An everyman film of family, friends

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By Paul Clinton
CNN.com Reviewer

(CNN) -- The new film "The Broken Hearts Club - A Romantic Comedy" is reminiscent of those classic films that explored the complex dynamics of friendship, movies such as "Diner" (1982) and "The Big Chill" (1983). There's just one little difference this time.

All the characters are gay. This is the first motion picture to do this since "The Boys in the Band" (1970). And boy, the tune, and the times, have changed.

However, it would be a mistake to label this film as just another "gay movie."

It's not a story about AIDS, the angst of coming out, or sex. It's about the universal themes of romance, acceptance and family -- the one you're born with, and the one you forge with friends as your life goes on.

"The Broken Hearts Club" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, bowing to rave reactions. It stars former TV superhero Dean Cain of "Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman" fame, along with Tim Olyphant ("Go," 1999), and John Mahoney, best known as Marty Crane on the Emmy-winning series "Frasier."

The film begins and ends with a birthday party for Dennis (Olyphant), the film's main protagonist, who is fast approaching his 30s. He's questioning himself, his goals, future and relationships with his tight-knit group of friends, all living in the gay Mecca of Southern California, West Hollywood.

"I can't remember when I first realized I was gay, only the first time I knew it was OK," Dennis muses in a voice-over early in the film. "It was when I met these guys -- my friends."

Dennis shares a house with one of the friends, self-centered actor Cole (Cain). A serial dater, he goes through men like a cold sufferer goes through Kleenex, but his good looks and innate charm cause his friends to overlook his bad behavior. Of course, that doesn't stop them from constantly speculating about his love life.

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Also included in this extended family are Benji (Zach Braff), a guy looking for love in all the proverbial wrong places, and Patrick (Ben Weber), an insecure man who feels that his less-than-stellar looks have shut him out of the dating game. At one point Patrick laments, "Gay men in L.A. are all a bunch of tens looking for an eleven."

Howie (Matt McGrath) is a bespectacled intellectual who is constantly over-analyzing his fractured relationship with his boyfriend Marshall (Justin Theroux). Taylor (Billy Porter) is the only African-American in the group; he's also a major drama queen whose favorite pastime is rearranging the furniture in friends' homes. Kevin (Andrew Keegan from "Party of Five"), is the "newbie" in the gang. He's just coming out with his sexuality and is adopted by the group -- after he's been dumped by Cole. The inner actions between these friends are summed up when Benji compares his friends to a tribe of Somalian monkeys. "They live together in a set social group all year," he says. "And then, when it's mating season, they attack each other!"

The father figure of this nuclear family is Jack (Mahoney), the owner of a local bar, who occasionally dresses in drag and serenades his patrons with his hideous -- but heartfelt -- voice. He's the shoulder on which they all lean. "Not everyone is beautiful," he tells a despondent Patrick. "Some people are just gay and ordinary. We're the strongest, I think."

Jack sponsors and coaches a softball team called "The Broken Hearts Club." His grumpy, loving character is very close to "Frasier's" Marty Crane -- though, of course, Marty would never be caught in a red dress!

Sadly, the boys are worse at softball than they are in their constant quests for emotional fulfillment and meaning to their lives. Their first game of the season is against the Hollywood Fire Department. "Not only are they better than us," one player moans, "they're (also) a physical distraction."

Also appearing in the film are Mary McCormack who plays Anne, Patrick's lesbian sister. Nia Long ("The Best Man," 2000) portrays Leslie, her no-nonsense partner who can barely contain her disdain for Anne's floundering brother.

"The Broken Hearts Club" is written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Greg Berlanti. At 28, he's already the co-producer of TV's "Dawson's Creek," and has two other film projects -- one he's written and another he's directing -- in the works.

A graduate of Northwestern University's playwriting program, Berlanti has a keen ear for the rhythms of speech. His dialogue is witty and poignant and each character has a unique voice.

All the performances are well crafted by the actors, but some Superman fans may be in for a shock when they see Cain in a lip-lock with another man. Weber, who also appears in HBOs "Sex and the City," is touching in his role of Patrick. Olyphant anchors the group beautifully in the pivotal role of Dennis.

"The Broken Hearts Club," is a small independent film that should do well in urban areas. How it's received elsewhere is less certain.

Shot in less then a month on location in West Hollywood, it's a character study of a group of friends who just happen to be gay. All of them are just regular guys struggling with issues that are basic to everyone. This is a heartwarming, glorious movie for anyone who has ever had a friend -- or a family.

"The Broken Hearts Club -- A Romantic Comedy" opens in Los Angeles and New York City on Friday. It will open elsewhere across the country over the next eight weeks. Rated R. 90 minutes.

The Broken Hearts Club

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