Writer(s): P.J. Castellaneta
Producer(s): David Cohn, Megan O'Neill, Harold Warren, Steven J. Wolfe
Starring: Mitchell Anderson, Jennifer Tilly, Lori Petty, Terrence Carson
Vincey and Tara are two best friends that seem to have a crazy group of friends. On the surface, the mixed bunch of gay, straight, and lesbians seem to have nothing in common. Vincey is a struggling writer search for love in all the wrong places. Javi is a young man recently diagnosed with HIV. Tara yearns to get pregnant from a workaholic boyfriend, Gus. Throw in a few lesbians and a picture perfect gay couple and you have the recipe for the Jambalaya that makes up this group of friends. On a deeper level, the group all has their own issues with sex and love in the 1990s. While some have it and hate it, others want it and can't get it. 
As I continue to find material for this blog, I'm reminded yet again that films from the 1990s with gay subject matter are far superior than that of today. Sure Brokeback burst open the door on gay mainstream cinema, but it was features such as this one that help pry the door open enough to peer out of the closet. This film was a refreshing view at the way friends interact. It started as yet another light-hearted romp through the subject of sex but soon became a hard look at friendship during times of tragedy and struggle. Of course Jennifer Tilly provided hilarity in her usual way. She also had a few poignant moments where she truly brought me to tears. 
I always thought that a friendship-family was the family that was less complicated. My circle of friends are the people who accept me for who I am and always support me and my endeavors. They are also the ones that don't hold back when I make a dumb decision (all because they love me, of course). Like so many gay men, I created a surrogate or friendship-family to protect myself from the real family. After seeing this film I realized that the trials and tribulations that affect every family also affect these surrogate families. I also realized that it is these trials and tribulations that unite the family closer, especially at the point when they seem the most fragile. I related to every character in this film (including the lesbians). And I can truly say that P.J. Castellaneta has captured the absurdity that is love, sex, and friendship.
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