Rating: 
Summary: Funny, Bittersweet, Satisfying and Realistic
Review: I thought this would be a cute gay romantic film with little kinks in the plot but ultimately end in fuzzy sweetness. Basically, a nice, light movie. Well, it does end sweetly, but the journey that took us there was full of twists and turns and hardships and heartache that showed us relationships take work. It isn't add water, mix and presto. Dan Bucantinsky, in addition to being so cute and sexy (is he single?), brilliantly adapted his play into this marvelous script that realistically depicted many issues in relationships, whether gay or straight, in which two people must overcome a lot of personal problems in their own life and background, accept each other as they are and move on, learn to love themselves, and finally come full circle to love someone else. The story is framed in clever and funny flash back scenes (that incidentally also deliver a responsible message of safe sex in this age of AIDS) with incredible lead and supporting casts (Doris Roberts, Andrea Martin, Joanna Kerns, Lisa Kudrow, etc.). Dan played the main character - as smart, funny, vulnerable, clever, dysfunctional, normal, abnormal, dynamic, timid and so very sexy! It definitely felt as if he wrote and acted from personal experience. I certainly related to many of his plights. Richard Ruccolo was fantastic as his alcoholic, commitment-fearing love interest who is capable of great affection as well as distance. Ruccolo really made that character work - I've liked him ever since that ABC sitcom, "Two Guys, A Girl . . . ." Sasha Alexander and Adam Goldberg were the hilarious straight couple who set the two guys up in the first place as a way to get to each other. This was something that took me by surprise with its depth, complexity, humor and writing. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: The course of true love, whatever kind
Review: A straight couple (Sasha Alexander and Adam Goldberg) set up their respective best friends, both gay (Dan Bucatinsky and Richard Ruccolo) on a blind date. While the straight romance goes swimmingly along the gay couple lurches from crisis to crisis. Dan Bucatinsky, the star, also wrote and produced this romantic comedy-drama. There are many side-splitting scenes and great one-liners--the two men's disastrous first date, where they seem to have absolutely nothing in common, is especially on-target. The more serious scenes between Bucatinsky and Ruccolo, as they start to realize that they _do_ love one another after all, don't work as well, the dialogue lapsing into clichés. There is also too much glib pop psychological explanation as to why the two guys are so dysfunctional with regard to relationships. Still, with the talents of actors such as Lisa Kudrow, Cristina Ricci and Doris Roberts in supporting roles, this movie kept me continually laughing and entertained for the duration.
Rating:
Summary: "All Over The Guy" is the millennium's gay "Annie Hall"
Review: Few movie buffs can argue that "Annie Hall" was one of the better film classics to come out the last half of the 20th century. Few movies have summed up themselves up as brillantly as Woody Allen's dialogue at the end of the movie when discussing the difficulties and frustrations of relationships people constantly put themselves through because "they need the eggs." While this movie was created on a limited $500,000 and may not convey this theme as convincingly as "Annie Hall," it comes very close. Update the topic of "Annie Hall" some 20+ years later with the additon of a gay angle and you have "All Over The Guy." As the plot is described in many reviews here, I won't do that, but instead give some of my perceptions of this wonderful movie! A good combination of actors, dialogue, and songs, especially the two by Peter Stuart, which set a nice tone for important parts in the movie- this flick is a winner!While some reviewers may not completely understand Tom's (Richard Ruccolo) flip-flop personality of nice guy/bad guy in dealing with Eli (Dan Bucatinsky), it makes perfect sense for people who do not feel good enough for a partner they are in love with due to a lack of self-worth within themselves. Particularily in light of the frowns and pressures put on gays in general society, Tom's rebuffs, isolation, one night stands, and alcoholism are easily understood. Both Tom and Eli's personalities, fears, hesitancies, idiosyncrasies, and quirks are "explained" and very well done in scenes involving their relationships with their parents both in the present and in flashbacks as children as Mr. Allen did in "Annie Hall." One of the powers of "All Over The Guy" is how well it communicates the premise that we are who we have become due to the influences of our parents and siblings as we grow up. We become consciously or unconsciously "extensions" of our own parents and family as adults due to our life experiences with them. Julie Davis, the director, and Dan Bucatinsky, who wrote this storyline as a play involving two straight couples do an incredible job of adapting this updated story to the big screen with a gay and straight couple. Great casting and good dialogue, some have unfairly critized, I think, as being too "Friends"-like or "soapy." That's not too surprising to me as two of the actors, Adam Goldberg and Dan B., have both appeared in "Friends"; Sasha Alexander from "Dawson's Creek"; and Richard Ruccolo is of "Three Guys and A Girl" fame. They all carry the dialogue, however, in admirable and entertaining fashion. Add Lisa Kudrow of "Friends" and Doris Roberts of "Everyone Loves Raymond" in great cameos and you've got the whipped cream on the cake. I can't say enough good things about Andrea Martin- the cherry on top of the whipped cream! Ms. Martin- very under-rated and under-appreciated- is one of the funniest comedians and character actresses of our time. Most of her portrayals are borderline-line genius and she doesn't disappoint in this film! Finally, Richard Ruccolo's portrayal of Tom made him the "shining star" in this movie. I came away with a newfound respect for him as an actor than simply labeling him as a "sit-com" actor. I am perplexed why we haven't seen more of him in starring roles after viewing this film. While some may tire of Tom and Eli's on again-off again tug-of-war relationship, it speaks a brillant and universal truth in a great screenplay about a relationship(s) we may have ourselves been in at one time or that we know someone has been in at sometime. The movie flows evenly through funny and serious moments and has one of the most personally intense love scenes- gay or straight- I've ever seen in a movie. While the scene is short on both length and skin, I felt for a brief flash that I was actually "intruding" into a very personal moment between two people. Bravo Dan and Richard! I consider this movie to be one of the better gay-themed movies to be released over the past few years and one I have advocated my friends to see. The DVD also has some nice additions with a commentary track, an additional short film, and an alternate ending. Word of warning! Watch the movie, let it sink in, and assess it (as this is how it was released in the theatre) before watching the alternate ending. It will completely alter your perception of the film. For those who haven't seen this movie or those who were not impressed initially, I say watch or re-watch it from the perspective of what "Annie Hall" conveyed to us about relationships and what makes them so hard. I guarantee you will come away affected, moved, impressed, and inspired by this film.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and not too heavy
Review: This was a good film, the production quality was good and the acting was believable. The story was realistic in regard to the difficulty of getting to know someone and the baggage involved with the late 20's single scene. I was drawn in and enjoyed the film. It was tastefully done and had a good deal of comedy. It did address drinking too much and that behavior but stayed away from drugs. It did not have excessive sex and the sex that did take place was in context with the story, it appeared natural and well timed. The film promotes safe sex in a tasteful non preachy way. This was a good investment and a good addition to the collection.
Rating:
Summary: I Always Hate Those Movies I Like,
Review: 'Cause There's Always An Ending... So glad to see Richard Riccolo in the movie. I can't write an useful review but I still want to say something nice about the movie. Director Julie Davis didn't intend to illustrate a stereotypical gay film that deals with 'coming out', 'Drugs and Sex' or 'fighting aginst AIDS'. This movie is just about a relationship whose main characters happen to be gay. I like movie with this sort of healthy approach. Writer Dan Bucatinsky should be praised for that also. However, the plot was too common thus predictable. Well, at least it's still a good choice for a relaxing evening filled with laughters. I must conclude that Richard Riccolo just shines! To me, he gave a brilliant performance for his role as Tom. Watch out for his "killer eyes" and that very charming smile of his. How come we don't see him that often in movies? "You do the math". Support this fine actor by grabbing this DVD. It's worthwhile I tell you.
Rating:
Summary: All Over Those Guys!
Review: A real "feel good" movie, that's also funnier than [heck]. ... My friends & I are thinking about joining an "All Over The Guy" support group, because, not a few weeks go by that we don't watch this flick, or share it with friends, who always love it, & usually go out & buy it themselves. Yeah, we find it that funny. There may be a couple of moments that will fly over heterosexuals heads... But for the most part, this movie is for everyone...The premise of the just met & really hot for each other straight couple, hysterically played by Sasha Alexander & Adam Goldberg, who have a first date kind of based on the condition of fixing up their respective best friends, both of whom are gay, gets the ball rolling. The best friends are flawlessly, humorously, and touchingly played by Richard Ruccolo and Dan Bucatinsky, Bucatinsky also being the writer and producer of this film. (Yeah, the boy is talented.)The trials of dating, gay or straight, and the ridiculous walls we put up in order to avoid intimacy, which would thereby result in us "exposing ourselves", and committing the punishable- by- death crime of being "vulnerable" and admitting we're human, are universal. This film is filled with so many little bon-bons of witticism, that you'll uncover new ones on each viewing. And you'll be screeching at the all too familiar patterns we all employ, where love is concerned. This is a great ensamble cast, with even the smallest parts, like Christina Ricci's, being hysterical & relevant. Also, Doris Roberts is a hoot as the clinic receptionist. OH !, and "Eli's" parents, the psychologists, will have you rolling on the floor at their ultra-liberal psycho-babble. All these characters are just written & portrayed with dead-on humor. Most of these people are television stars, and, as the only t.v. I watch is Judge Judy and Animal Planet, I was really not too familiar with them. But I found them all just great. The fact that this movie is so funny doesn't take away from it also being incredibly touching. We ALWAYS cry at the end. After loving it so much the first time, we wanted to share it with friends, but thought maybe it was one of those flicks you thought at the time was hysterical, but, to you & your guests horror, in actuality was not funny at all, and you must have been having substance flashbacks on the first viewing. Not so with this movie, it's just as all - around great, BETTER, even, the second time around. If you don't like this flick, send me the video cover it came in , and I'll EAT IT! , that's how sure I am you're gonna love this flick. Ain't love grand??
Rating:
Summary: Review of All Over The Guy by Cheri
Review: "All Over the Guy" is a romantic comedy with enough drama to make it an engrossing film. It is about an adorable yet nerdy, neurotic, perfectionist, named Eli (Dan Bucatinsky), and his search for "the one" person to spend the rest of his life with. It is easy to see why he is high-strung. Eli has over-protective Jewish parents, who are not only shrinks, but they psychoanalyze his every feeling. Tom (Richard Ruccolo) is a promiscuous, self-hating, recovering alcoholic, who fears commitment, especially when he likes a person-or worse-the person likes him. He goes back to Alcoholics Anonymous when he falls off the wagon; he claims the trigger as being "all over this guy." At AA, Tom vows to quit drinking-and guys-because he cannot be trusted with either. Tom was raised by uncaring, bickering, alcoholic parents, who fostered his fear of intimacy. When you meet his parents at their country club you understand why Tom is the way he is. Richard Ruccolo is irresistible as Tom. Jackie (Sasha Alexander) is Tom's best friend. She meets a guy named Brett (Adam Goldberg), who works at a furniture store, and immediately falls for him. She finds out Brett has a gay friend, Eli, and since she has a gay friend, Tom, she devises a way to get a date with Brett by fixing their two friends up. Jackie and Brett arrange for Eli and Tom to go on a blind date while they cement their own relationship. Eli and Tom's blind date was awkward and both men decide it was a disaster. Then, they run into one another at a flea market and feelings begin to stir. They have a quick fling, cheapened by Tom claiming it was a mistake. Eli didn't know what to make of it. Every time Eli thinks Tom is letting him in-Tom backs away because of fear. Tom tells another member of AA the story about his rocky relationship with Eli. The person turns out not to be his ally. Eli meets a receptionist at an STD Testing Clinic, Esther, played by the hilarious Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond), and tells her the whole story about Tom and him, while waiting to be tested for HIV. Doris Roberts does not disappoint as the yenta (busybody) who gets Eli to open up and share his feelings. Eli's parents (Andrea Martin and Tony Abatemarco), as liberal therapists, are hysterical. Dr. Wyckoff, Eli's mother, is the epitome of the smothering, meddling, Jewish mother who drives her son crazy. She gives him neurosis he probably wouldn't have had, had she not gotten her PhD in order to use her "expertise" on him. Lisa Kudrow plays a perfect airhead, Marie, in a cameo performance, as an actor trying, and barely succeeding, to make a radio commercial. Christina Ricci plays Eli's sister, Rayna, who is a nice addition to the ensemble. "All Over the Guy" is about the trials and tribulations of relationships and love. It is a funny, delightful, double date, which is positively yummy. The movie mixes comedy with drama. I have seen All Over the Guy several times and it cracks me up every time. It is such a feel good movie you want to feel good repeatedly. This movie includes an incredible cast, good music, likeable characters, an interesting story line, and a witty screenplay, written by Dan Bucatinsky. These fine elements all come together to make this an incredible movie.
Rating:
Summary: When Somebody Loves You
Review: Laugh, though your heart is breaking
Always in danger of becoming just another meet-cute, mess-things-up-by-being-neurotic, get-it-all-together-in-the-end romance about attractive, witty people, this modest picture is distinguished by some marvelously bitchy dialogue. After an awkward opening, in which the two leads begin recounting the story of their grand romance to strangers - an AA acquaintance and a clinic receptionist (veteran actress Doris Roberts) - the movie finds its groove. Closet romantic Eli (writer Dan Bucatinsky, who adapted the script from his own play) believes that, all his past disappointing relationships notwithstanding, somewhere there's a perfect guy waiting for him. Macho Tom (Richard Ruccolo, of TV's Two Guys and a Girl) thinks love stinks. Their best friends, Brett (Adam Goldberg, veteran of several short-lived TV series) and Jackie (Sasha Alexander, of TV's Dawson's Creek), fix them up on a disastrous first date, but fate conspires to throw them together, and they begin dating. The course of their true love most emphatically does not run smooth: Eli's reliance on psychobabble and high-strung touchy-feelie-ness - the legacy of growing up with not one, but two hipster therapists for parents (Andrea Martin, Tony Abatemarco) - drives Tom crazy. Tom's two-fisted drinking and cavalier dismissal of romance - probably needless to say, his alcoholic parents (Joanna Kerns, Nicholas Surovy) had a hellish marriage - make Eli feel insecure and confused. Meanwhile, Brett and Jackie, who met cute in a furniture store and hooked up their best friends as an excuse to get together themselves - are happily ensconced in blissful coupledom: How can it be so easy for them and so difficult for Tom and Eli? The film started out as I Know What You Are, But What Am I?, a one-act play about a straight couple (Bucatinsky and Nicole Tocantins, who has a minor role in the film version) and their commitment-phobic mating dance; Bucatinsky pulled a gender switch when he adapted the story for the screen. The film's executive producer is Don Roos (THE OPPOSITE OF SEX, in which Bucantinsky had a supporting role), and OPPOSITE stars Lisa Kudrow and Christina Ricci make cameo appearances here as, respectively, a voice-over artist and Eli's sister.
Rating:
Summary: A Future Classic
Review: Well written and nicely acted... a good blend of comedy and drama. Mr. Bucantinsky writes with flair and feeling, and acts with grace and depth. Mr. Ruccolo distinguishes himself with a finely-crafted, multi-layered compelling portrayal. Ms. Alexander and Mr. Goldberg deliver great comic performances. This is a future classic! With its excellent script and fine direction, it is a most successful and insightful exploration of the complex intricacies of human relationships and possibilites inherent therein.
Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: I found this movie quite charming. The film centres around two guys who are brought together by their best friends for a blind date, and they coudnt be more different. Once neurotic and slightly camp, the other troubled and very straight acting, both with their family issues which had left their marks on them; they have difficulties trying to start a relationship, but you end up really wanting them to be happy and get together.
Whilst not groundbreaking, I thought it truly enjoyable; I giggled my way through the whole film.
Good extras too which includes an interesting alternate ending. The cameos from Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow were unexpected and amusing.
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