IMDb > The Velocity of Gary (1998)

The Velocity of Gary (1998) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
4.7/10   1,133 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Dan Ireland
Writer (WGA):
James Still (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Velocity of Gary on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 July 1999 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Romance more
Plot:
Salma Hayek stars as a woman in love with an adult-film actor. Their relationship gets complicated when... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
User Comments:
Can someone explain the title? more (37 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Danny Arroyo ... Thug #1 on Street
Jason Cutler ... Romaine

Olivia d'Abo ... Veronica

Elizabeth D'Onofrio ... Dorothy
Hakan D'Onofrio ... Running Boy

Vincent D'Onofrio ... Valentino
Keegan de Lancie ... Choir Boy
Ravell Dameron ... Receptionist in Clinic
Yvette Diaz ... Young Mary Carmen
Marion Eaton ... Miss Sweetheart
Phillip Esposito ... Phone Sex Guy
Luchisha Evans ... Waitress

Salma Hayek ... Mary Carmen

Ethan Hawke ... Nat
Cesar Herrera ... Thug #2 on Street
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong sexual content, language, some drug use and violent images.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:R
Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USA more
Company:
Cineville more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Gary: Gary dreams about kissing someone so hard his mouth hurts. He dreams about kissing someone so soft his heart hurts, so long his neck hurts, so deep his throat hurts. Gary dreams about kissing someone so... completely that nothing hurts. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in My Big Break (2009) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
9 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Can someone explain the title?, 1 January 2000
3/10
Author: shrine-2

It's painful to watch competent actors slumming in this movie. You know they are reaching for something "cool" and knowing, when what they ultimately grab at is something infantile and delusional. This is probably the writer James Still's point: that these people need to look death in the face and grow up. But it's such a mundane point.

If death is all around you, if the people you know are dropping like flies, and you figure the remedy is to get along with the people who are left (because they may be gone tomorrow) and have children of your own (so you feel death has not defeated you), why stay among people whose habits issue in death? Why impose the specter of sexual caution and responsibility, when what makes the people in this movie who they are flies in the face of this appeal? I don't think the main characters Valentino, Mary Carmen, and Gary form a bisexual triangle, because they want to lead wary, conventional lives. The thought presented here that bisexuality can be the common ground on which homosexuals and heterosexuals can come together is sly pontificating, and when you consider the way the camera languishes over the liplock Vincent D'Onofrio is made to plant on Thomas Jane, you get the feeling that the heterosexual side is taking a back seat to the flip side of the triangle.

This really seems like Gary's story anyway; Selma Hayek is trying much too hard to garner some respect and dignity for Mary Carmen for it to be hers. Director Dan Ireland should have pulled her in more; it might have done wonders for her big moment, when she lip-syncs to Diana Ross' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." It's supposed to suggest the strength of her attachment to her lover, but Hayek hasn't been asked to play it deeply. She declaims everything, so what she emotes spreads out too thinly.

It's Thomas Jane's reticence that convinces us of whom the story favors. When his body surrenders to Valentino on the dance floor, or his eyes roll back with Valentino's teeth in his neck, or he broods quietly when Valentino and Mary Carmen are sharing intimacies, the sexual undercurrent he creates pulls you under with great impetus. This must be what Still means by Gary's velocity. At least that is what I figure. But if I happen to be wrong, what in blazes does that pretentious title mean?

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Velocity of Gary (1998)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Well, I Loved it! enathema-1
The worst movie...i have ever seen. odakb
In the pantheon of really hot kisses shantiquax
Why does everyone hate this film? gummitch-2
In need of SPOILERS justbefree1986
Commentary AmChang
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