The Young, the Gay and the Restless (2006)

User Rating:

3.4/10   

Director:

Joe Castro

Writer:

Joe Castro (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

An aging, wealthy diva, Ms. Victoria Gaylord, in her late 50's learns that she has a mysterious illness and will soon be dead...

Plot Keywords:

Homophobia | Lesbian | Homophobe | Father Son Relationship | Homosexual

Cast

Chris Brown	...	Nurse Jones
Caleb Campbell	...	Phillip
Damien Christopher	...	Billy
Holly Karrol Clark	...	Cynthia
Buck Davis	...	Dr. Bender
Jeremy Dubois	...	Josh
Ms. Elliott	...	Victoria Gaylord
Joe Haggerty	...	Francis Gaylord
Felicia Lambreton	...	Party Guest
Kerry Liu	...	Kristin
Justin Marchert	...	Nicholas
Michael Oliviera	...	Eric
Dennis Richardson	...	Mark
Jed Rowen	...	Party Guest
Scott Whitaker	...	Andrew

Also Known As:

Lake St. James (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:79 min | USA:76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Jesco Film Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Young and the Restless" (1973)

Parody and what it is not

Joe Castro wrote and directed THE YOUNG, THE GAY AND THE RESTLESS with an obvious attempt to make us giggle at just how preposterous the daytime TV soaps are. In many ways he manages to show us that madness: quick scenes between characters that flash on and off the screen in seconds with only a few lines delivered to make room for the next split second vignette suggestive of commercial breaks; actors that are attractive despite being unable to demonstrate even the basics of the art of acting; situations so over the top that they require one-ups-manship in the next moment to keep the plot from sinking into the absurd.

The plot is simple: a dying unpopular mother Victoria Gaylord (Ms. Elliott is the actor's moniker) is wealthy, married to a lecherous Francis Gaylord (Joe Haggerty), and has a wild group of children of questionable heritage - Cynthia (Holly Karrol Clark) and her narcissistic husband Phillip (Caleb Campbell), Nicholas (Justin Marchert) who has his gay eye on Phillip, Josh (Jeremy Dubois) etc. all of whom have an eye on Victoria's fortune. The Gaylord house is filled with party fixings and among the decorations are the topless butler and his entourage of would be assignations - Damien Christopher, Michael Oliviera, Dennis Richardson, and Kerry Liu. The 'good doctor' Dr Bender (Buck Davis) is called along with his nurse/illegitimate child/fortune hunter (Chris Brown) and the many secrets of this absurd family all surface with the subsequent murder, brain transplant, ménage a quatre...it just goes on and on.

Parody on the order of, say, Gilbert and Sullivan can be witty, acerbic, naughty, and very intelligent. Castro seems to have written this little bit of treacle in an evening, called in his friends and neighbors to pose and read lines with the emphasis on exaggeration, and quickly turned out a movie for public consumption. Unfortunately the mixture (though a good idea) just doesn't work. One 'good' but still annoying aspect of the film is the presence of a music score obviously added in the editing room at a level that covers the lines so that they are inaudible: that is a mixed blessing. This is a film for the curious viewer who has a lot of patience and easy laugh quotient. Grady Harp