The best "gay" movie of 2004. It had amazing performances and an amazing plot. It's a real big tearjerker ... it's a film I'm proud to own and I watch it every once in awhile. A must see!

8/10 (B+)

It starts out with one cliche after another and doesn't get much better than that. My biggest problem is we're supposed to believe Christian just flals in love with Aaron, and that changes his life? But there its absurd because there is nothing in the movie to show why that would be likely.


Woth watching for a great performance by Steve Sandvoss, but otherwise a waste.

C

I wanted to love this movie. Really did.

But then, It was too talky - I like movies in whic people talk a lot - by talky I mean when they do not have much to say actually or mostly sound cliched. Like most of the monologues here or the dissertations about love... - And I found it a little bit clumsy and far too predictable... In the end, the only thing I could love was Steve Sandvoss.

Wow, I'm surprised I'm the only person that really loved this

Genre: Comedy, Drama and Romance

Cast: Steve Sandvoss, Wes Ramsey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rebekah Jordan, Amber Benson, Khary Payton, Jim Ortlieb, Erik Palladino, Mary Kay Place, Jacqueline Bisset

Writer/Director - C. Jay Cox
Executive Producers - Scott Zimmerman, J. Todd Harris, Kermit Johns
Co-Executive Producers - G. Sterling Zinsmeyer, Michael Wool, Tom Soto
Producers - Funny Boy Films - Kirkland Tibbels, Jennifer Schafer
Co-Producer - Funny Boy Films - George Bendele
Associate Producer - Darryl Anderle
Line Producer - Jennifer Schafer
Music - Eric Allaman
Music Supervisor - Michael Lloyd
Director of Photography - Carl Bartels
Editor - John Keitel

Studio: TLA Releasing

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Official Site: http://www.latterdaysmovie.com


At once romantic, earthy and socially critical, Latter Days is a dynamic film filled with humor and pathos."
-- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"In particular, Sandvoss is terrific as the devout Mormon struggling with his sexuality. A confrontation with his mother (Mary Kay Place) is heartbreaking -- and will make you angry that anyone could be so cruel to such a sweet young man."
--- Vasalia Times Delta

"This romantic melodrama draws on an unconscionable number of conventions, but works in the end because of its commitment to its characters and a handful of fine performances."
-- Dave Kehr, NEW YORK TIMES

"Despite the frequent obviousness of the script and direction ... the story attains an undeniable power."
-- FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

"Cox's screenplay treats its unusual subject matter with dignity and complexity, and the characters are well-drawn and sympathetic."
-- Frank Scheck, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"Even as it subscribes to the conventions of modern romantic comedy, it never compromises its characters' truths."
-- Gabriel Shanks, MIXED REVIEWS

"Although a good deal of what happens is predictable, the writer-director C. Jay Cox makes much of it pleasant."
-- Stanley Kauffmann, NEW REPUBLIC

Latter Days' finely observed truths about the painful costs of being yourself make even the contrivance of its happy ending forgivable."
-- Ernest Hardy, L.A. WEEKLY

"A new generation of gay drama.. (C. Jay Cox) has some substantial things to say.. A particularly subtle, convincing performance from Mr. Sandvoss, who gives Aaron a dignity, sweetness and humor." - David Kehr, New York Times

"An assured first feature.. A dynamic film filled with humor and pathos.. Cox (is) an exceptional screenwriter (and) also an astute director.. Rings true to the workings of the human heart." - Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

"A powerful, moving story of love and faith..A deeply personal statement from writer-director C. Jay Cox.. The romance is particularly hard-won, and it would really take a heart of stone not to ultimately root for them." - David Noh, Film Journal International

"Satisfyingly heartbreaking.. The film works because Ramsey and Sandvoss are so appealing together." - Frank DeCaro, The Advocate

"A profoundly felt meditation on the nature of religion, commitment, modern gay life, friendship and disease.. The best and most important gay film of the past few years." - Steve Weinstein, New York Blade

"Superbly written and surprisingly touching..You may not want the film to end - yes, it's that good. A gust of fresh air in the gay sub-genre.. It's one of the best gay films of the past ten years." - Matthew Dalton, IN Los Angeles





LATTER DAYS (2004)

From C. Jay Cox, the writer of Sweet Home Alabama, comes the story of Christian (Wes Ramsey), a 20-something, West Hollywood party boy who can get any guy he wants. When a group of Mormon missionaries move into his apartment complex, his friends bet him that he can't seduce one of them. He accepts, and tries to seduce the sexually confused 19-year-old Elder Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss). When Christian exposes Aaron's secret sexual desire, Aaron rejects Christian for being shallow and empty, and being able to have sex with people without it meaning anything. Aaron doesn't want his first time to be just another notch on someone's bedpost to them. After this encounter, Christian is hit by the realization that Aaron is right about him, and he finds himself wanting more out of life. The two soon find themselves in a passionate romance that risks destroying their lives. Will true love overcome all of the consequences and allow these two to live happily ever after?

Ever since seeing the trailer to Latter Days on the DVD of The Trip December 2003, I had been dying to see it. And as the film was released theatrically January 30th, 2004, my interest in it only grew stronger. Opening in only four theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Irvine (CA), and Pasadena (CA), Latter Days had a powerhouse first weekend, grossing a whopping $57,242 for a stellar per-screen average of $14,311. It had the highest per-screen average of any movie that debuted that weekend, and took second place in per-screen average of all movies playing that weekend (there were over 123 movies playing that weekend). The movie that beat it in per-screen averages grossed only a mere $500 more. This got me very excited. I knew it would never come near me because it wasn't mainstream enough. It's very rare for a gay-themed film to get released around here. Yet the great opening gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, it could eventually come near me. I even e-mailed my theater chain with info about the movie and begged them to get it, but I got a reply back saying that they had no plans of getting it at that time. I didn't think it would work, but it was worth a shot. The film kept having solid holds at the Box Office and I kept my eye out as it added more and more locations and the dates and theaters when it would be playing there, hoping that one of those cities would be within an hour from me. At the beginning of April it finally came to Minneapolis, which is three hours from me. That was the closest it ever came. It never played in more than 19 theaters, yet ended up being a big success in its very limited release for the kind of movie it is. With a budget of only $850,000, it grossed more than $834,685 at the Box Office, which is a great success. It will gross much more than that in video rentals and sales, proving to be a nicely profitable film for distributor TLA Releasing and production company Funny Boy Films, who created a partnership to release quality gay/lesbian themed films, with Latter Days being the first of them. I just hope that someday more people will be open-minded enough so movies like this won't have to have such limited releases. That's why it's important to support films like this and if at all possible, see them in theaters.

Since I had been dying to see this film and it was one of my most anticipated of the year, I already had the DVD pre-ordered 1-2 months in advance. I almost felt guilty though because if a video store around here actually got it, I'd want to show my support and rent it too, but if I bought it I wouldn't have the need to rent it. Sadly though, no video store around here got it for rent. I don't see why they couldn't get at least one copy. My main video store got one copy of this terrible gay-themed movie that had already come out a few years ago, and that's checked out a lot. One copy of this surely would have made a profit. I almost feel like buying them one so more people can see this film. It deserves to be seen, and it shouldn't have to be so hard for people to get their hands on. Most stores that sell DVDs aren't likely to carry it either, since it's a smaller movie that's not mainstream, and the main thing is that it's gay-themed. So if you want to see it you'll most likely have to buy it online, and it shouldn't have to be that way.

After receiving the movie in the mail the day it was released, I waited a while to watch it. I was just so excited to get it and after all of the anticipation I had built up, I wasn't in a hurry to watch it and get it over with. But finally, I sat down to watch it, and I wasn't disappointed. From the cool opening scenes with some neat cinematography, I was hooked.

Latter Days is a sweet, funny, touching, and uplifting movie about the power of love. It mixes in elements of fate and faith, and does so wonderfully. I'm not sure why so many Mormons had a problem with it (most without even seeing it) because it doesn't lie about the religion or anything, it just shows actual beliefs and practices of theirs, and if they think it makes them look bad, then what does that say about how they feel about their beliefs? Whenever a movie involving religion is released, there's always a controversy, especially when it's a movie involving religion and gay people. A lot of smaller cities would have people, especially religious groups, that had a problem with a gay film in general coming there though, even one that didn't have religion involved. So of course, there was a big controversy about this one. Many religious groups, not just Mormons, targeted this movie. There were even petitions going around in places where it was supposed to come trying to get it so the film wouldn't get released there. Latter Days had been scheduled to open in Salt Lake City on January 30th, but it was pulled at the last minute by the theater owners, claiming it lacked sufficient "artistic quality and integrity." Insiders, however, admitted that the theater company was being threatened with boycotts, protests, and membership cancellations from religious groups. It was obviously the latter, because they wouldn't not show a movie just because they didn't like it. It's about the money and they'd show a movie that they found atrocious as long as it would bring them good money. And to further prove my point, after it became such a success and they received a lot of backlash from others over not showing it, they then went ahead and brought the film there on March 26th, where C. Jay Cox appeared to introduce the film. It supposedly did very well there and played for over a month, and they had to put it on one of their biggest screens.

Despite the silly controversy over pretty much nothing, Latter Days is definitely one of the more "mainstream friendly" gay-themed films. It's a sweet, old-fashioned love story that just happens to be about two guys in love instead of a guy and a girl. You don't have to be gay to enjoy this film, just like gay people can enjoy heterosexual-themed movies too. It's about people experiencing human emotions, and regardless of the sexual orientation of the characters not being the same as yours, you should still be able to relate no less than you would be able to if they did share the same sexual orientation as you.

It's so nice to see a quality gay-themed film for once. I actually can't think of a better one than Latter Days (I can think of a few lesbian themed ones --- Kissing Jessica Stein, Monster, Lost & Delirious (I wouldn't say I like this more than Latter Days though, I like them both about the same) --- but no gay-themed ones). It just goes to show you that you don't need a big budget to make a good movie. There are so many poor gay-themed films out there and you can't help but think, "Why don't they actually release some good, quality ones?" There are a lot of independent films that don't have a big budget and yet are great, so it would be nice if the quality of gay-themed films would start to change. Latter Days is definitely a great one, and other gay-themed films from now on will have a hard job of living up to it. It was a good movie, and because of that it was a big success for the genre. If people make quality gay-themed films like this, it's likely they will do well for themselves. But the lack of quality in most is what makes them do less business, and why the better quality ones (Latter Days, The Broken Hearts Club, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, etc.) succeed. While I didn't love The Broken Hearts Club or Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, they are a couple of the more expensive, higher quality ones. I'd like to see more good/great ones come out.

The acting here is wonderful. Newcomers Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey give star-making performances. From the trailer and from reading reviews, I knew to expect something great from Steve. So it was no surprise how excellent he was. He played Aaron so perfectly. He really had down the uncertainty of the character. He made him so sweet, innocent, and pure that you couldn't help but care about him. You didn't want anything bad to happen to him. He was almost angel-like. It makes me want a sweet, innocent, and pure guy just like him. The scene in the kitchen between Aaron and his mother (Mary Kay Place) was heartbreaking. Even though I had heard about the slap before seeing the movie, when she slapped him it brought instant tears to my eyes. A very powerful scene! Even though I didn't like her character, Mary Kay Place gives a great supporting performance and deserves a Best Supporting Actress award for it. The real surprise for me was Wes Ramsey. I didn't have any real expectations for him, but he ended up delivering a very good performance. Him and Steve had great chemistry. The rest of the supporting cast, including Jacqueline Bisset, singer/actress Rebekah Johnson (Liberty Heights - Billed as Rebekah Jordan for Latter Days), Amber Benson (TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Third Rock From The Sun, 10 Things I Hate About You), also gave solid performances. I can't wait to see more from Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey.

Even with romance movies being a dime a dozen, Latter Days makes the formula seem fresh again by being a gay-themed romance movie that's actually quality stuff. It's a wonderful and important film (especially in this time of the big gay marriage debate - it could maybe open up some minds) that I can't stop thinking about and am looking forward to showing to other people. The performances are absolutely superb, the cinematography was very cool (made more impressive by the small budget), the writing is solid, the music was nice, and the characters are immensely likable (Even loveable when it comes to the character of Aaron). C. Jay Cox did a great job with this movie, but it still wouldn't have turned out so good without such a great cast.

Like pretty much all movies, it's not without its flaws. The main problem I had with it was that I thought the editing could have been a little better at times. Definitely not because I'd want it shorter, in fact, I wouldn't have minded at all if it were longer, but just because some people might find themselves confused when it comes to a few things. Nothing big though, just a couple of little things they might not get. It's certainly no reason to stay away from the movie. Even if it's not perfect, I still couldn't help but fall in love with it. It's such a well-meaning and well-made film. I'm proud to own it and definitely want to get the book, and I plan on purchasing the upcoming soundtrack to the film as well. Everyone involved with this movie should be very proud of themselves for making such a wonderful film. I would love to be able to help make/release films like this, and try to get it so someday they can reach a wider audience.

Latter Days is one of my favorites of the year and is an instant classic for the genre. A beautiful film from the heart! I highly recommend checking it out if you're lucky enough to have your video store carry it.

Grade: 9/10 (A-)



*Note(s):

Usually deleted scenes always disappoint me by not being very good (why don't they usually ever show us the goods that we hear about being cut?), but FINALLY, a DVD has deleted scenes that are actually worthy. I was very interested in the scenes that were cut from this movie. I wish they could have been in the movie. The scene with the sister I liked and wish could have been shown in the movie, just not right away since they wanted to keep what happened to him under wraps until later. When Aaron is telling Lila that he had a "brief but disastrous encounter with a razor" is when this part could have been incorporated into the movie. This way we already know he's alive and can see what happened. And I know the sound for the scene wasn't ready yet, but I think they should have at least added the scene with Aaron and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character in for the video release. I also would have liked to have seen the scene with Christian and his friend making up in the kitchen in the movie. During the movie when I watched it with my cousin and we see Christian's friend there with everyone in the end, my cousin was like "Now he's just friends with her because Aaron ended up being alive and her song brought him to him." And that actually is the impression you kind of get, because you don't see them make up beforehand. I think all of these scenes should have gotten into the movie, even if it wasn't until the video release.

I just watched this on Thursday with my aunt and I didn't like it as much. It could have been that the night before I didn't go to bed until 6AM then I woke up at 9AM. I'll have to watch it again.

but you gave it a B or something just a few posts up.. confused....

A Stupid contrived mess. I've seen much better gay themed films than this. It's such a missed opportunity. GAY guys will give it an A just because it is a GAY film, and that is absurd. I am GAY, and I can still give it lower than an A.

D

Someone sounds a little mad...

Hehe, I was having a bad day.

Are you kidding? I'm gay and gave it an A-, but I wouldn't just give it a good grade because it's a gay-themed romance movie. I see so many gay films and there are a ton I hate, especially a lot of them that are considered classics of the gay sub-genre.

Here are some I thought weren't very good or downright sucked:

BIG EDEN - 4/10 (D+)
THE HANGING GARDEN - 5/10 (C-)
STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE - 5/10 ( C )
SORDID LIVES - 5/10 ( C )
THE SUBSTANCE OF FIRE - 5/10 ( C )
RED DIRT - 4/10 (D+)
JOHNS - 5/10 (C-)
P.S. YOUR CAT IS DEAD - 3/10 (D-)
STRAIGHTMAN - 5/10 (C-)
LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! - 5/10 ( C )
LIE DOWN WITH THE DOGS - 3/10 (D-)
O FANTASMA - 5/10 (C-)
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - 4/10 (D+)
CAMPFIRE - 5/10 (C-)
COMING OUT - 4/10 (D+)
CARESSES - 4/10 (D+)
THE M.O. OF M.I. - 5/10 ( C )
THE EVENT - 5/10 (C-)
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO - 2/10 (F)
LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND - 5/10 ( C )
JEFFREY - 5/10 ( C )
COME UNDONE - 5/10 ( C )
LOVE FORBIDDEN - 5/10 ( C )
DANNY IN THE SKY - 4/10 (D+)
AND THEN CAME SUMMER - 5/10 ( C )
LONGTIME COMPANION - 5/10 ( C )
TO THE EXTREME - 3/10 (D)
THE WOLVES OF KROMER - 3/10 (D-)


The reason this one is so loved is because it was refreshing compared to the tons of shitty gay-themed films we get. Sure it was cliche (What isn't? A lot of movies are.) but it was of a higher quality rarely seen with most gay-themed movies. For this sub-genre, it's great. It had solid performances (Sandvoss and Mary Kay Place were great - Place was chilling and deserved a Best Supporting Actress nod for her spine-tingling performance) and two romantic leads you could root for. Sandvoss's Aaron is so damn lovable that he's impossible for anyone to resist. He was so pure and innocent and beautiful.

If there were actually a ton of high quality gay films out there then this one might not be as praised, but there's not, and this is a bright spot for the genre that deserves the success. Hopefully it will get other studios to take notice and they'll start spending a little more on gay-themed films once they see that actual good ones can go far. This made not far from 1 Million in theaters and cost only $800,000 to make, and then debuted amazingly on the rental charts at #29 with $850,000 its first week. That's AMAZING for a movie like this. Gay-themed movies usually don't debut in the top 50, let alone THAT high up on the charts. It went on to gross more than 4 Million in rentals, making it a very nice success for the studios involved in producing and releasing it. And it was such a success because of great word of mouth. The movie is enjoyed/loved by people both gay and straight, and that's why it's such a hit with people.

Since when does "Gay" join "Horror," "Drama," and "Comedy" as a film genre?

You learn new things every day, they say.

It's a SUB-GENRE! The sub-classing of the larger film genres (the main genres), such as comedy, drama, action, horror, etc... Disaster films, chick flicks, supernatural, detective, film noir, sports, fantasy, slasher, etc... are all sub-genres. They are not part of the main genres, but branch off from them. There are many, many different sub-genres.

Like I said before, it was probably because I was tired.

Or your taste in movies has refined....a bit.


:razz:

Heyyy it's worth watching if only to see Steve Sandvoss ind bed with Wes Ramsey.


:wink:

No, that's not it . He does this all of the time. Constantly changes his mind. One minute he'll love something, then he'll hate it, then think it's OK, then love it, hate it, etc... And obviously movies are bound to get old after you've already seen them. It's pretty much impossible for a movie to stay as fresh as they were when you first saw them because you already know what you're seeing. That's no reason to lower your rating just because it wasn't as enjoyable as the first time you saw it. Now it's not like I'd say this if someone didn't do it all of the time, because then it would be understandable and not annoying. But it's ridiculous when it is done so often. I don't see why it would be so hard to stick to an opinion. My ratings never go through such drastic changes. If anything it will just be changed a notch or two, like from a B to a B-, or B+ to an A-, maybe even an A. But not from an A- to a C- or something like that. When people do that it's hard to take them seriously.

I haven't done that to a movie in a really long time. Like I said before, I think LATTER DAYS just seemed a bit boring because I was so tired.

Well you kind of just did with LATTER DAYS, and you also did with SIDEWAYS, which you LOVED in theaters and gave like a 9/10 (A-) to, and now it's down to like a 7/10 (B-) or something. Don't get me wrong, I think the 7/10 (B-) suits it much better, but it's just that the change is a bit drastic and I don't see how you could have loved it the first time and then thought it was just "good" on repeat viewings.

I never changed SIDEWAYS to a 7/10 (B-), it's always been a 9/10 (A-) :???: