Cas

By: gayforplay

This is not so much a short film collection as it is one full-fledged -- even at 50 minutes! -- movie, "Cas", with 2 short teaser films tacked on. Both "Bed Buddies" and "Tri-curious" are brief, somewhat amusing takes on the effects that having a 3-way can have on existing relationships, be they long-committed pairs, or simply good friendships. "BB" gets a bit chatty, trying to cover too many bases, and the 3 guys are hot and sweet, but the acting itself is not. "Tri-" is brief and believable. But these 2 shorts together actually take away from the strong impact of the main film, which is a moving depiction of the various effects that adding a third, younger party into a loving, committed relationship can have, with each affected in a different way. This is a well-made film: well written, well acted, well directed. The actors playing the two main characters have good chemistry and make an adorable couple. These are full-blooded characters, with years of history which we gradually learn about, and care about. The various tones of the film run the gamut, from playful to serious to sexy and sweet.
I highly recommend that you buy, or at least watch, this film.

By: Amos Lassen

"CAS"
Three About Three-Ways
Amos Lassen

Dekkoo Shorts presents a collection of three films, each of which that examines the different effects the addition of a third party has on a modern gay relationship
In the Dutch comedy-drama "CAS", Pepijn (Wieger Windhorst) and Sjors' (Kevin Hassing) steady, seven-year relationship is shaken after they allow a young student named Cas (Felix Meyer) to on their couch until he finds a place of his own. Gradually, both men fall head over heels for Cas' charm them to reconsider their long-term plans.
Pepijin and Sjors are a sweet, committed couple and even though still young, they've been together for years and have been making preparations for two big projects: a trip around the world and parenthood.
The trip means that Sjors must take time off work but he is not really excited about the trip; he's already traveled extensively, and now he's more focused on his career than his next adventure abroad. He's also eager to become a father, assuming that their friend Mia (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing) will agree to surrogacy. Pep is not so excited about fatherhood and is worried that Mia might not really be into becoming pregnant with their child.
We see Pep's underlying fears and insecurities here especially that he's not ready to be a dad yet, in part because he's not entirely sure of his relationship with Sjors.
These problems in their relationship are all but forgotten, at least for a time, when Sjors brings home a Grindr hookup named Cas, a younger man just starting to figure out what he wants. The idea is for Cas to stay on the sofa for a couple of nights until he can work out other housing arrangements; when the couple of nights becomes a couple of weeks, the three guys go through a not-entirely-unexpected period of attraction, jealousy, and resentment that leads to a couple of three-ways and a major re-examination of what Sjors and Pep want... and with whom.
The film is a threesome also in that it is
funny, sweet, hot, and tender. The cast is ideal and the plot is excellent for a 50-minute film that was made for Dutch TV. Writer Bastiaan Tichler and director Joris van den Berg give us a truthful take on a relationship while also providing an adventure that Pep and Sjors don't have to leave home to enjoy.
"Bed Buddies" from Reid Waterer is a comedy about gay friends who wake up after together and try to make sense of the unclear line between friendship and love. I found it to be a contemplative work that questions the value of friendship, over sex. Three best friends--- Danny (Enzo Nova), Kort (Colin Van Wye) and Brent (Daniel Lipshutz) wake up in the morning after the night before to discover they've crossed the dividing line of friends who share a bed together, to those who share each other Do they feel the brotherly love that best friends feel for each other or is there the passion that only true lovers feel? And if there is passion, can a threesome ever turn into a lasting relationship? Waterer raises a series of questions that clearly do not have easy answers and as the characters deal with them, they remark on how genuine friendship is so hard to find. We become aware of the serious issues that question the value of friendship, over sex.
Waterer intriguingly presents the flashback section color and the present tense in monochrome. There's a lot to like here and even though we see it as a comedy, it is very serious.
Matt Guerin's "Tri-Curious" is only 8 minutes long and is about how last minute anxiety threatens to ruin a young gay couple's first threesome together. The three we see are Trevor Ketcheson, Rob Salerno and Michael Went are very sexy and give us an
entertaining assessment of the anxieties associated with an open relationship. The focus is on two characters in the hour or so before their "guest" (a young man they found on an online hook-up website) is set to arrive at their apartment. The more conservative half of the couple grows increasingly nervous until he can no longer hide his to proceed, and the two bicker and try to resolve the situation, knowing full well that it's almost too late to cancel. The style of the piece is light, humorous, casual, and yet hopefully clever and thought provoking.
Here is what director Mat Guerin has to say:
"I wanted to portray a young gay male couple that is basically healthy, happy, and considerate of each other, yet find themselves in this surprising (and amusing) conflict on the road to sexual experimentation. In a sense, the two characters are meant to represent the conflict between conservative versus more liberal approaches to sexuality.
I've always believed the best way to raise uncomfortable or potentially contentious issues is through humor and I hope the film is a playful and thoughtful example of this."