Brotherly Love

"Brotherly Love" (2017) This is a SUPER cute Rom-Com by Anthony J. Caruso. This is Caruso's first full length film, so it is a little rough around the edges, but adorable nonetheless! There is a solid cast and great plot line (based on the novel “Seventy Times Seven” by Salvatore Sapienza). I'm not usually a fan of snappy/snippy one-liners, but for some reason it works in this film (perhaps because Caruso is so darn adorable in this role that I let them slide?).The main character is Vito Fortunato (Caruso), an Italian Catholic man in the final stages of taking his Brotherhood vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He is obviously torn. He hasn't let go of his circle of gay friends, hasn't given up partying into the wee hours of the morning, but has given up acting out on any of his sexual/intimacy impulses. His friends and mentors are concerned that he is making the wrong vocational decision. His spiritual advisor (a spunky nun) sets him up on a summer sabbatical volunteering at an AIDs Support Home in Austin, Texas. During this time he is introduced to postive gay role models, alternate spiritual/Christian views on homosexuality, and a man who potentially could be his soulmate. Vito is faced with some hefty, life-altering decisions as the summer comes to an end.Very good food for thought for anyone who has struggled with reconciling their sexuality with their relationship with God....and YES it CAN be done.

I was one of the first to review the novel (Seventy Times Seven) on which this film is based, and was glad to hear of the screen adaptation. In my experience, they rarely live up to the impact of the original book, but I think this is an exception. Furthermore, after many years of reviewing gay films, whenever I see the "Screenplay written by / Directed by / Produced by / Starring..." credit is all the same person, my expectations tend to drop dramatically. To my surprise, except for what I feel was a poor choice of title (Not only has it been used before recently, but the title as a gay film makes it sound more like porn, neither one of which is a good thing) and perhaps a questionable choice for the opening scene, I felt the film was done very well, and definitely lived up to the spirit of your wonderful novel. The few deviations from the novel (that I could recall) were positive for the film, and I thought the every one of the actors did a great job. While the low budget was a bit evident in places, I think Caruso did a commendable job as director and editor, and I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Like in the book, I especially applaud the diversity of the characters, including gay men and lesbians, "out" and closeted individuals, couples and singles, seniors and young people. Much recommended.

This was a well made movie, but it's so overloaded with stereotypes trying to outflame each other, that you can't take any of the characters or the story seriously. This was not an accident. It was written as a dramedy but the dialogue was so over the top with trash talking that the drama could not be taken seriously. Picture a gay Bob Hope/Bing Crosby flick with something real going on in the background. WAY background. I would guess a PG-13 rating would be appropriate.

Enjoyable love storyNeeds English subtitlesA little longI haven’t read the novel upon which this is basedEnjoyable story about a man in search of his true self while preparing to become a Roman Catholic brother until he meets another man on a similar but different questLots of inside gay jokes & allusions which might be exclusionary to those who haven’t closely followed gay social icons.

Great Movie its a must watch

It's always hard to criticize films that have good intentions. But...the path to hell, and all that.... This movie suffers from too much--too much length, too much bad acting, too many lingering shots, too many bad choices in editing and directing. I think you see where I'm going with this. Sadly, it's not deliriously bad enough to be truly campy, and not good enough to be worth your time.

I liked this film a lot It shows real life And how people deal with it . I find this one to be a keeper

Wow....well, to sum up my reaction after watching this movie was that I threw it away. The acting was mostly awful, stereotypes took the dead space between what seemed like two locations, some scenes inside a house and then other scenes in the backyard. Slow moving, confused and confusing main characters, and hasn't the Catholic religious thing been done to death? No recommendation possible.

Liked the movie