This documentary is nearly twenty years old now, and it follows a gay couple as they navigate the stressful and exciting journey of their first pregnancy through surrogacy. You get to see it all— the hope, the nerves, and the dramatic hurdles they have to clear along the way. Back in the day, this was probably a massive deal, but since I’ve known a few gay couples who’ve gone through this exact process, some parts felt a bit dated to me. I liked bits and pieces of it, but I also felt like the film stays pretty surface-level. It doesn't really dive into the deep, complicated reality of life after the baby actually arrives. If only raising a kid were actually as simple as this movie makes it look! Erik and Mark have been together in New York for ten years, and since they feel solid in their relationship, they decide they’re ready to raise a child. They start the hunt for a surrogate and eventually connect with Wen, a wife and mom from Maine who agrees to carry the baby for a standard...
Jeffrey is a very nice young man who has just spent a night with handsome Rene and feels there is something between them but Rene shrugs him off saying that he is not looking for a sweetheart. By chance that day, he sees Rene with his boyfriend entering into a building, which is possibly his apartment. The landlady of the building Gladys mistake shim for a potential tenant and nnextthilng you know is that Jeffrey has moved into the same building unknown to Rene. Rene is obviously angry when he find this out but Jeffrey is so smitten by him that he ignores signs of ever-invasive Gladys showing a lot of affection to him. Jeffrey still doesn't know why the previous tenant left in a hurry. Soon thereafter, he hears faint cries for help coming from beneath some rotted floorboards, where Gladys lives one floor down. When Jeffrey realizes that Gladys is holding the previous tenant hostage, next thing you know is that Gladys captures him too. The rest of the film is about how Jeffrey struggles to find the truth behind Gladys' actions and how through intervention of Jeffrey's best friend, finally he is able to escape from all the torture from Gladys.
I have to say that the final reveal of why this was all being done left me wanting more. I was expecting something more chilling and compelling but it didn't resonate very well for me. I totally "get" the reason for the conflict, but the actors involved did not portray "insanity" effectively to make that explanation credible. They were just too campy. But besides that, like I said, this story has some potential but needs an overall renovation in each department. The performances by all the actors is quite alright actually. Thankfully, no one goes over the top, which is so easy to do in such a genre. There is no repeat value here and this particular treatment is average at best. It did disappoint me much but left me wanting a bit more. Need more thrills. (5/10)
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