I'm honestly not sure why I keep watching these Signal 23 gay shows. I guess they're a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and I usually tune in just hoping to see some hot Black guys or a few decent hookup scenes. The problem is that these series almost never have a real plot, and the acting and directing are always super amateur and just plain bad. Unfortunately, this one didn't even have the "eye candy" going for it, as most of the guys weren't even that attractive. The whole thing is really short, only six episodes, and each one lasts about 12 to 14 minutes. The main guy in the story is D, a young 16 year old Black guy who is basically at his sexual peak and spent his summer just looking for action. In the first episode, he meets a 19-year-old online for a hookup, but the kid’s dad walks in right in the middle of things and kicks D out. The rest of the show follows D hanging out with two of his buddies—one who is straight and one who is gay. They’re trying to...
Eric is grieving. He is separated from his wife (and are now very close friends), but the real reason is the loss of his father. He lives in this small town where everyone stands for each other. He struggles in his everyday life and in hopes of better future for his town starts posting videos online. They are seen by Drew, who used to study with Eric. In fact they were best of friends but Drew ran away from the small town in hopes of better future . Now successful, he wishes to reconnect with Eric, though we don't really know what happened in the past. When he visits town Drew gets a warm welcome from everyone, but an indifference from Eric. Eric still blames Drew for leaving him all alone when his father was dying, the time when Eric needed his best friend. At the right time, when Drew is finally able to explain the reason of his leaving the town, Eric is surprised but not shocked. Drew comes out as gay but mentions he is single and misses home. Big cities can still make you feel lonely. Clearly Drew has feelings for straight Eric, who as it turns out may have some hidden feelings for Drew. After a couple of hits and misses, the duo manage to confess their feelings and Eric finally gets some happiness in life.
This film has a very indie film vibe to it. Th subject on the paper is very interesting and to a good extent the makers are successful in execution also but at many places it becomes very preachy. I think the ambition was to make this the serious kind of drama that award and film festivals cater to, but somehow something is missing. And I have been thinking about it, but can't really out my finger on. Was the story too simple or was it acting? I don't know. The acting was good. There relationships were good, but I think at some point we Neve got a feeling of small town community. The 4-5 people we meet felt disjointed and would just come together randomly. Eric was good but wish there was more details into reason for his grief. Agreed his father died sometime back, but that cannot be the only reason. He is clearly not disappointed by divorce since the two of them are best of friends and much happier now. Drew was alright. His character was good and ok as an actor. Eric's ex-wife was the best and the shop lady was too preachy all the time. Also the film moves at a very slow pace and it could have been improved. It take a while to get to the point. The audio of the film is also not very good. The dialogues get lost in the background noise.
I think the makers were trying to go for a niche artsy film, but somewhere ended up making just an average product. (5/10)
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