Eating Out: All You Can Eat (2009)

Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

First of the Eating Out movies series I have seen and so far the best of the lot. Simple but workable storyline about a guy named Casey who has a crush on a hot hunk (Zack) who has just broken up with his boyfriend and is looking everywhere but in the right place (which would be? the witty Casey). Casey has just moved to town and started work at Nail Me nail salon for his new best friend, Tiffani, who tries to help Casey hook up with the hunk, Zach. Along the way, Tiffani's ex-boyfriend Ryan, a straight male stripper, gets pulled into the mix of trying to hook up Casey and Zack (including a funny 3-way sex scene). In the end, all works out well. Funny and irreverent with great one-liners delivered by Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan) and a great performance by the stripper boyfriend played by Michael E.R. Walker. The story even comes off as a caring exploration of what is true love. (I actually liked this movie better and had more laughs than any of the Seth Rogen movies). For mature audiences as frontal nudity by the hot hunk Zack and the stripper Ryan. Fun for a bored evening.

I was in the audience for Eating Out (Part One) at the LGBT Frameline film festival and, frankly, would have walked out if I hadn't been trapped in the middle of the row. That having been said, I really enjoyed this sequel to a sequel of a sequel. The downside is that either the acting is still facile and sophomoric (the fatal flaw in the earlier film) or the direction was lacking. The upside is that the snappy one-liners are now really zingy one-liners, which may indicate that the problem was with the direction and not the cast. Confessionally, the nudity was a huge(okay, pun intended) plus. Michael E.R. Walker, in a supporting role,does double duty. If you want a deep,thought-provoking film that probes the gay psyche, this is not your film. If you would like to laugh (a lot) and, yes, be titillated, you won't go wrong.

The story was not new at all and the dialogue was not executed perfectly (some jokes could have been funnier if executed better, some of the story more believable...), but this movie has other qualities that redeem it. Ryan (Michael) did quite well in this movie. He shows promise as an actor (and isn't hard on the eyes). Zack (Chris Salvatore) is not only (REALLY) attractive and likable, that's him signing over the credits and he's got some talent. I really hope to see both of them go further. And... without spoiling... the, let's call it "couch" scene is pretty hot.Tiffani gave a good contribution. I feel like Tandy was under-utilized. The lead was a little too... low-key. But likable.As a quality story... this movie does not make it. Predictable and it was not executed well enough. I also hate speeches (not to imply there was one at any point in the movie, that is just a random comment, perhaps). But this wasn't an attempt at art and it was enjoyable.As a place for new talent to emerge... that may be where this movies finds its success. I think the best thing to come out of this movie would be more work for Michael (Ryan) and Chris (Zack).

This is the third film in the EATING OUT series.The first one was fun & enjoyable.The second missed (lacked enjoyable comedy.This is somewhere in between, I mostly enjoyed it.The acting is overly campy.The script could have been better, the subject of Internet dating needed better handling.There are no actual sex scenes,the few in the movie are simulated.Some real nice bodies, nice male eye candy.Best thing is that including the credits the running time is a fast 80 minutes.Stay to end of credits, the last bit is actually quite humorous..Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 68 points (out of 100) IMDb 6 (out of 10)