Queerly Ever After #57: IS IT JUST ME? (2010)

Queerly Ever After is a bi-monthly column where I take a look at LGBT+ films that gave their characters a romantic happily-ever-after. There will be spoilers. Also, don’t forget to buy your Queerly Ever After merch right here.

This Cyrano de Bergerac-esque movie from J.C. Calciano follows columnist Blaine (Nicholas Downs). Unlucky in love because he is looking for a real connection and not a fling, he writes a column for the fiction USA To Gay magazine about his dwindling romantic prospects. But then, one night while in an online chatroom for gay men (pre Tinder/Grindr) he begins chatting with Xander (David Loren), an LA transplant from Texas. The two hit it off, and all is going great until the two decide to meet in person, it is then that Blaine realizes his roommate, the hunky Cameron (Adam Huss), was logged in on his computer and he’s accidentally been chatting with Xander on Cameron’s account. So Blaine does what any logical guy would do, instead of explaining the mix-up to Xander, convinces Cameron to pretend to be him and go out with Xander.

There’s something really weird going on through this movie that I have to address right now. At the beginning of the film, Blaine is sort of made out to be a bit of a pariah, the other guys just don’t like him. It never really makes sense why. In the play from which this movie is pulling its entire concept, Cyrano, while being a gifted poet, also has a bulbous nose that makes him self-conscious. Blaine seems to feel like there is something physically wrong with him. There isn’t, but in the opening scene, Blaine orders a coffee from the world’s worst barista who proceeds to treat Blaine like he’s a freak. And Blaine doesn’t order some crazy drink, he just gets a decaf latte. The script never decides if Blaine is actually supposed to be unattractive or attractive. The scene with the barista is weird, especially when later scenes in the film establish that other guys are definitely attracted to Blaine. However, we’re not supposed to read the barista’s behavior as something that was all in Blaine’s head because Xander, who walked into the coffee shop after him (this is before they started chatting online) notices it too. It just doesn’t make sense.

To Catfish or Not to Catfish

Of course, if Blaine were to do the sensical thing from the get-go then there would be no movie. But the movie we did get has so many things going on that the plot doesn’t make that much sense. For one thing, this movie was made when Facebook was already around. We know this because after Blaine and Xander chat online for the first time, Blaine tells his best friend Michelle (Michelle Laurent) about it, and she asks if he looked Xander up on Facebook. Blaine confirms Xander does have an account, but his privacy settings are turned on so he can’t see anything. That doesn’t mean Blaine’s account is set to private, and Cameron’s certainly isn’t, so why did Xander never look up Blaine on Facebook?

Yes, obviously after a constant series of miscommunications Xander eventually learns the truth and is upset, but then for some reason decides to write a song for Blaine to express his feelings. Unfortunately, as charming as Loren is as Xander, a good singer he is not, and I found myself cringing as he crooned.

In Conclusion: Is It Just Me?

This is one of those rom-coms where you really have to suspend your disbelief. Yes, all movies require some extent of that, but this one wants you to believe that the series of events that take place in this movie actually makes sense, even in the context of the film they feel forced. It’s definitely nowhere near the worst movie I have covered, it’s just sort of middling. It has its charms and you might even enjoy watching it, but part of your enjoyment will derive from trying to understand just why anything is happening.

Is It Just Me came out in New York City on October 1, 2010. For all other release dates, see here.

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