The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Its always a challenge to make a film about gay men where the characters do something other than talk about their romantic dreams or sex experiences, and this film does not escape that trap, making it a kind of Steel Magnolias for the Romantic Gay Male.For a particular market, this is an entertaining and frequently amusing slice of life, with early cameos from actors like Zach Braff and Dean Cain that tend to light up the screen now and then, and veteran character actor John Mahoney as the Reliable Old Guy. The main character tends to be a big of a drag after about forty minutes, moaning about too many unresolved issues that become tiresome for a viewer who might not share them. The film's heart is in the right place, certainly, showing affection for some gay men who face their daily dilemmas with some humor and no little irony, and its not a sleazy wallow. For a young about to be or just-out gay men looking for escapist fare, this film is probably an excellent choice

 The Broken Hearts Club Director: Greg Berlanti Starring: Dean Cain, Nia Long, Timothy Olyphant, Zach Braff, Andrew Keegan, Mary McCormack, John Mahoney, Billy Porter, Justin Theroux, Ben Weber, Matt McGrath Every stage and age of gay life is here in this neatly packaged 'romantic comedy' movie which In all honesty was surprisingly good and oddly poignant. Written and directed by Greg Berlanti who had previously written episodes of the popular American teen television show Dawson's Creek, could have been kitchen sink teen soap drama material. However, this slice of American gay life focusing on a close-knit social group of gay guys in the hot and vibrant West Hollywood, California has much more depth that you would have thought possible. Throughout the movie, we watch as this group of guys with very different personalities, tastes and ideal support and care for each one another. There is Howie who just cannot seem to let go of his ex-lover Marshall, even after Marshall starts to date another guy. There is the dashing narcissistically challenged Cole who would uses men like play things, carelessly throwing them away as soon as he's done, until he falls for someone, who literally throws him away. Patrick is another member of this band of friends; he has self-worth issues and must decide if he can pass on his sperm to his lesbian sister and her partner. Benji works hard on being accepted at any cost by the muscly dudes he admires so much, but the costs are high. Just at the start of his gay life, coming to terms with his sexuality and heading toward his first gay experience is the adorably cute Kevin, who touches a few hearts. The various stages of a break up are all consuming for the charmingly sweet Taylor and all this is set against the local gay softball team from Jack's Broken Heart's restaurant. Jack is the father figure of the group but ultimately the real lynch pin holding it all together is Dennis. Now Dennis is an aspiring photographer with a great eye for a shot and a caring personality that the others sometimes abuse yet love. Tragedy strikes this wonderful little group of pals and they come together for support, for love and for strength. One of the best things about this film is the way it shows all the various stages of gay life, the important things we all seem to go through, from the coming out, the exploration of our sexuality and our feelings. There is the self-conscious period, the shag anything period, the times when a relationship just will not work, yet being single does not seem to work. A wonderful poignant yet funny film about friends who love, support and annoy the hell out of each other. The script is wonderfully written, with powerful and funny lines side by side delivered by a wonderful ensemble cast, including Superman Dean Cain and Frasier's dad the lovely and talented John Mahoney. It had a low budget and was shot at a very rapid pace, which perhaps shows in one or two places, however the enjoyment factor overrides these slight flaws. It's not a rite of passage movie, or a film about AIDS, nor are there drag queens at every turn and you'll be hard pushed to find embittered angry parents, which may surprise you, this being a gay movie and all. Yes, it is a romantic comedy, yes it is a gay romantic comedy and yes, it is a bloody good film. Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

A lot of people reviewing this movie (both gay and straight) seem to feel either it's a bad movie or just not a very good one. I disagree. I loved this movie when I first watched it around 2001 and I still love it. True, it has a flaws (I'll get to them in a minute) but what movie doesn't? Let me start by saying my biggest gripe with this movie had nothing to do with the direction, screenplay or acting (all of which I liked) but with the soundtrack. To hear Dennis and Kevin talk about The Carpenters' music and what it means to them yet to hear the songs and it's not Karen's angelic voice or Richard playing the piano - well, what a bummer. But that is truly my only major complaint. I feel the lesbian angle could have been left out and Patrick's character might have met a nice guy who fell in love with him would have made a better story. The story has characters that are likable and real. Anyone who feels gay men don't sit around and talk about guys all the time is like saying straight men don't sit around and talk about sports all of the time. Or maybe sports and women. I liked that the characters were all so different, yet seemed to really about each other as friends, even with their troubles and disagreements. I don't think this is the type of movie straight people or lesbians will enjoy, but I would recommend it to anyone who plays on the team that this movie portrays.

This film about the friendship of a group of friends, whose friendship with each other is constantly under strain due to various arguments and fights."The Broken Hearts Club" is not quite a comedy as it appears to be. I find it full of sadness. The characters are all superficial and in fact unhappy deep inside. They back stab each other, hurt each other in almost every possible way. It's really sad to see that they call themselves friends, when they can't support each other. It brings me down. In addition, the film is full of clichés, I don't really find it so enjoyable.