Review of Gray Matters

Introduction

Brother and sister Sam and Gray are so close that they are frequently mistaken for a couple, and when this happens at a dinner party, they decide to find each other a partner - ironically they fall in love with the same woman. But is Gray really gay, or just insecure at the prospect of losing her brother? With both relationships under threat, she seeks advice from a Scottish cabbie (Alan Cummins) and her quirky therapist (Sissy Spacek) who conducts sessions in bowling alleys and on climbing walls.

Sue Kramer says she made this, her debut film, because her sister is gay and they thought that there are no movies with "a gay principal who was a commercial girl", both are obviously unaware of films like `Chasing Amy` and `Kissing Jessica Stein`.

Video

A sharp transfer, with good colour and contrast.

Audio

A clear DD 5.1 soundtrack, although the parts where characters whisper to one another are quiet and hard to hear. There are easy to read and well-written English HoH subtitles available.

Features

Just a trailer and a `Promo Featurette`, which is an extended trailer running for just over three minutes.

Conclusion

Romantic comedies are far from my favourite genre unless they are done very well - `The Philadelphia Story`, `Bringing Up Baby`, `When Harry Met Sally...` and `Four Weddings and a Funeral`, for example. This is an example of how not to make a `rom-com`. I hated the film from the DVD`s title menu where a melody of Irving Berlin songs plays over the three main characters faces each outlined by a pink heart.

`Gray Matters` is unnecessary, formulaic, clichéd, derivative, predictable, badly directed and unoriginal. Casting Heather Graham and Bridget Moynahan as successful New Yorkers who have trouble finding boyfriends stretches plausibility to breaking point - furthermore, I`d figured out Gray was gay about 15 minutes into the movie, a long time before she did!

After a limited theatrical run in just four countries, `Gray Matters` went straight to DVD in the UK and it`s easy to see why: it scarcely registers as a romantic movie, and as a comedy it falls flat. Devotees of the genre may find something worth watching here, but for the rest of us, this is one to avoid.