Get Real (1998)

A tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.

Director:

Simon Shore

Writers:

Patrick Wilde (play), Patrick Wilde (screenplay)

Stars:

Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton, Charlotte Brittain

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Silverstone	...	Steven Carter
Brad Gorton	...	John Dixon
Charlotte Brittain	...	Linda
Stacy Hart	...	Jessica (as Stacy A. Hart)
Kate McEnery	...	Wendy
Patrick Nielsen	...	Mark
Tim Harris	...	Kevin
James D. White	...	Dave
James Perkins	...	Young Steve
Nicholas Hunter	...	Young Mark
Jacquetta May	...	Steven's Mother
David Lumsden	...	Steven's Father
David Elliot	...	Glen
Morgan Jones	...	Linda's Brother
Richard Hawley	...	English Teacher

Storyline

This tenderly romantic film tells the story of Steve, a young boy in a at secondary school, as he struggles with coming out and falling in love with John, the top athlete at school - who, amazingly, falls in love with him as well.

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Plot Keywords:

gay lead character | smelling someone's clothes | falling in love | public lavatory | winning an award | 

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Taglines:

School's out, so is Steven Carter

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comme un garçon

Filming Locations:

Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,254, 2 May 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arts Council of England, British Screen Productions, Distant Horizon

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Steve goes into the public bathroom and sits on the toilet, the toilet paper is neatly rolled/not between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Steven Carter: I came late to sex. I was nearly ten. That's when my friend Mark Watkins told me how babies were made.
Young Steve: Really? Are you sure?
Young Mark: Yeah. Honest. I saw it on one of my dad's videos.
Steven Carter: For over a year after that I thought babies were made when two women tied a man to a bed and covered his willy with ice cream.

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Connections

Spoofed in Another Gay Movie (2006)

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Soundtracks

Word Up
Written by Larry Blackmon (as Lawrence Blackmon) and Timothy Jenkins
Performed by Cameo
PolyGram Records Inc.

User Reviews

A small but important movie - see it

The lives of gay people are full of the stuff that makes for drama; inner conflicts, self acceptance, conformity, family tensions and many other issues gay people are forced to confront. Whether it's the late start or lack of a tradition, the genre of the gay movie has very little quality on offer. American cinema has been particularly weak in this area. The AIDS epidemic has been handled with more assurance than the inherent ordeals gay people face. There have been many stereotypical, predictable and basically forgettable gay movies over the years. "The Boys in the Band" made over 30 years ago still stands out as a major gay film; indeed a sorry state of affairs.

European cinema has fared far more successfully with matters gay, with such fine works as "Wild Reeds" and the outstanding "Come Undone". It comes as much of a surprise that the stodgy British cinema should have produced some of the landmark gay movies, amongst them the brave "Victim" (1961) made when homosexuality was still against the law and John Schlesinger's fiercely intelligent "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (1970). While "Get Real" is no masterpiece, it certainly is one of the most important gay themed films of the past few years.

Its importance lies in the lesson it so succinctly delivers. It's not a film directed especially at gay audiences and should be seen by all, especially high school audiences for whom it should be compulsory viewing.

The casting of Ben Silverstone was inspired. He manages to be totally convincing throughout, even pulling off the perhaps unlikely speech he delivers in the finale. Brad Gorton as his conflicted love interest has some truly moving moments. Director Simon Shore also elicits fine performances from the secondary characters, in particular Charlotte Brittain in the fag hag, fat friend role. It could have gone very wrong in lesser hands, but Brittain is a joy to watch and brings a lovely sense of humor to the proceedings.

Ultimately it's a truly unpretentious and very moving movie, far more effective than "Beautiful Thing". Don't miss it.