All Kinds of Love- 2022 Reeling Film Festival
September 28th, 2022
MOVIE: ALL KINDS OF LOVE
STARRING: STEVE CALLAHAN, CODY DUKE, MICHAEL DUMAS
DIRECTOR: DAVID LEWIS
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS ( Out of 4)
All Kinds of Love is the kind of film with a title that pretty much says it all: it explores a variety of modern relationships yet still manages to fit itself into the traditional rom com formula.
Writer/Director David Lewis sets the narrative in 2015 just as the Supreme Court rules in favor of same sex marriage. While people everywhere seem to be celebrating the new law, Max (Matthew Montgomery) and Josh (Steve Callahan) are moving in the opposite direction. Josh’s interest in a variety of men and sexual situations is a turn off for Max so they decide to divorce. Soon Max is living with a new roommate, Conrad (Cody Duke), who is at least a decade and a half younger than Max. The two develop a nice much needed friendship. Max comes across as a bit of a sad sack while Conrad is the cute, geeky, shy type with a host of relationship fears. It’s pretty clear where all of this is going rather quickly – this is a classic style rom com after all. Director Lewis gives us all of the cliché elements, including a romantic montage where the friends turned lovers feed each other and picnic in the park. Rather quickly they become the equivalent of a married couple themselves with a nice friendly rhythm. It’s all very sweet and predictable.
Where the film finds its originality is in the types of relationships others’ in the guys’ lives have. Max’s ex Josh explores dating apps and kinky sex. He seems, at least at first, to have settled into a new groove that he didn’t have with Max. Conrad has a very nice and platonic relationship with Trey, a bit of a performance artist who seems to enjoy wearing a variety of costumes. (The actor playing Trey, Marval A. Rex, adds a lot of welcome light and energy to his scenes.) Perhaps most interesting though is the relationship between Max’s father Timothy, his mother Lila, and the third member of their relationship, Drew. The three are classic remnants of the “hippie” era. Drew enjoys nude yoga, while Timothy enjoys being body painted.
This is to say that All Kinds of Love lives up to its name. It’s an enjoyable exploration of different personal and sexual tastes. Yes, we know where it’s all going and there are plenty of fights reflecting the vulnerability of some of these relationships but, for the most part, the fears and concerns are validly presented.
There are also lots of love songs sprinkled throughout the film. It seems as if every five minutes another acoustic number about love found and lost is featured. It all does feel pretty much like a Hallmark movie but in this case, that’s not all together bad. There’s a certain warmth to the film that makes some of the eye roll moments less difficult to swallow. The characters are generally down to earth and the actors who play them are appealing in their own special ways.
At 76 minutes, All Kinds of Love is a low budget film doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to sit through. It’s romantic enough to satisfy one’s desire for a boy meets boy type of scenario. It’s really the depiction of different types of love and relationships that takes the film a step above the very traditional rom com genre. It’s fun to witness and root for some non-traditional couples once in a while.
ALL KINDS OF LOVE PLAYS AS PART OF REELING: CHICAGO’S LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 29TH AT LANDMARK’S CENTURY CENTRE CINEMA.
3 STARS
Written by: Dan Pal
djpal1@aol.com
