|
Latter Days (Unrated Edition) | 
 enlarge | Director: C. Jay Cox
Actors: Steve Sandvoss, Wes Ramsey, Rebekah Johnson, Amber Benson, Khary Payton
Studio: TLA Releasing
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $11.58
You Save: $8.41 (42%)
New (29) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $11.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  351 reviews
Sales Rank: 5780
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 107
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D084D
UPC: 807839000948
EAN: 0807839000948
ASIN: B0002I84JO
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Release Date: September 7, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Christian (Wes Ramsey of the washboard abs) is a waiter, party boy, and first-class man magnet. Elder Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss of the goofy grin) is a straight-laced Mormon missionary. When he and three elders, including the uptight Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mysterious Skin), move into Christian's Hollywood apartment complex, it's clear something's got to give. Christian tries to make his new neighbors feel welcome, but they're put off by his flamboyance--the short-shorts, the rainbow flag in his yard, etc. When Christian's trash-talking pals at Lila's restaurant, including the cynical Traci (Amber Benson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), bet that he can't seduce one of these clean-cut young men, he takes them up on it and sets his sights on cute, soft-spoken Aaron. As a pretense, he asks to learn more about his Church, but where they really connect is over their love of old movies, everything from Psycho to Tommy. When Aaron accuses him of being shallow, however, Christian starts to wonder if the bet wasn't such a good idea--plus he's starting to fall for the guy. Turns out the closeted Aaron feels the same way about him, but when his roommates find out, he's shipped back to Pocatello where he faces excommunication. Written and directed by C. Jay Cox (Sweet Home Alabama), a former Mormon missionary, Latter Days features Mary Kay Place as Aaron's disapproving mother and Jacqueline Bisset as the acerbic, yet supportive Lila. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Description
Huge festival and theatrical hit, Latter Days is the story of 19-year-old Elder Aaron Davis, a sexually confused Mormon missionary who moves into an apartment complex in West Hollywood with a fellow group of missionaries. There he meets a neighbor, Christian, who, on a bet, tries to seduce him. When Christian exposes Davis' secret desire, Davis rejects Christian for being shallow and empty. As each boy's reality is shattered, the two are drawn into a passionate romance that risks destroying their lives. Audiences, young and old and straight and gay, have been moved to tears by this beautiful story of the transformational power of love and family.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 346 more reviews...
 Totally worth the purchase January 6, 2009
To be honest, I bought "Latter Days" on a bit of an impulse. I have found that I enjoy a lot of the movies that are coming out of Gay-focus film-making (no pun or condescension intended)... there's something about the way the stories are told, about the passion of the actors involved. And something about this movie appealed.
Well, it was worth taking a chance on.
The actors are completely believable in their roles; especially Steve Sandvoss as Aaron and Wes Ramsey as Christian. They are the heart of the film and without the truth that they bring to their performances this film could very easily have been a cheesy affair. I found myself caught up in their interactions, hoping for a 'fairytale' ending to some very heartbreaking reality. The supporting cast are also very good, regardless of the size of their role. I've been a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt since "3rd Rock" and his turn here as Elder Paul just confirms for me that there are no small parts.
"Latter Days" deals with an issue that I wish was no longer relevant, that of the fear of exposure/rejection experienced by those whose sexuality doesn't fit with the expectations/beliefs of their family/society/religion. And it does it without resorting to over-the-top melodrama, instead delivering a thoughtful, thought-provoking, and endearing story of what is really important and true in life.
On a more technical note, this movie is well-filmed and clearly had high production standards. I'd say more but it's not really my thing. :o)
This is a movie that I'll be watching more than once and keeping in my DVD library.
 Remember, this ia s a movie!! December 31, 2008
I happened to love this movie!!! If you want to see a good movie about a struggle between religious belief and being true to yourself,this is the perfect movie for you. I read the one star reviews and found some of the comments laughable. One person felt as though this movie should be based entirely on truth. This is a movie, and it is entertaining! It is well acted and touching. I watched the movie a second time with the directors commentary. He explained that he was involved, at one time, with the religion of one of the main characters. Much of the dialog and character studies are based on people he Knew and what he drew from his former life. This is not a fact based story. Some of the acting is terrific!! Watch Jacqueline Bisset, she is quite captivating. It is nice to see some one of her caliber in this charming,wonderful "MOVIE".
Billy
Deserves MORE credit!!! Top movie EVER! December 25, 2008
Everyone has explained the movie, so I won't waste your time with another description - I simply want to say this is by far the most moving, best picture ever. The acting, directing, and plot was beyond what a blockbuster release could ever even dream of. Yes, parts may be a little corny, and somewhat low-budget, but I would bet that everyone will at least LOVE this movie, regardless of your thoughts on the issues raised in the film.
It's too bad this didn't get bigger release, but there is still a chance to make it more known - watch it yourself and get everyone you know to watch it. It certainly deserves large credit and awards (more so than Brokeback Mountain even!)
Very powerful movie - you won't be disappointed.
It shines brilliantly December 25, 2008
There's trait of Hollywood production there, but never mind it still one of the best films I've seem.
Just watching Steve Sandvoss (Arron) is worth all the money. His character is sexy as hell (in a sweet innocent way). Dialogues are also pretty smart. All in all, I give it 11 out of 10.
 Okay gay romance, not very good movie, castrated nudity December 24, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought "Latter Days" because I've been watching gay romance movies lately, guided primarily by Amazon reviews, and this was the next high-rated one I came across. I watched it, as I'm watching all of them, primarily for entertainment, not for help in dealing with being gay.
I grew up during the 50s and 60s in the heart of the Bible Belt, and I've been a born-again Christian for almost 40 years, so I've had a lot of experience with religious opposition to homosexuality. But I've resolved those issues for myself in a way that's a lot more satisfactory than what this movie offers, so for me it's just a love story.
As a love story, this one is okay. As a movie, it's not very good. Not bad, just a little clunky and amateurish. Maybe if the acting had been better, the romance might have been more believable and moving.
Stephen Sandvoss is one of the world's most beautiful and evidently nicest men, so it's hard to imagine ANYBODY--male or female, gay or straight--not melting into a puddle at his feet. But besides that, there's not much to make the relationship between his Aaron and Wes Ramsey's Chris believable. The two actors clearly did their best, with obvious dedication and sincerity, but they just didn't pull it off. There was neither the burning passion of movies like "Just a Question of Love" and "Shelter," nor the tenderness of "Beautiful Thing." It was more like seeing two magnets slam together and stick than watching two human beings drawn to each other by any kind of real human desire.
Until recently I would have assumed that the stiffness was partly because the actors are straight, and talent alone could never make them gay enough for the sexual attraction to be really believable. But the movie I saw before this one blew that argument out of the water. That was the extraordinary French movie "Presque Rien," whose lead actors also are straight, so I know straight actors can do it.
In "Presque Rien" (the English-subtitled version is called "Come Undone"), not only is the attraction between the two main characters completely believable--both very tender AND very passionate--but the characters themselves are deeply dimensioned, fully formed human beings, not caricatures at all. Although they do evolve to a limited extent in "Latter Days," Aaron and Chris are never more than caricatures.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with caricatures. They can be very useful in getting a point across, but they're not as interesting in themselves as real, complex human characters are. Mathieu and Cédric in "Presque Rien" are real, complex human characters who are hard NOT to believe in.
C Jay Cox's screenplay, songs, and direction in "Latter Days" are pretty good, but I found one thing he did over and over very annoying. There's plenty of full nudity in this movie--including a long scene with Aaron and Chris making love and then talking in bed, completely naked and without a cover in sight--but there's not a single frame anywhere in this movie with a penis in it. Not one. To me, that's just weird.
It's not that I insist on seeing penises--I've seen plenty of them--but it gets weird when in scene after scene after scene that's the only thing you DON'T see. And the way it's done isn't natural. The characters move around like acrobats into all sorts of positions that ought naturally to leave them exposed, but every single time that's about to happen, a knee or a thigh or some other conveniently choreographed body part--or even the clutter on a hotel-room credenza--pops up in EXACTLY the right spot just in the nick of time to be a virtual fig leaf, protecting our eyes from the ONLY part of the male anatomy we're evidently not allowed to see.
It comes off as coy and unnatural and very irritating. Men have penises. If you're going to have naked men gamboling around in your movie and you're going to show EVERYTHING else, please don't leave out the penises as if there's something wrong with them! It's just creepy. I can understand not wanting to show limp penises in a torrid sex scene (that could be even weirder), but afterwards, when the men are just talking, why not?
When I discovered that there are two versions of this DVD, an unrated and an R-rated version, I thought maybe I ended up with the R-rated version by mistake, but I checked and I didn't. Mine is unrated. There's really no excuse for this kind of coyness in an unrated gay movie, unless the actors insisted on it.
Since they're both straight and were new in the business when "Latter Days" was made, maybe Sandvoss and Ramsey just didn't want their private parts shown all over the Internet. If that's what happened, it's understandable. But if it was done to satisfy some sick standard of "decency," it's not. In either case, what Cox should have done instead was have much less general nudity in the movie, not censor penises only.
Three of the other movies I mentioned above don't show penises much either, if at all, but they also don't show anywhere near as much nudity, so the overall effect seems natural. "Presque Rien" shows a lot of both nudity and penises. Either of those formulas is fine. It's just this castrated sort of nudity that's weird.
As I said, I didn't get personal encouragement or comfort from this movie as others have, mainly because I didn't need it. But I take their word that it's here, and I deeply respect anything, including this movie, that helps wounded human beings heal. It's just not something I can testify to myself.
|
|
|
© 2007 saydeals.com. All rights reserved. | |
