Defying Gravity

Rating:
Summary: Defying Acting
Review: I was not impressed with the final product of Defying Gravity. Add Meredith Baxter and it would have made the perfect ABC After School Special. There is a tremendous amount of overacting running rampant in this movie. Most of the guys seemed to come from the Anthony Michael Hall school of acting. It had a good story line but the final product turned me off. If you want to see this movie, stop, turn around and pick up the first thing your hand passes on the video shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: I was disappointed in "Defying Gravity." It reminded me of an after-school TV special -- mediocre script, so-so acting, uninspired direction. It was predictable all the way, with no real surprises. There are certainly lots of cute boys to look at, but other than that it's pretty much a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Not too shabby
Review: This film was very much like those old ABC after school specials that use to air in the 1980's and early 1990's. Though it could have had more emotional power driven through it, and you don't really feel the conflict of the film's message in the main charecter, it is a O.K. sorrow-and-sweet diversion for a rainy afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: Loved It
Review: I thought this movie, rather than being a typical boring stereo type filled PC grab bag was a sweet, well done film that left me feeling good after watching.
Griff, is your typical fraternity guy, the social chair of the house and your all around baseball cap wearing "dude" little do we or his brothers know at first that he has been having an affair with one of his fraternity brothers. There is some conflict as the other boy wants to take things further but Griff is still in the closet and too scared. Things come to a head when, after an argument, Griffs boyfriend is gaybashed walking home. Griff finds out and later remembers a car he saw driving by as his boyfriend was walking away yet is scared to go to the police or to tell any of his friends that he was with the guy right before it happened. I thought the movie was interesting and ultimately rewarding and a pleasure to watch. Events change Griffs thinking and there is a very satifying ending. There is a fun sub-plot about a developing friendship between the all american frat guy and the just coming out of the closet African American Lesbian also. Great movie to watch cuddled on the couch.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome.
Review: This is one of the most touching films I ever saw here. The plot is quite "all american" though:) Happy ending all the way!!!!!!!!
I wish it could be the same in real life too:( Especially when i remember my high school and first college year back at home.
I highly recommend it to everybody.

Rating:
Summary: Crashing to Earth
Review: "Defying Gravity" is proof positive that if you don't have a screenplay, you don't have a movie. Despite its many virtues (great cinematography, a winning cast, superior sets and art direction), the movie falls flat because it brings up several interesting characters, relationships, and themes, and then cops out by becoming yet another "Young Gay Man Comes Out and Learns to Love" story. In this incarnation, two fraternity brothers are secretly lovers; the closeted one faces a coming out crisis when he is the only witness to his partner's bashing by homophobes. The script focuses entirely on the closeted one's guilt and anguish ... should he speak to the police? should he disclose their relationship to his friends and/or his lover's family? what is love all about? what to do, what to do? (Snore.) In the meantime, more provocative and interesting issues are casually brought up and tossed aside: what special pressures do gay fraternity members face? how might a fraternity act when two of its members are outed as lovers? how do you rebuild trust with a closeted partner who fails to cooperate in the investigation when you've been assaulted? what are the similarities and differences in the coming out on campus experience for a white gay man and a black lesbian? All of these subplots are more compelling than the cliched angst of a self-centered collegiate who runs from taking responsibility for himself, his lover, and their relationship. With a better script, "Defying Gravity" might have soared ... instead it sinks under the weight of inept writing.

Rating:
Summary: THIS FILM A SHOO-IN!
Review: Here's a film that actually immerses the viewer into the world of fraternity row, and for queers wondering what that life is like, this movie may provide some of the ''experience.'' Of course, in this film two frat brothers are not straight, and the viewer quickly learns that the apparently glamorous fraternities are oppressive institutions -- at least, when it comes to gayness. Paradoxically, in the movie (and no film has been more realistic), straight frat members are obsessed with homoerotic talk, making the viewer wonder if their oppressiveness stems from fear of their own gay tendencies -- not to say that all, or even most, males are queer.
As in real life, the races are segregated on campus -- whites hanging out together and blacks (in this case, females) hanging out together. The irony is that Griffith and Pete's budding relationship, which Griffith denies until Pete's bashed, forces Griffith to reach out to a black lesbian, a classmate he like his white friends hadn't really connected with until Pete's hospitalization. His act of ''defying gravity'' (straight oppression) compels, in a way forces him, to do more unconventional things and to ''defy gravity'' (the status quo) again, the latter case involving the crossing of racial barriers. In turn, Griffith's defiance of the racial order encourages his straight WASP friend (and his girlfriend) to strike a conversation with Griffith's black acquaintances.
This film remains so realistic that, even after Griffith crosses the racial barrier, he does NOT become instant friends with the lesbian. In fact, he loses touch with her until the end, when his nascent liberation brings him (and her) back to each other's paths.
In short, this film shows that racially and sexually, America in the 1990s remains similar (although not identical) to the 1950s. In many ways, life today is even worse, as the ''liberation'' of minorities (which, for the gay case, the film shows) has triggered a brutal backlash. For example: Where in the movie was the college Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Group? Why didn't Griffith seek them out?
It's a scandal that Hollywood, with hundreds of millions of dollars, pours out trash after trash, while emerging writers and directors like John Keitel create films like this one on a mere $120,000 budget, shooting on a 13-day-schedule, as in this case. Even titles reveal the diverging mentality between Hollywood and Indes, names like ''Bob,'' ''Tuesday,'' and ''Delirious'' being typical Hollywood titles, while independent filmmakers lean toward titles like ''Defying Gravity,'' ''And Then Summer Came,'' and ''Second Coming.'' If only the masses boycotted the major studios until Hollywood started producing real quality.
Ode to independent filmmakers, who have more creativity and imagination than most of Hollowood put together.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been so much more.....
Review: I was very disappointed in this film partly because it was poorly written, partly because the acting was terrible but mostly because it missed its potential. The idea was very simple and important and could have made a great film. As it was, poor actors working with even worse dialog made this a most difficult film to watch. Even though I nearly turned this movie off after the first 10 minutes and again after every additional 10 minutes, it does have a few good points. You will have to search hard to find them and that is if you can get past the first 10 minutes. A very disappointing film overall.

Rating:
Summary: wow
Review: This movie was horrendous, the only thing that kept me watching at times was how horrifically bad the acting was. If you MUST see this then rent it but don't waste the money on buying it. The acting was terrible beyond words

Rating:
Summary: Defying Gravity
Review: This is just a good mushy love story. The acting is a little rough around the edges, but the story line makes up for it. I am a college senior and my friends said that this seemed like a college thesis film from the film school. I have to admit the ending brought tears to my eyes, but I am a hopeless romantic. Overall I would recomend this to any one who likes sappy love stories.