So, we follow the exploits and losses of young gay man, Ryan (Montgomery), through a, frankly, bizarre and ever-shifting perspective: the hand-held camera and the constant switching of video stock doesn't help. I don't know who likened this to John Cameron Mitchell's "SHORTBUS", but whoever did seems either to have missed the entire point of that great film, or confused its message with that of this dreary attempt. "WRECKED" is certainly inclined towards being sincere; its problem lies in relying too much on the explicitness to keep the audience's attention throughout, and then spends less than 20 minutes chronicling the downfall of our protagonist. Evidently shot with only a rough outline for each scene and no script - at one point the producer of the play even says, 'I can't believe that kid can even read English.' I appreciate unwitting irony! - the delivery of the dialogue is reminiscent of a gay porno; not as OTT as straight porn, but not what you might call 'naturalistic', either. In fact it has been described as 'porn with a plot', but I'd contest this on the grounds that porn is meant to arouse; WRECKED seems to presume that showing sex explicitly is daring, that it pushes the envelope for decency, and that's a fair assumption. The execution, however, is lacklustre; throw two guys together on a bed and say 'Go' ('Action' just sounds desperate in this context!) and an edgy, artsy, gritty film you are not making! That said, it redeems itself by not relying on stereotype. Effeminacy, check - but that's just life, although the play's director was a 'fabulous' bridge too far!
All in all, I'm reluctant to give it any higher than a 4/10; a sincere effort, but without a script, decent cast or a crew who knows which end the lens is on, WRECKED is just, well... a wreck.
All in all, I'm reluctant to give it any higher than a 4/10; a sincere effort, but without a script, decent cast or a crew who knows which end the lens is on, WRECKED is just, well... a wreck.