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...
A handsome middle aged man David is preparing dinner for two. His hot younger date Justin, a latin boy, arrives soon. David lives in a huge waterfront house, is a painter and a bit mysterious. The duo seem to have chemistry but Justin stats to feel some warning flags with a raccoon kill and David trying to have Justin pose topless for a portrait. Justin tries to make excuse and leave immediately after dinner but David explicitly forbids that, locks the door, takes Justin's phone and and forces Justin to stay the night in the studio, acting completely normal in the morning, so that he can finish his portrait. But the captive night soon becomes captive days and weeks. They are talking and next thing we see that its been a few days or weeks or whatever where Justin and David share memories of coming out to parents, or in quieter moments of confession David’s estranged son, and the film finds something approaching emotional truth. Justin is still very much a captive under David but have a weird dad/son dynamic going on. David tries to rape/have sex with him a few times but stops seeing his unwillingness. Justin' story of a father not paying attention doesn't match with his teenage random hookups stories with older man and then David has some sob story about his son, a sort of justification for him wanting Justin close to him. To be honest, after a point I didn't care because I was so bored.
What started as a nice little thriller, the film doesn't have any tense moments at all. The way the screenplay handles this abusive captive relationship is fully contrived. I mean, in one scene Just is asked to go to a corner store and get some stuff, so clearly he has more than plenty of opportunities to run way a and escape but he doesn't and as the film progresses, it even feels he is getting fond of David. We are never clearly told if this is a farce or genuine affection. Because if he is faking it, then he could have had run away multiple times, but if he is genuinely falling for him, then is that a case of Stockholm's syndrome and just a weird abusive relationship. At one point he does try to leave the house but it still doesn’t match up with his behavior from earlier scenes. Towards the end David crying tells some sob story of his son and how he got estranged and then very randomly lets Justin free. By this point, I was so bored that I didn't care and just wanted the film to end because I was sick of random rumblings, portrait making sessions, cooking and eating scenes etc. I could care less about them hanging out in various parts of the never ending huge mansion like place and just talking. Its a shame because the leads were charming, their performances were good but a really shoddy screenplay just spoiled everything. I really didn't get any message out of the film because neither did it provide entertainment and nor it had a statement to make on relationships, lost love, abuse or redemption. I could be wring and may have missed something, but this film was a disappointment. (4/10)
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