Testosterone

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

A big deal and selling point for Testosterone was famous model Antonio Sabato Jr. showing up with no clothes and playing a gay man.  For those who are fans, you will see more of him in Janet Jackson’s Love Will Never Do Without You video, which excludes his bad acting here.  Instead, we are stuck with another tired, formula film about a male couple who seems happy together, have found paradise, maybe even have a serious (and intense) sexual relationship, when one of them leaves.

 

The other (David Sutcliffe) spends the film searching for him (Sabato Jr.) to find out “what went wrong” or how he could mistake how “real” the relationship was with the usual questions.  However, none of these films ever take the situation seriously enough, with this film offering more would-be comedy that never works out.  It would be great if a mature film was made on the subject, but this is not it, and Sabato’s father’s career remains untouched by his son's.  Sabato Jr. is barely in this film anyhow, which is so convoluted that it is beyond explanation.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a bit disappointing, a bit darker than usual, grainier than expected and lacking detail.  The camerawork is nothing extraordinary from Ken Kelsch, A.S.C., though at least the location is interesting.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no Pro Logic surrounds and does not have the fidelity of a recent recording, while the music score is lame.  Extras include trailers for four other Strand titles, a trailer for this film, three deleted scenes which had to go and a featurette with the cast and crew that runs about 19 minutes.  Director David Moerton explains how author James Robert Baker inspired him to do this “cinematic adaptation” of the book.  One wonders if it had all these clichés.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo