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Review

Eating Out
This screwball comedy harkens back to the days of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn (who may be turning over in their respective graves with that comparison) as a hunky straight guy pretends he's gay to get a date with a woman who only likes to hang out with gay men. Caleb just wants to meet a nice girl now after a bad experience. He goes to a party with his gay best friend and roommate Kyle (the adorably out Jim Verraros of "American Idol" fame) and spies Gwen (Emily Stiles) as she throws her latest gay boyfriend out of the bedroom. Kyle explains to Caleb that Gwen only seems to like gay boys and he convinces Caleb he must pretend to be gay to get Gwen's attention, and it does. Caleb is so convincing that Gwen decides to fix Caleb up with her own gay best friend Marc (Ryan Carnes), a super-stud. And to top off the whole ridiculous situation, Kyle has a long-standing crush on Marc, who doesn't even seem to remember his name. Suffice it say, this is quite a date! Combining plenty of adorable gay boys with some seriously madcap humor makes Eating Out a great bet.

Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds
Boasting a cast of hunks and a witty script from Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out and Boy Culture) and Phillip J. Bartell, Eating Out 2 is packed with more sexy, irreverent fun for all you guys who love the first edition. Returning to head up the cast are gay "American Idol" finalist Jim Verraros as Kyle and Emily Brooke Hands as Gwen, the ultimate fag hag. New to the cast, along with an array of studs, is John Waters veteran Mink Stole in a hilarious turn as Kyle's mom, Helen. When Kyle and Marc (Brett Chuckerman) have a breakup that doesn't quite feel final, Marc goes off in search of other prey while Gwen, Kyle and Tiffany (Rebekah Kochan, also back from Eating Out) head to art class, where today Troy (Marco Dapper) will model nude. As the trio lusts after Troy, they can't quite figure out who he likes: boys or girls? Troy and Kyle leave class together and head off across campus where they bump into Jacob (Scott Vickaryous) and his ex-gay group, "Coming In". Kyle, who is ultra-gay without a butch bone in his body, decides to pretend he's an ex-gay to see if he can get into mixed-up Troy's pants. There's lots of room for comic craziness as the charade heats up. Funnier and wackier than the first edition, we think Sloppy Seconds is hysterical. The film is a total farce, without any intent to educate or illuminate any serious topics, and for this, we love it. And by the way there is plenty of male nudity – it seems like it's almost all the boys – except Jim Verraros. Have a laugh and enjoy this completely frivolous film!

Eating Out: All You Can Eat
A raunchy sex comedy or a gay romance, however you see this third entry in the highly successful series, it's a wonderful film, filled with laughs, hot guys and a beautiful love story. Beside the requisite dirty jokes, director Glenn Gaylord and writers Phillip J. Bartell and Q. Allan Brocka developed this story as a love story, a gamble that paid off big-time. Sexy temptress/fag hag Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan reprising her role) and her boyishly cute friend Casey try to lure the buff and sweet Zack with a phony online profile using the image of Tiffani's buff ex, Ryan. That works fine until the real Ryan shows up and chaos ensues. Only through some fancy footwork, advice from his Aunt Helen (Mink Stole) and mentor Harry (Leslie Jordan), and a particularly photogenic hook-up, can Casey figure out how to set things right and date Zack. Besides the gay icons in the film, Eating Out: All You Can Eat introduces six openly gay actors in lead roles including: Daniel Skelton, Chris Salvatore, Michael Walker, John C. Stallings ("The Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency"), Maximiliano Torandell, and Rick D'Agostino. Taking inspiration from the classic screwball comedies of the thirties, the writers and directors have taken the decades-old formula of mistaken identities and turned it on its head and brought the concept into the twenty-first century. Judging by the ecstatic crowd reaction at the screening we were at, Eating Out: All You Can Eat is a major hit -- and even better than the second edition.

Eating Out: Drama Camp
The return of Q. Allan Brocka to the Eating Out series as director brings his great sense of style and comic timing to this now legendary series. Add in what must have been testosterone injections that the producer administered daily to the cast and you've got one of the most entertaining gay films of the last few years. To refresh your memories, Zack (Chris Salvatore) and Casey (Daniel Skelton) ended the third film as a happy couple deeply in love. But now the boys' relationship is in a slump. We join them as they are shooting their video entry to a drama camp where everything will change - it's off to "Dick Dickey’s Drama Camp"! The van arrives to pick up the boys in West Hollywood and Zack's eyes are glued to Benji's (Aaron Milo) remarkable physique and sweet face. But when Benji finds out that Zack is taken, he quickly pretends to be straight - hey, it's drama camp! At Dick Dickie's, the dick's have to stay inside the pants as sex is a no-no - and these boys get mighty horny as the summer progresses. For their play Benji and Zack get cast as lovers in an updated, nearly pornographic gay version of The Taming of the Shrew, and their self-restraint is certainly put to the test. And, when the sparks start to fly, Casey’s trusted friend Penny (Lilach Mendelovich) takes matters into her own hands by setting a poison oak trap for Benji - so that Casey can step in as Benji’s understudy. Meanwhile, Jason, the straight director who likes to film gay guys to impress the straight chicks, starts falling for Lilly (Harmony Santana), the trans girl. So let's get all of this "straight" - there are ridiculously horny gay boys, poison oak, a gay porn version of a play and the hottest boys West Hollywood has to offer. The on-stage finale brings the house down with a standing erection, oh sorry, I meant ovation. This fourth film in the Eating Outbrought down the house at our Philadelphia screening with its laughs, smarts and plenty of full-frontal nudity. The fifth entry in the series is in the can already and we hear that it's even sexier - bring it on!

Eating Out: The Open Weekend
The most beloved, long-lasting gay comedy film series returns with a never-ending parade of beautiful men, well-earned romantic moments and side-splitting laughs. Zack (Chris Salvatore) and Casey (Daniel Skelton), the slightly mismatched, but adorable couple that we first met in Eating Out: All You Can Eat have broken up. Thanks to his time at Drama Camp (see Eating Out: Drama Camp, for those of you not following along at home), super-hunk Zack has already found a new boy-toy to love in Benji (Aaron Milo). Casey, on the other hand, has not yet found a new love. This fact proves embarrassing when Casey accidentally runs into Zack and Benji during a "Gaycation Getaway" at the Triangle Inn - a gay Palm Springs resort. After taking a wealth of bad advice from his best fag hags, Casey, desperate to not seem pathetic in Zack and Benji's eyes, enlists the help of Peter - a former high-school crush who has abs "like 'The Situation' without the scabies." Peter reluctantly agrees to pose as Casey's boyfriend for the weekend - as long as it doesn't interfere with his own sexual sporting. What Casey doesn't know is that Zack and Benji are having romantic troubles of their own. Zack is the monogamous type, but Benji isn’t ready to limit himself sexually. In face, Benji is hoping that an open, sexually adventurous weekend away will start to change Zack's mind about committed relationships. It doesn't. If anything, seeing Benji cavorting with other men is sending Zack's eyes wandering back to Casey. In keeping with the previous films, the female characters of Eating Out: The Open Weekend get to tackle some the funniest lines and scenarios. Jennifer Elise Cox (who you might know best as Jan from The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel) joins new series regulars Lilach Mendelovich and Harmony Santana as an outrageously bitchy desk clerk. And, of course, no Eating Out movie would be complete without welcome cameo appearances from Rebekah Kochan and Mink Stole. Charming, funny, romantic and packed to the brim with shirtless muscle-studs, the fifth entry in this consistently appealing series will please both fans of the series and newcomers.

 -- Scott Cranin