We've mentioned previously that we have an international audience. Now EuroSeek™ has made it official. After only being listed with Euroseek™ for eight weeks,
Get Real
Directed by: Simon Shore
Written by: Patrick Wilde, from his play What's Wrong With Angry?
Starring: Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton, and Charlotte Brittain.
Opens 30 April 1999 in the USA
Get Real is about a group of English teenagers who learn about love (they already know more than enough about sex) in the wilds of Basingstoke. (For those unfamiliar with England, someplace comparable in the United States might be Los Angeles's Brentwood, which is located, quite literally, between "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Malibu Shores.") Nobody's disgustingly rich in Basingstoke, but no one's poor, either; it's a nice, upper middle class area with nice, middle class values, and a nice, lovely park with a restroom frequented by a certain sort of gentleman, not unlike George Michael's favorite park in Beverly Hills. Get the picture?
Get Real focuses on the transformation of sixteen-year-old Steven Carter (Ben Silverstone) from a horny boy who gets his jollies at the local loo to a courageous young man who gathers strength from the simple act of falling in love. When Steven, who is supposed to be busy writing an essay for a local newspaper competition, is asked by his parents where he has been when he was supposed to be writing, he tells them, quite honestly, that he has been at the park. His oblivious parents, however, never quite seem to catch his meaning when he says things like, "I had a bit of a block and I went there to . . . 'unblock.'"
Steven's neighbor Linda (Charlotte Brittain), however, knows exactly what Steven's sly evasions and double entendres mean, for she has a naughty secret of her own. Linda is trying for her driver's license, but doesn't seem to be having much luck. In fact, Linda has had forty-eight driving lessons. It's not that she's actually a bad driver, mind you, it's just that Linda can't concentrate on her driving when she is so very, very busy concentrating on seducing her driving instructor. Linda keeps Steven's secret,and Steven keeps Linda's secret, and no one is the wiser, at their homes or at their school.
Steven succinctly sums up their academic life by saying that they go to "a school for tossers," which in plain American, means that their classmates are jerk-offs. Not all of them, though: Steven has a best friend, Mark (Patrick Nielsen), who has joined the school's magazine so that he can be close to the unspoken love of his life, Wendy (Kate McEnery), the new editor; Wendy has brought her friend Jessica (Stacy A. Hart) to the magazine, but Jessica seems to spend most of her time trying to get rid of her ex-boyfriend, Kevin (Tim Harris), whose only redeeming feature in anyone else's eyes is that he is best friends with John Dixon (Brad Gorton), the school's star athlete and the object of everyone's adoration. John's only vice seems to be his tobacco addiction, which even he admits was due to peer pressure. (Important note for American audiences: in England a cigarette is called "a fag;" if you don't know that bit of slang, one of the film's funniest jokes may seem surprisingly offensive, which it is not intended to be.)
When Wendy proposes doing an article about John for the magazine, Mark brings Steven aboard for the very simple reason that Steven's father is a photographer and Steven can use one of his cameras to photograph John-- an opportunity which Steven is not going to pass up. Steven's appearance at the track to take the photos comes as quite a surprise to John, though, for the two of them have already met -- at the park's restroom, where they managed to half-convince each other that neither of them was there to score some quick sex.
At the school dance, however, the situation is too romantic for anyone's comfort, and while Jessica begins falling in love with the sensitive and understanding Steven, Steven only has eyes for John, who is dancing with his steady date Christina (Louise J. Taylor), the most beautiful girl in school, while Kevin's efforts to get a girl (any girl, by this point) are totally frustrated. Dumped by Jessica, Kevin tries to introduce himself to Linda: "I'm Kevin, and you're . . . ." "Thirsty," Linda snaps at him.
Mutually frustrated, Linda and Steven resolve to end their evening watching a video at Steven's house, but an unexpected visitor arrives while Steven is changing his clothes. A drunken John has walked in and begins to confess his own desire for guys to Steven, who must rid himself of Linda in order to avail himself of this golden opportunity to make out with John.
Thus begins a secret affair between Steven and John, who must sneak about and schedule meetings in advance to have any privacy. While Steven is enjoying the first real love of his life, after years of anonymous sex, John is terrified of their being found out and having his reputation ruined. When Linda learns that Steven is planning to go to the local woods at night for a secret rendezvous, she, too, becomes worried: "You could be . . . ." "What? Queer-bashed by squirrels?" Steven replies, himself made oblivious to danger by his love for John.
Gradually, John begins to realize that the only true happiness he has ever known is with Steven, and he agrees to become more open with their relationship, which ultimately leads to a shocking scene of violence when John's friends walk into the school's locker room while John and Steven are being intimate.
Get Real is one of the best coming-of-age films since You Are Not Alone, and the stars here are top-notch. Charlotte Brittain is impishly mischievous and she gets to show off her considerable singing talents, too; she will next be seen in Hallmark's remake of A Christmas Carol. Newcomer Brad Gorton gives a touching and thoroughly believable performance as the self-tortured athlete who knows that his entire life is built on lies.
The real star of this film is, of course, Ben Silverstone, and the charming, witty sensitivity of his portrayal is certain to make him into a major teen idol. Prior to the 1999 American Film Market, this reviewer urged film buyers to see Get Real solely on the basis of Silverstone's earlier memorable work in The Browning Version and his smaller role as the young Humbert Humbert in Adrian Lyne's adaption of Lolita. Silverstone's performance as "Steven" shows that the promise he showed as a boy has been fulfilled as a teenager. If Get Real gets wide release, not only will it prove to be a break-out role for Silverstone, but it will surely prove him to be the next big teenaged heart-breaker, as well. Ben Silverstone makes one-half of a beautiful couple no matter who he is with, and soon everyone from old queens to teenaged girls will be swooning in the aisles over him. Look out, Leonardo -- Ben Silverstone has arrived.
Lest anyone think that Silverstone's role as a Gay teen in GetReal is going to hurt his career, this reviewer points to several other male sex symbols who have recently "played Gay:" Ryan Phillippe of "One Life to Live," Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor of Velvet Goldmine, Joshua Jackson of Cruel Intentions and even Leonardo DiCaprio himself in Total Eclipse. Far from being typecast, Ben Silverstone may soon find that the whole world is his oyster, which he, with lean and lanky good looks, shall open.
I rate Get Real as W8: Worth $8.00. Aside from those who are uncomfortable with on-screen teenaged smoking and drinking, the only people likely to have any major problems watching GetReal are closeted homosexuals who will probably be made thoroughly uncomfortable by the character of John Dixon, whose performance as a closeted Gay athlete will undoubtedly strike too close to home for them. Everyone else, however, will likely find this film to be sweetly romantic and, at times, uproariously funny.
O MUSE WITH THE JAUNDICED EYE, TAKE ME HOME!