Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict
The Story:
My Fake Boyfriend is a gay romantic comedy directed by Rose Troche (Go Fish, Bedrooms and Hallways). It’s about Andrew (Keiynan Lonsdale), a gay stuntman who is dating Nico (Marcus Rosner), a self-absorbed actor. Andrew and Nico have an on-again/off-again relationship because Nico constantly lies and cheats.
Andrew’s best friend, Jake (Dylan Sprouse), and his girlfriend Kelly (Sarah Hyland) don’t like Nico and decide to put an end to the relationship for good. So Jake creates the perfect man, Cristiano (Jaden Goetz), and sets him up with various social media accounts. He then photoshops Andrew into pictures with Cristiano to show them traveling and posts them. It doesn’t take long for Cristiano’s accounts to blow up, and for Nico to see them.
Since this is a romantic comedy, once Andrew sees Nico for who he is, he meets Rafi (Samer Salem), a restaurant owner who is just right for him. It’s typical romance.
Some Thoughts:
Although the concept for My Fake Boyfriend has promise, the execution ruins it. The script takes things a bit too far, even for what’s supposed to be a screwball comedy. The characters are well defined, especially the talented graphic artist Jake, who is perpetually out of work. Jake creates Cristiano and gives him life, and that life is everything he’s always wanted. The concept is great, but the execution ruins things.
The problem is that Cristiano becomes so famous that it wouldn’t take long for the ruse to be discovered. Jake has Cristiano collecting donations for his own non-profits and others, and nobody from any of the non-profits comes out to say they have no idea who he is? Let’s not think about the legality of collecting for a non-profit that doesn’t exist. He’s also a human rights activist, which means Cristiano should have met other people doing that type of work. But he can’t because Cristiano’s not real.
Also, Andrew and Cristiano are constantly travelling to exotic locales and posting pictures, but nobody ever questions Andrew about when he went. He has co-workers and a boss, all of whom are following Cristiano, and not one of them questions Andrew’s travels? Even Andrew’s mother (Karen Robinson) is so gullible that she buys the story without question.
Then there’s the romance between Andrew and Rafi, which feels clunky because of the fake boyfriend angle. It’s a shame because Lonsdale and Salem have chemistry and their characters are well defined, so their interest in each other is believable.
By making Cristiano too over the top, the story becomes one unavoidable plot hole that ruins everything. And it’s a shame because the acting works, and the romantic leads have the right amount of sizzle.
The Final Verdict:
My Fake Boyfriend is a screwball romantic comedy that would be enjoyable if the story reigned things in. It takes the fake boyfriend concept so far that it ruins everything that works. Stay away from this dud.
