Movie Review: All Over the Guy

Richard Ruccolo and Dan Bucatinsky in All Over the Guy

Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict

The Story:

All Over the Guy is a romantic comedy about two gay guys who are set up on a blind date by their straight friends.

Eli (Dan Bucatinsky), who has recently broken up with his boyfriend, is early for the results of his HIV test. While waiting, he tells the woman at the desk, Esther (Doris Roberts), how he met Tom (Richard Ruccolo) on a blind date.

Meanwhile, Tom starts to tell his side of the story to an Alcoholics Anonymous group. And although he doesn’t get to tell the entire story, one of the AA members approaches him after the group and he picks up where he left off.

And with that, the story unfolds in flashback, with Eli and Tom talking about how they were set up on a date by their straight friends, Jackie (Sasha Alexander) and Brett (Adam Goldberg). However, the first date between Eli and Tom doesn’t go well, with Tom acting bored and Eli not knowing what to say.

A few days later, Eli and Tom meet at a flea market, start talking and hit it off. They end up at Eli’s apartment, where they have sex. Tom spends the night, then quickly gets ready to leave the next day, saying they should have never hooked up, that it was a mistake.

The film continues, with Tom and Eli having an on again, off again relationship while Brett and Eli comment on it.

Some Thoughts:

While All Over the Guy is entertaining, it’s not very well done. The acting isn’t great, and the script needs some work. But despite that, it’s easy to watch because the characters are engaging, and the situations are amusing.

This is the standard romance where opposites meet and are attracted to one another but can’t make it work. Bucatinsky and Ruccolo are fine in their roles, but their acting abilities are more fit for a TV sitcom than a feature film. Also, the energy between Tom and Eli is sweet and not sexy, so the sex between them isn’t steamy. While I found this to be a nice change, others may feel different.

While Eli and Tom have their quirks, it’s Eli’s parents (Andrea Martin and Tony Abatemarco) who bring the most chuckles. When Eli was a child, they forced him and his sister to play games where they had to describe their feelings and speak candidly about sex. And while his parents meant well, it’s easy to see how it made him a bit neurotic.

Much like Eli, Tom’s quirky character traits are due to his upbringing. Tom’s parents (Joanna Kerns and Nicolas Surovy) are controlling alcoholics who aren’t happy with each other. It’s a bit of a dark storyline, but the film does a good job keeping it to a minimum with comedic elements. This is a romantic comedy after all.

Where All Over the Guy fails is that it tries to be a story about two couples, when it’s not. While the Brett and Jackie characters are great as the straight best friends, their relationship feels a bit too fabricated. I get that the film is trying to show a straight couple and gay one, but the story is about the gay romance.