Amos Lassen 2007-04-18
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
"Get Your Stuff"
Problematic Fun
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
The story behind "Get Your Stuff" (Culture Q Connection) is just what one needs to make a movie--a cute premise and good looking cast members, however, do not always make a good movie. "Stuff" starts off just fine. Two gay guys want to be foster parents but instead of getting an infant as they wanted they got two unruly boys. The story begins to sag with the arrival of the boys. Lots of thinks happen but nothing is connected and to try to follow the script is impossible. What could have been a very cute movie was ruined by a sloppy script.
When a successful gay couple receives two foster kids their world turns upside down. Phil (Cameron Watson), a couples counselor and Eric (Anthony Meindl), a lawyer are approved to be foster parents. After coaxing and something close to blackmail, they agree to take in T.J. and Brian, originally for one night. That one night became two and three and four nights and so on
The kids are really good little actors and even manage to out act the adults. T.J. (Grady Hutt) is optimistic and attempts to get his brother to behave so that they can at last have a home. Brain (Blayn Barbosa), however, is not accepting and does not want anything to do with Phil and Eric. Their case worker talks them into behaving so that the couple will keep them.
Problems are dealt with lightly. Everything is played for laughs but the message is strong enough for us to get it. The problems do take their toil on Eric who only wanted a baby, not an entire family and problems. He finally just walks out on the entire situation in one of the worst and most melodramatic scenes I have ever seen in a movie. However, a bad scene like that is not the norm for this film. Most of it is feel good comedy. When Kimberly Scott as Gloria, the social worker, is on the screen everything is just fine. Her portrayal of tough love in the scenes with the kids is wonderful.
The antics of two wealthy gay men in Beverly Hills could be funny but it seems overly dramatic and somewhat condescending. The move has its good parts but it is not a robust comedy. Rather it is a cute little movie--part comedy, part drama. It is enjoyable and should be seen. The ideas were good even if the execution of them was not. In actuality it seemed more like a trial run. Much of the movie was randomized--things did not always fit together. But I will say it is better than a lot of other gay movies I have seen.
