Star Appeal (2004/Water Bearer Films DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Main Program: C-
Trying to
combine homosexual themes with Science Fiction is not easy, though the idea of
being alien makes sense in the common denominator department, but sexual
ambiguity has been a permanent part of the genre since the first aliens showed
up. Thanks to Stanley Kubrick and
Nicolas Roeg, the sexuality sides of the genre were more closely examined and
created classics like A Clockwork Orange
and The Man Who Fell To Earth. So when Cui Zi’en’s Star Appeal (2004) presented itself as a Gay Sci-Fi film, I
wondered what it would be like.
Well, try
a disaster. The script by Zi’en is
loaded with tired pop culture references, jokes that don’t work, dialogue that
leaves the actors looking stupid (and their performances are barely at
grade-school play level) and there is hardly any effort to do anything with
Science Fiction beyond claiming the actor running around naked is one (and a
boring plaything at that) is as far as it gets.
Can the extra-terrestrial learn about love? Not with this set-up.
The
letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is weak, shot on video and soft to a point of
distraction, while the location sound in Dolby Digital 2.0 is as weak
sonically. There are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
