All Over the Guy

"Oh, I hate that movie!" The outburst of contempt the characters feel toward the clichés of In and Out announces All Over the Guy as a gay romantic comedy with a difference. That difference, apparently, is that gay men can suffer the same neurotic commitment problems and kooky conflicts on the way to true love as straight couples. Prissy control freak Dan Bucatinsky (who also scripted) and macho alcoholic Richard Ruccolo recover from a train wreck of a blind date to find common ground in traumatic childhood stories, and spend the rest of the film breaking up between smart remarks. There's a snap to Bucatinsky's dialogue and an entertaining lilt to Julie Davis's direction, but the characters never become more than caricatures. Token straight couple Sasha Alexander and Adam Goldberg are far more fun, and Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow make memorable cameos. --Sean Axmaker