[yasr_overall_rating]
Four diverse gay men navigate art, sex and love in one sublime night.
“Beautiful Something” tries unsuccessfully to relate an adventure that connects four gay men who seemingly have nothing in common with each other over the course of a single night. This particular trope is now all too familiar: “Love Actually” popularized it, with “Valentine’s Day” and “New Year’s Eve” ultimately beating it to death. Indeed, it can be argued that those films adapted this style better, having to balance larger casts of strangers that needed to all interact with each other in some way. “Beautiful Something” simply makes due with four men in Philadelphia.
The story progresses at a snail’s pace, and many of the characters suffer from lack of depth. One character, Brian (a struggling writer) seemed promising, but quickly devolved into an unlikable, hysterical mess. Though “Beautiful Something” is interesting enough for its unfettered portrayal of gay culture, that foundation alone is simply not enough to carry the plot towards anywhere worthwhile.
The men of the film all seem to be broken in one way or another, but this does not make them endearing, as it probably ought to have. In fact, the only thing that kept me mildly attentive throughout was being able to step into a world that was, for myself at least, unfamiliar: the world of gay dating and romance. The people populating it, however, left much to be desired. That isn’t to say that “Beautiful Something” is all bad – there are plenty of redeeming qualities to a film that is clearly high-quality. Despite the glacial pacing, or perhaps in part because of it, the viewer is able to feel immersed in the world created by director Joseph Graham. The bars, apartments, and moonlit streets all feel starkly tangible. In essence, Graham succeeds in creating the physical world for the viewer to enjoy, but fails to make us care about its denizens.
Despite “Beautiful Something”’s numerous flaws, it is nonetheless a welcome addition to the still-growing LGBT film catalogue. It is refreshing to see gay characters not simply reduced to a token background role, and the plot itself had potential, albeit an unreached sort. I walked away disappointed and expecting more. The fundamentals of “Beautiful Something” are strong, the raw cinematic materials certainly existing abundantly enough to fashion something much deeper and more fulfilling than the final product that is presented here.
“Beautiful Something” deserves praise for contributing to the world of LGBT cinema, but past that profiles as a depressingly average romantic drama. Were this film to be buried, it’s epitaph might read “Utterly forgettable, undoubtedly important.” If you are someone with an affinity for independent romantic dramas or have a connection to LGBT culture, by all means view “Beautiful Something” for yourself and decide if the merits of the film are enough to blot out its shortcomings.
Now available on Digital HD & VOD
