Dare (2005)

High school senior Ben secretly lusts after bad boy classmate Johnny. After Ben gives Johnny a ride home one night, the boys end up in Johnny's swimming pool and have an encounter that breaks the rules and blows Ben's mind.

Director:

Adam Salky

Writer:

David Brind

Stars:

Adam Fleming, Michael Cassidy, Marla Burkholder

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
Adam Fleming	...	Ben 'Light Boy'
Michael Cassidy	...	Johnny
Marla Burkholder	...	Alexa
Terry Guerin	...	Drama Teacher
Carly Haines	...	Alexa's Friend
Matt Lundy	...	Jock
Steve Sweigard	...	Jock

Storyline

Ben (Adam Fleming), an introverted high school senior who is running the lighting for his high school senior class play, shines a spotlight on Johnny (Michael Cassidy), an outgoing jock who can't remember his lines in the play, and the target of Ben's lust. Holding his desires inside, Ben offers to give Johnny a ride home from rehearsal and help with the lines. Once they arrive at Johnny's house, Ben drowns his trepidation in champagne, and jokes provocatively with his crush. After a bit of mutual ribbing, the boys take a swim in Johnny's pool. Each of the boys shares some of their most private thoughts, and things progress, until Johnny's friends show up....

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Plot Keywords:

high school | school | swimming pool | swimming | spotlight | 

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Taglines:

Do something you're afraid of.

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Genres:

Drama | Short

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Friends' Central School, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adam Salky Films, BrindStar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When this short was remade as Dare, a full length feature film, most of the locations for the short were again used for the remake, including the school and Johnny's house and pool.

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Crazy Credits

Produced in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MFA degree of the film division, School of The Arts, Columbia University.

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Connections

Edited into Boys Life 5 (2006)

User Reviews

Short but sweet

Sometimes, small is beautiful.

This touching and sexy short film makes the most of its rather traditional set-up (geeky gay fancies straight Adonis) and turns it into something rather wonderful.

The closest high school senior Ben gets to gorgeous jock Johnny is shining a spotlight on him during rehearsals for A Streetcar Named Desire (and there is something of the tremulous fragility of a Tennessee Williams heroine in Adam Fleming's touching portrayal of gay Ben.) On stage, playing Stanley Kowalski, Michael Cassidy's handsome but arrogant Johnny can't remember his lines.

A solution presents itself, as Ben offers to help him rehearse. It doesn't look promising, as it doesn't appear that Johnny's memory even extends as far as remembering Ben's name: "Light Boy" is the best he can do.

The rehearsal takes place poolside at Johnny's home - with refreshments courtesy of abandoned champagne from a recent party of his parents'. It's a bit corny to put the boys next to a pool - gee, I wonder if they'll strip off - but it works.

As they drink, run lines and chat their relationship develops. Saying any more would spoil it, but it is a testament to the skill of the screenwriter and the two young actors that each step along the way is handled with great appreciation for the many nuances and feints of adolescent male sexuality.

As Johnny, Cassidy is spectacularly charismatic - with a megawatt smile that could light up LA. (It's no surprise that he auditioned for Superman, and it's a wonder that Bryan Singer let him get away.)

Taking an age-old story and making it come alive, plaudits all round. Apparently, director Adam Salky hopes to turn Dare into a feature film. Let's hope he does.