LAFF 2012: GAYBY



Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) in Gayby.

Can you relate?

By Don Simpson

Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) are best friends from college. They are now in their thirties and currently single. Jenn has just never met the right guy for her; neither has Matt, who is still recovering from his last relationship. Years ago, they promised to make a baby together. Now, Jenn’s biological clock is ticking and she is ready to follow through on that pledge. The catch? She wants to make the baby the old fashioned way: no turkey basters, artificial insemination or fertilization for them!

Jenn and Matt struggle to get their dating lives back in motion while concurrently jump starting their careers. Jenn has a low-ranking position at a yoga studio; Matt is a comic book illustrator who works as a clerk at a comic book store. They each make some bad decisions along the way, but they support each other as only best friends know how — which sometimes means not talking to each other for a while. Luckily they have a “nellybear," Matt’s friend, Nelson (Jonathan Lisecki), to help guide them along their way.

Jonathan Lisecki’s Gayby is a film with many admirable qualities. It intelligently discusses sexuality (including issues of gay identity), aging, friendship, loneliness, and the definition of family. Gayby is not a “gay film." it is a film about people and relationships, whether they are L-G-B-T-Q or A…and everything in between. Sure, Lisecki includes a lot of gay-oriented humor but his goal is not to segregate his audience. Instead he hopes to create a better understanding of sexuality and gender. As offensive as some audiences may find a narrative about an unmarried straight woman and gay man having intercourse to make a baby, the purpose of Gayby is not to shock or offend people. Gaybymight actually expand your mind a little if you just give it a chance. When it comes down to it, Gayby is a well-written (and acted) and undeniably silly romantic comedy.

Gayby screens at the Los Angeles Film Festival: June 16, 9:40 p.m., Regal Cinemas; June 21, 9:40 p.m., Regal Cinemas.



LAFF 2011: NATURAL SELECTION

Raymond (Matt O'Leary) and Linda (Rachael Harris) in Natural Selection.

Problems of the flesh

By John Esther

Bewitched and bewildered, Linda White (Rachael Harris), is a good, doting Christian wife who blames herself for wanting to get down with her husband (John Diehl) in a biblical way to such a degree that when he has a stroke while stroking at a sperm bank – albeit a very desperate and deregulated one – the seemingly-barren woman feels it is her godly duty to find her husband's missing bastard son.

After trekking from Texas to Florida (a "bush" correlation?), Linda finds a young man, Raymond (Matt O' Leary), who happens to be on the run from the law. (Raymond's introduction in the opening scene of the film is a mise-en-scène tour-de-force.) Raymond, the super-seed monster, agrees to be her son, thus setting off a road trip back to Texas.

Along the way, the couple endures several mishaps, misfires and even, uh oh, a marital mistake .

Marked by Harris' stellar and adorable performance, writer-director Robbie Pickering's SXSW award-winning Natural Selection offers enough credibility, satire and laughs that, despite some visually incredulous images regarding sex, make this delightful indie film worthy of watching.