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Just One Time | Year: 2000 Classification: Comedy Directed: - Lane Janger Actors/Actresses: - Jennifer Esposito Ah, the Frailty of Manhood! There are times that Lane Janger (writer, director and lead of this film) looks terrific when captured at the right angle, and other times that he looks tired and ragged around the edges. The same could be said for his film. There is potential here, and it shines through occasionally, but unfortunately not consistently. Despite the fact that the ultimate effect is cute (isn't that a terrible word to describe a film?!) and charming, I found myself scratching my head once or twice about the basic premise of this sometimes enchanting little ditty. I guess Janger is trying to warn us that no fantasy lives up to the reality. OK...an age-old piece of wisdom...no arguments here, BUT he never REALLY lets his two lead characters experience their fantasies. They just seem to get lost and frustrated on the road leading up to it. Anthony (Janger's character) wants to see his beloved fiancée, Amy (played by a very winning Jennifer Esposito), have sex Just One Time with another woman before they get married and HAVE to put their fantasies to bed. That's where the first question arises: why do married couples have to stop having fantasies? OK, small detail, let's move on... Amy does not want to grant her beloved Anthony his somewhat cliché, pubescent, masturbatory fantasy, and tries to get around the problem by one-upping him: if he has sex with a man for her, she'll give herself to a woman for him. Now pride and egos start getting in the way of anyone calling the nonsense off. Enter Guillermo Diaz: your ... excuse for a romantic comedy's gay sidekick. Not to say thatMr. Diaz plays his role poorly; he's actually adorable! That said, his role is no more than a convenient plot devise: the sweet, non-threatening, virginal gay neighbor, who enters on cue, but never causes too much discomfort, either for Anthony or the viewer. Same goes for the conveniently lesbian neighbor played by Joelle Carter, who is planted there to give Amy her brush withhomosexuality. Whereas Amy at least gets a lesbian kiss of free will out of it all, before she throw up her hands and screams, "bring on the bands and ring the wedding bells", Anthony stays annoyingly heterosexual. Oh, he does have a kiss, but it's aggressive and full of anger and frustration. When he wakes up the next morning next to his token gay friend, he's horrified at the idea that something might have transpired. Thank God, his bedmate is able to clear that fright up within 30 seconds! Actually, a rather insulting bit of tripe, but if we more emotionally self-assured and mature homosexuals are generous enough to forgive heterosexual men their occasional lapses of taste and decorum for the sake of defending their obviously fragile manhood, then you might actually enjoy the 94 minutes that this film has to offer. Very cute if very predictable.... "Just One Time" is a very cute movie - even if it tries too hard to please everyone. Unlike a large part of recent gay cinema with downbeat endings, this film plays to the part of the audience that longs for the happy ending. And I freely admit that I am one of those people. My only real problem was that the movie tried so hard to please that it left most of the tension out of the ending. All the characters are fairly likeable, and the acting is fairly good as well (if a tad over the top at times). If you're looking for a cute date movie that doesn't try to be great cinema this is a good choice. Even an elephant could forget this one The writer and director also takes the lead role... a recipe for disaster. The story idea is a good one that could possibly lead to comedy, but it hasn't worked too well here. If you're a fan of Jennifer Esposito, be warned that she has a very minor role in this movie. Buy Just One Time at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Just One Time Search with the Priority Search Engine on Just One Time This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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