Hard is about a gay serial killer and the gay detective who is forced to go after him. It has an interesting story: the closeted gay detective is abruptly forced out of the closet after the killer handcuffs him to his bed and makes off with his badge. He then becomes a suspect himself... and all that.
The script needed to be revised one or two more times. The strong plot twist and themes are too muddled here to really come across well, and many of the main character's actions are STOOPID. (For instance, this man, supposedly a detective, who has just endured a long ordeal with a serial killer, opens his door for anyone who says "pizza"-- when he didn't even ORDER a pizza! It was like an unintentional parody of the Saturday Night Live "Land Shark" routine. I personally thought he should be killed). There is a good moment when he and his partner are under a bridge where they aren't supposed to be when a body falls out of nowhere-- but this is never really developed. And for every moment like that there are three lines like "Where does all the hate come from?" This film had a strong idea and good elements, just needed to tie them together better.
The second HUGE problem is that very few of the people on screen can act. The two leads are relatively good, but the rest-- whew. The worst is the detective's partner, who cannot utter one single convincing line. At first I thought he was just being ironic. But no. There are times in this film when you just hold the sides of your temples. THE performance of the film belongs to the guy who plays Tex. I want someone to make "The Tex Story" now. He was the funniest and most convincing character in the film.
This film CAN be lauded for not being overly politically correct, for showing butcher gay men (who seem to never show up in other films), and for generally being brave and different, but there ARE a bunch of hideous clichés. Naturally, when the detective comes out, he MUST be beaten up. It's just the way, isn't it? And a lot of the angst over coming out is a little too played up, I think.
I WOULD recommend that you see it, if you're gay and interested in keeping up with gay film-- because this is the first film of this kind that I have seen, and very different from the typical "two-schoolboys-in-love -- but-can-they-tell-his-mother?" fare. And the production quality is generally good. But... the gay Scorsese is still out there, undiscovered.
--- Check out website devoted to bad, cheesy and gay movies: www.cinemademerde.com
The script needed to be revised one or two more times. The strong plot twist and themes are too muddled here to really come across well, and many of the main character's actions are STOOPID. (For instance, this man, supposedly a detective, who has just endured a long ordeal with a serial killer, opens his door for anyone who says "pizza"-- when he didn't even ORDER a pizza! It was like an unintentional parody of the Saturday Night Live "Land Shark" routine. I personally thought he should be killed). There is a good moment when he and his partner are under a bridge where they aren't supposed to be when a body falls out of nowhere-- but this is never really developed. And for every moment like that there are three lines like "Where does all the hate come from?" This film had a strong idea and good elements, just needed to tie them together better.
The second HUGE problem is that very few of the people on screen can act. The two leads are relatively good, but the rest-- whew. The worst is the detective's partner, who cannot utter one single convincing line. At first I thought he was just being ironic. But no. There are times in this film when you just hold the sides of your temples. THE performance of the film belongs to the guy who plays Tex. I want someone to make "The Tex Story" now. He was the funniest and most convincing character in the film.
This film CAN be lauded for not being overly politically correct, for showing butcher gay men (who seem to never show up in other films), and for generally being brave and different, but there ARE a bunch of hideous clichés. Naturally, when the detective comes out, he MUST be beaten up. It's just the way, isn't it? And a lot of the angst over coming out is a little too played up, I think.
I WOULD recommend that you see it, if you're gay and interested in keeping up with gay film-- because this is the first film of this kind that I have seen, and very different from the typical "two-schoolboys-in-love -- but-can-they-tell-his-mother?" fare. And the production quality is generally good. But... the gay Scorsese is still out there, undiscovered.
--- Check out website devoted to bad, cheesy and gay movies: www.cinemademerde.com