Issues 101 (2002)

One of my all time favorites.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely the worst movie.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I love gay themed movies but this is an exception... so bad. I thought that was Kelly Clarkson in the movie and it was! That was my only surprise. The guys in the fraternity are suppose to be straight but doing oral on one another is another story. And for the one guy who's suppose to be straight getting banged is his next best hobby. At least there was a little eye candy though. If you're gay or bi and want to go to college at least there's a fun fraternity I can recommend. Say hello to Kelly for me. I've already typed 5 lines I don't know why it won't take my review, I've said enough.

Movie about a college guy who is confused about his sexuality. He's in a fraternity and keeps it hidden from his fraternity brothers. Then he meets a male student he's attracted to and things come out in the open.PLOT SPOILERS!!! I caught this a few years ago at a Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I had blocked it--for good reason--until I saw it here. It's all come roaring back. First off, the basic plot is OK but this takes forever to get going. Secondly, the acting really REALLY sucks. I notice that most of the "actors" here never made another movie. Thirdly, it's flatly directed with faded color and occasionally inaudible sound. Fourth, you don't care about the characters or situations for one second. Five, the reactions of the fraternity brothers to one of their own being gay were so accepting it's almost comical. Six, it's so obvious the two actors are hating every second of the(one)gay kiss in this. Some people mention there was some full frontal nudity and butt shots (I seriously don't remember any) but you don't want to see ANY of these guys nude. You can rent a gay porno for hot nude guys.This may have been made with serious intentions but the lousy script and bad acting destroy it. At the film festival this was met with dead silence and lots of people walked out complaining how bad it was. There are many other better gay movies out there. Skip this one.

I've seen very good, even excellent, low budget gay themed films which despite low ratings from some IMDb.com users, nonetheless show talent and imagination and ingenuity by the cast and filmmakers. Issues 101 is however the work of a writer-director (John Lincoln III) whose supreme lack of talent is at the level of the infamous Ed Wood. There is not a moment of credibility in this mess of a movie. Michaael Rozman, the above the title lead, is 10 years too old for the part and does not for a moment convince the viewer that he is gay. On the other hand, Dennis W. Rittenhouse Jr., has not a moment of believability as a straight man, even one who is "straight with issues." That anyone other than a hopelessly smitten girlfriend would doubt for a minute that he's as gay as a goose is beyond belief. Bad casting from the get-go. There's also an excruciatingly bad "performance" by Gary Castro Churchwell as the fraternity president. Faring much better are Jeremy Smith and Trevor Murphy, who are charming and believable in their supporting roles. But a couple of supporting performances do not a good film make. (Oh, Kelly Clarkson does make a cameo appearance in the film--for a full 11 seconds!) Another IMDb.com user has commented on the incredible scene in which fraternity brother Todd invites total stranger Joe to his house for beers and is then shocked when Joe assumes he's gay. (Who wouldn't?) But this is nothing compared to the scene in which the viewer learns that in this fraternity, pledges are forced to perform oral sex on eager fraternity brothers while in the same room another pledge is paddled bare bottomed. A gay porn fantasy, absolutely, but I didn't buy it for a moment, and from that point on, nothing was believable, if it had been slightly so before then.There is some full frontal nudity by Naked Boys Singing original cast member Michael Haboush (certainly hired just because he was willing to show his goodies) though Rittenhouse, while cute enough to do gay porn, keeps his hand over said goodies and is otherwise shot from the back. Jeff Sublett, as Rittenhouse's gay younger brother, is also a cutie, but exposes less.I can't say I hated watching this movie. I might watch it again just to marvel at it's horribleness (and to check out a few of the cuties again).I don't regret buying it for the above reasons, but those who have better things to do with their money would be better off renting, or skipping this untalented writer/director's first, and hopefully last, film.(I truly doubt that the 10 star reviews posted here were written by anyone other than someone connected with this film.)

*Warning, potential spoiler in first paragraph* Joe, who is out (only) to Family and Friends, joins a fraternity. The love-jealousy-relationship-friendship-triangle between Joe, his fratmate Chris and Chris's gay brother Michael is superbly portrayed, including lots of tiny subplots and unexpected twists. The fraternity has to deal with Joe's homosexuality like everyone else, gay, straight, or "straight with issues". While "Defying Gravity" by John Keitel (a great film) deals only with the question of coming out within a fraternity, "Issues 101" tries to grasp the (potentially homosexual and homoerotic) feelings of the other characters as well.All actors are doing a great job. It feels so real, like you have just experienced it yourself. So where is the But...?Unfortunately it seems, that they ran out of money. There is too much footage included of the beginning of the story, making it progress very slow at times, while towards the end major issues are wrapped up in a single scene and not explored enough. Also the camera is too static at times. The timeline is very linear, maybe a flashback could have helped to make it feel less documentary? (More) Background music / noise might have helped as well, if not only to create a general atmosphere or give the audience information on the feelings of the characters.All in all, with more money and time, this great plot could have made it into a great film, but the way it is (with its beginners mistakes), unfortunately it will most probably stumble on its way there. Yet I hope that the filmmakers have the courage to continue.