MovieChat Forums > Shelter (2009) Discussion > Boring movie with the WORST kissing I ha...

Boring movie with the WORST kissing I have ever seen!

posted 13 years ago by preppy-3
18 replies | jump to latest

I don't agree with other people who love this movie but I respect their opinions. Brad Rowe and Trevor Wright have ZERO chemistry together. To make it worse Wright just simply can't act--Rowe can but not enough to save the movie. And, worst of all, their kiss has got to be the WORST I've ever seen on screen! That the guys are both heterosexuals in real life doesn't excuse it. I've seen other str8 actors who go right for it and really make it believable. These two seem like they're very grudgingly do it. I really don't see what the problem is. They're both attractive guys so what the problem with kissing each other? They're actors--that means they're supposed to ACT!

[–] elskhugi 13 years ago

I completely agree with you about the acting in this movie, I was annoyed with the kissing scenes also. But the ending made me forget everything - I loved it.

[–] N00b 13 years ago

I kind of agree with you, and I'm a big fan of the film. I've watched the film dozens of time and I'm still in love with it, but there are scenes when Trevor Wright kisses Brad Rowe you can see Trevor get off of character and about to giggle. When Brad does love scenes (kissing, hugging, etc) you can see the passion, but when Trevor hugs/kisses back, he just looks like he's about to laugh/uncomfortable (which is understandable). It's nothing really noticeable unless you concentrate hard, but the movie is still enjoyable.

[–] preppy-3 13 years ago

Yeah--thinking about it I do agree with u. Rowe has played gay roles before so I think he was more comfortable with it. Wright however was pulling back so much it was noticable. What gets me is what he was saying in interviews with gay magazines before the movie came out. He repeatedly kept saying he had NO problems playing a gay man or kissing a guy--it was just he didn't know (get this) how to play it gay!!!! That remark makes little sense and his kissing makes it clear that he DOES have a problem with it. Too bad.

[–] namnhan2003 12 years ago

You just want 5 minutes of fame by posting something different and biased for this film.

[–] preppy-3 12 years ago

No. I just posted this cause I hated the film.

[–] bpoz 12 years ago

You have a right to your opinion of course. I just disagree. I thought they were both very present in all the scenes. It isn't Oscar worthy (although I thought Brad Rowe was spot on throughout) but I believed their relationship and didn't feel that Trevor was backing off. I felt like I was watching a young man engaged in his first same sex sexual encounter(s). As the relationship wore on, I felt their connection and affection for each other. I loved that first kiss, which was tentative but relaxed at the same time for Shaun and was returned by Zach in a way that looked comfortable and unpressured. Just a moment of freely expressing affection without a need on the part of either for it to go any further.

That you didn't believe their portrayals is fine. That others did is not surprising either. We all just like what we like and some things resonate with one person but not another.

[–] panic-station 12 years ago

The kissing in Beautiful Thing was worse.

[–] preppy-3 12 years ago

LOL Sort of true but in "Beautiful" one of the actors was at least gay. And it was a MUCH better movie.

[–] JanoPerez 10 years ago

Are you referring to the scene after they visited the gay pub? Personally I think it was better than Shelter, even though they were just making out or at least "excessively kissing" a lot. In Shelter it just looked like a bunch of "bird pecks" to each others mouth's which is what annoyed me.

[–] snoho 11 years ago

Likewise. I felt very little heat or passion which should have occurred during their outbreaks of desire. It all felt wooden and predictable to me. I've seen many better films in this genre.

[–] Nightflyre9 11 years ago

I absolutely disagree that this movie was "boring." I was thoroughly engaged with the characters and the story from beginning to end. And as far as Trevor Wright not showing enough "emotion" or "pulling back," let's remember he's portraying a young guy being intimate with another man for the first time . . . those scenes SHOULD express the character's tentative demeanor, which they did.

I'm not knocking your opinion, or the opinions of anyone else in this thread, but I found Shelter to be a touching and enjoyable movie. Is it the be-all and end-all of gay film? No, of course not. Is it as good as or better than many of its contemporaries in the genre? Absolutely yes. As I said in another thread last year, this movie felt more like the story of two people falling in love who just happen to be gay, rather than a "gay love story." That's an important distinction for me.

[–] rgcustomer 11 years ago

I agree. I believed the characters, and I didn't see anything fake about the kisses.

I also liked that there was more to the story than the relationship or their orientation. Queer cinema has had a lot to say about those things, and it's good to remember the freedom to step just a little outside that. It make the characters fuller.

Still, although it's Zach's story, they could have told us more about Shaun. That's my only complaint.

[–] kuroko 11 years ago

I did like the characters, especially the three leads, including the sister Jeanne.

My main criticism is about how they got involved, which I think it's unrealistic, and I agree that I'd liked to know more about Shaun's background. Some people seem to know that he's gay, and he was acquainted with Jeanne. Shaun is out to his brother but wouldn't discuss it with him, seeing how clumsy Gabe is about the subject, and he recently had a break up. Then there was this alleged trip to Barcelona. I think the story would've worked better had we seen more things from his perspective.

The kissing was fine. As others pointed out, it's supposed to be awkward for Zach especially. I think Shaun would also have a problem with it, as he finds himself attracted to someone who is at least ten years younger and knows since he was a kid, so it makes sense to think that he'd be a little uncomfortable with the idea of hooking up with his brother's childhood friend.

[–] kuroko 11 years ago

I think the story transcends the "gay film" label and has a very relatable deep subtext about being young in a world of endless possibilities and how you cope with reality in order fulfill the dreams and hopes you have at that age. I liked that though it was clearly Zach's story, we also saw that the same subject from Jeanne and Tori's perspective. They all wanted to improve their lives and take a chance at better jobs while balancing their love lives, and somehow the three fo them felt held back by family obligations. I like how it didn't make villains out of anybody.

[–] mirrigold 8 years ago

let's remember he's portraying a young guy being intimate with another man for the first time . . . those scenes SHOULD express the character's tentative demeanor, which they did.

Agreed. I found it completely believable and a wonderfully played love story irrespective of the sexual orientation of the characters.

[–] outterspaces 10 years ago

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and as a gay man (I'm guessing you are too), I felt quite the opposite. The kissing was just fine, not the munching and smacking one would expect in a cheap love story, but nervous and it is a new experience for a guy who, up until that moment, thought he is heterosexual. This must be very stressful and hard to deal with. Also, let's not forget that this movie isn't so much about the love story, it never really is with gay-themed movies. In another topic here I mentioned I had a similar experience in my 20's, minus the happy ending. The guy I dated was so wooden, nervous and we used to fight all the time, but I knew deep down he wanted this.. he felt safe and happy.
Back to Shelter: I would have wanted a bit more nudity (for many reasons :P) but mostly because it would have worked well. Watching this, I couldn't stop thinking about Latter Days and that one love scene Aaron and Christian had in the motel during the blizzard. It made everything so much more believable.

[–] preppy-3 10 years ago

Yeah I'm gay and I guess we have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm just so sick of these str8 actors who agree to kiss or make out with another guy on film--and then complain or back off when it comes out. "Latter Days" was an example. There was NO kissing and the blond in the film is now insisting his character wasn't gay! The same with Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain". If u agree to do the role do it and shut up about it.