Tommy O'Haver's writing and directing debut is an enjoyably breezy comedy about sexual identity, broken hearts, mixed signals and that good old standby, yearning for love.

Billy (Sean P Hayes) is an aspiring photographer with a penchant for Polaroids, an unhealthy obsession with old movies and really bad luck at romance. Although he's carrying on an affair with Fernando - a Latin lover whose idea of foreplay is to insistently and hilariously attack Billy's ear while moaning "You're speeeshial" in a leery tone of voice - Billy's still searching for someone who'll love him. Just as he's commiserating over his sad state of affairs with roommate, George (Meredith Scott Lynn) at a coffee bar, Billy spies Gabriel (Brad Rowe), the coffee boy, and is instantly smitten. Cautiously, he tries to suss out Gabriel and is somewhat shattered to find that he's involved in a long distance relationship with his girlfriend. Nonetheless, Gabriel is a looker, and armed with money from his old friend and patron Perry (Richard Ganoung), Billy casts Gabriel as the lead in a series of photographs where he recreates classic Hollywood screen kisses with men playing both roles. As they work together, Billy's ardor for Gabriel grows by leaps and bounds - now, if only Gabriel could figure out whether he's straight or gay…

Made on a shoestring budget, but looking like a million dollars, the glossy professional sheen that permeates "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" is but the most obvious of its many charms. In particular, there is a fantastically shot scene which occurs by a beach during the twilight hour, and director of photography, Mark Mervis, should be congratulated for contributing so much to the film's look and feel. Tommy O'Haver's script has one emotionally powerful scene that many audiences will empathize with. Mostly, though, it boasts of just a handful of middling jokes and is thoroughly riddled with cliches and overly-familiar situations (lip-synching drag queen dream sequences, fag hag friends to name two). However, O'Haver is a confident director, and he gives the film a sunny, buoyant quality which manages to gloss over all its weaknesses. The mood is light, fluffy and relentlessly upbeat - it's not for no reason that the movie is labeled as "A Tommy O'Haver Trifle".

He's brilliantly aided by Sean P Hayes' spot-on characterization of Billy. Hayes makes Billy's self-deprecating wit and warmth real and uncloying - fuzzy and likable, he will remind many audiences of their best friends. Brad Rowe, cast as the mystery object, plays Gabriel obliquely, making the character's sexual ambivalence intriguing but understandable. The pair are expertly directed by O'Haver, who develops their relationship along much the same lines as any other ordinary couple in a mainstream Hollywood romantic comedy. Co-producer Meredith Scott Lynn and Richard Ganoung lend able support in the roles which, but for their energetic efforts, would have easily been dismissed as "Billy's well meaning friends". The synergetic cast help lift the material from the ordinary and turn it into something quite delightful, in spite of its many flaws.

Trimark Pictures is trying hard to ensure that "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" will be the gay-themed romance that will successfully cross-over and become a hit to the general audience. The timing is ripe, surely, given the increasingly common occurrence of gay characters in recent movies. With its primary color palette, affectionately drawn situations, great cast of actors and audience-friendly material, one hopes that Trimark succeeds.

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