Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
The Skinny is a gay drama about four college friends who reunite in New York City for Pride.
Magnus (Jussie Smollett) is a medical student living in NYC who has been with his boyfriend, Ryan (Dustin Ross), for five months. They have not yet had sex to prove that their relationship is deeper than physical attraction. When Magnus’s friends, Sebastian (Blake Young-Fountain), Langston (Shanika Warren-Markland), Joey (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman), and Kyle (Anthony Burrell) visit for Pride, Ryan relegates himself to the sidelines so Magnus can spend time with them.
As Magnus reunites with his college pals, Sebastian tells him that he’s in love with Kyle and is planning on letting him be the first man to penetrate him. Magnus tries to talk Sebastian out of it, especially since Kyle is not the type to settle for any one man. But Sebastian believes that once they have sex, Kyle will fall in love with him, and they’ll become inseparable.
As the festivities begin, Magnus’s friends discover that Kyle isn’t the only one playing the field. Ryan has a profile on a hookup site and is looking for people to have sex with. They tell Magnus, and the drama begins.
Some Thoughts:
The Skinny is a soapy mess that has nothing we haven’t seen before. While it’s not unusual for these types of dramas to regurgitate the same plots, they usually offer intriguing characters that the audience can relate to. However, this movie does not.
The only interesting storyline is between Sebastian and Kyle, who seem to have actual affection for each other. It’s unclear if Kyle is interested in Sebastian romantically, is playing him, or is simply an affectionate person. And since the film doesn’t allow any of the characters to have any depth, we never find out how Kyle actually feels about Sebastian. He’s relegated to being a dirty sex hound whose affections for Sebastian are questionable. Because of that, Burrell never gets a chance to flex his acting chops and show us what he can do.
Joey and Langston are nothing but filler. They’re both shy and afraid to put themselves out there despite coming across as confident. To make matters worse, they’re always together, and their stories unfold at the very same time.
The main character is Magnus, whose story is supposed to deliver the high and lows. But since the audience doesn’t know enough about him or Ryan, it’s hard to care. There is no emotion or suspense behind any of it. Writer/director Patrik-Ian Polk doesn’t seem to know how to build tension, nor does he understand what makes a compelling story. It’s a shame because he put together a decent cast and wasted them on this tedious slop.
The Final Verdict:
The Skinny is a dull, lifeless mess of made-up drama.