder of love, family and relationship goals. The two actors continue to do a fantastic job of portraying a happy gay couple family, who will together lead through all the happiness and challenges that life will be throwing at them. Great season 1 available on YouTube. (6/10)
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