The premise of a gay version of "L'avventura" seemed like it could be a very interesting twist on a classic...until you remember most gay movies suck terribly and do more harm than good. Yes, "Phoenix" is no exception. Gone is the stylish cinematography, the passionate dialogue...and the passion behind the silence. Phoenix is just the typical, linear schlock that doesn't do a shred of justice to the original. The pace is slow, the direction awful and the script cringe-worthy. I'm not sure if the director was merely stuck with bad actors or if he seriously is so bad at making films that he doesn't even recognize bad acting (my guess is it's probably the latter). The absolute WORST in a cast of bad actors is the character of Demitrius played by Jeff Castle, who in the climactic moment cannot even seem to cry believably (the way he contorted his face made it look like he was passing an ice-berg). The ONLY positive to this ENTIRE mess is the lead played by Chad Bartley: he was obviously type-cast because he was cute, young and had a boyish innocence about him...THIS WAS THE ONLY THING THAT WORKED. In other words, I'm not saying Chad is necessarily a great actor, but he did an awesome job in this role, despite the ridiculousness of this film. In fact, I sincerely wish him well and hope he gets work (if he still wants to and hasn't been soured from that experience) as I almost feel sorry for him for participating in this.