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People who think that it's easy for a gay teenager to be open about his sexuality in 2007 must live in Disney's Magic Kingdom. Despite three decades of gay pride demonstrations, more visibility in the media, and recent favorable Supreme Court decisions (e.g. striking down Texas' sodomy laws), it remains difficult for a gay teenager to openly be himself. And that is the central point of director Simon Shore's Get Real, where a group of teens wade through life's sexual/social ambiguities and struggle with the idea of "coming out."
Coming across the source material in London at a performance of Patrick Wilde's What's Wrong with Angry, Shore saw the cinematic potential of the play. What he does best is maintain Wilde's central idea:
"I wrote the play because I had something to say. I was sick of being told by people—even gay people—that it's easier to be gay now. Maybe it is easier to be gay, once you're out. But I don't believe it's easier than it ever was to come out. All the pressures from your peers, from your parents, are still there, and no amount of legislation is going to change that."
Steven Carter (Ben Silverstone) seems reasonably well adjusted for a gay sixteen year old living a double life. He's accepted his fated sexuality within his own psyche while acknowledging the dangers of openly declaring his sexual preference. Feigning "normality" at school and in front of his parents, Steven satisfies his raging hormones at a public restroom and then shares his secret encounters with his closest friend, Linda (Charlotte Brittain), the stereotypically understanding "girl next door" with her own fantasy of hooking up romantically with her driving instructor.
The high school has all the trappings and stereotypical characters inhabiting virtually any high school, whether located in the UK or the US. Remaining closeted doesn't prevent the slightly built, sensitive Steven from being picked on by the insecure macho bullies that traditionally push the kids with an "IQ over 25" that don't smoke or play football. However, one athletic superstar (and nice guy) stands out as the ultimate "hunk" that has the girls (and closeted gay guys) drooling. This fantasy is little more than an unrequited pipe dream since "Mr. Perfect" John Dixon (Brad Gorton) dates local "supermodel" Christina Lindmann and will be heading off to Oxford after graduation, largely due to his father's legacy. But when Steven learns that John is gay and fancies him, suddenly his life turns into a serious romantic comedy that proceeds fairly predictably.
Such a film must rely on the strength of its actors, and the principal young actors save the screenplay from oblivion. Silverstone believably treads between his two worlds, most noticeably real when fellow editor Jessica (Stacy A. Hart) responds to his sensitivity and makes a pass at him. Without overacting Silverstone communicates his conflicted feelings—knowing that he can never be more than a "friend" to her, wanting to reveal his secret, and yet lacking the courage to trust a relative "stranger." Brittain brilliantly supplies the comic relief acting as Steven's cover, hilariously putting down the school bully when he attempts to "pick her up" and conveniently fainting to allow Steven to escape a family wedding. Also quite natural is Gorton, as the conflicted athlete tentatively exploring his sexuality, who shifts instantly from open longing to defensive posturing in the film's uncomfortable gay bashing scene.
Smaller roles are also varied enough to become more than stereotypes (outside the one obvious macho bully). Before Steven comes out, his mother (Jacquetta May) begins to suspect he's gay, as May communicates her suspicions with her "knowing" eyes while examining her son's photography work. Her tentative acceptance comes across realistically, and she helps ease her husband into similar quiet acceptance. At least he doesn't rant, nor does he rush in and offer immediate supporting hugs. This part does seem quite real—as Wilde pens in the screenplay, how can you expect instant acceptance by your parents when it takes years to come to that point yourself?
What doesn't feel so real is Steven's contrived public "outing," complete with microphone in front of the entire student body and community members. The speech has a great sound bite: "It's only love. What's everyone so scared of?" But this is the speech that Steven is far more likely to daydream about giving long after graduation than one that he'd actually deliver. And while it doesn't contain the lame In & Out device of having various audience members jumping up and gleefully declaring they too are gay, the universal acceptance of Steven's speech just doesn't feel real. Thankfully, the actors deliver enough heartfelt emotional content throughout the comedy to deliver Get Real above the usual mundane coming of age genre films. Since it has no explicit sexual content outside of kissing, I question its R rating, which may prevent a few teens from seeing it—is the MPAA really that homophobic? After all, it's only love!
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