DVD
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss

Starring: Sean Hayes, Brad Rowe, Meredith Scott Lynn and Carmine Giovinazzo
Tartan Video
RRP: £19.99
TVD3777
Certificate: 15
Available 16 July 2007


Photographer Billy Collier is a hopeless romantic who's out of work and out of love. Enter Gabriel, a smoulderingly handsome coffee-house waiter whom the love-struck Billy enlists as his star model. As their friendship develops, Billy finds himself asking
is he or isn't he?...

Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998) stars Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) as Billy Collier, a jobbing photographer who only works with Polaroid instant cameras (a bit limiting, but an angle I suppose). While discussing his latest project idea with his friend Georgiana in a local coffee-house, he spots the waiter and instantly realises his potential for being a model. But Billy is also attracted to him, but is too shy to ask him if he is gay.

When they meet at a party a short while later, Billy eventually plucks up the courage to ask him to be his model. The man's name is Gabriel - an angel in Billy's eyes - and he has a girlfriend. Resigned to the fact that Gabriel is straight, Billy and Gabriel strike up a close friendship. After a while Billy starts to become convinced that Gabriel might be, at the very least, bisexual and is eager to find out if a romantic relationship could still be on the cards. As their friendship blooms, Billy is worried about making a move on Gabriel as he doesn't want to frighten him off. Is Billy simply projecting his desires into their friendship, or is Gabriel attracted to him too?

This film will find a special place in the hearts anyone, regardless of their sexuality, who has ever experienced the fear of romantic rejection, or who has been the victim of unrequited love.

There are a number of nice touches including Billy's flashback story telling. Here the screen goes dark and Billy is on one side telling his story, while Polaroid images appear on the other side of the screen. His story about how he came by his Polaroid camera (which also doubles as him revealing, and realising, that he is gay at a young age) is moving - especially when you consider that the only thing selling it is Hayes's voice and the Polaroid stills.

While this movie has aged fairly well (it's almost ten years since it was first released) Gabriel's hair is about the only thing that really dates it. He's got the stereotypical pretty boy haircut - 90s style. CSI: New York fans will no doubt be pleased to see a young Carmine Giovinazzo (who plays detective Danny Messer in CSI:NY) playing Gundy, a drug addict, boat owner. For me, one of the movie's funniest scenes is between Giovinazzo and Meredith Scott Lynn (Georgiana) as he serenades her with the most tasteless love song.

The only extras on the disc is a trailer for the movie. There isn't even an audio commentary, which is surprising. It would have been interesting to hear some background information on the film. That considered, I was a little surprised to see this release had a £20 price tag. Most back catalogue movies that are released with no extras generally retail for somewhere between £12.99 - £17.99.

At the end of the day this is a wonderfully romantic movie that will appeal to all men and women - straight or gay - who still remember what it was like to be young and in love.

Nick Smithson

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£14.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
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£11.99 (Play.com)
   
£11.99 (HMV.co.uk)
   
£12.89 (Sendit.com)
   
£12.99 (Bensons-world.co.uk)
   
£13.47 (Thehut.com)

All prices correct at time of going to press.