Elliot Loves

By: Robert O'Neill
In-House Review - Jul 17 2012

Writer/director Terracino is back with his first film since the award-winning 1995 short My Polish Waiter. We're happy to say that Elliot Loves was worth the 17-year wait! This adventurous Latino romantic drama-set in the Dominican American area of upper Manhattan, skips back and forth in time while using both live-action and animation.

Terracino's feature debut concerns Elliot - played as an adult by Fabio Costaprado and as a 10-year-old by Quentin Araugo, both talented newcomers. Elliot is handsome and charismatic, but unlucky in love. He can't seem to hold down a relationship for more than a few weeks. The problem isn't due to a lack of effort on his part - Elliot falls in love easily and devotes himself entirely to his male companions. Why is it, then, that none of the hunky guys that he attracts seem to desire the same level of commitment? Things look promising with Joe (Monte Bezell), a confident, slightly older stud, until it turns out (very awkwardly for Elliot) that he's already in a relationship, albeit an open one. Even more promising is Kiko (Jermaine Montell), a stunningly sexy young go-go dancer who gives his attention to Elliot - for a little while, at least.

Maybe Elliot's need for affection has something to do with his childhood. Raised by an emotionally erratic single mother, Elliot was without a positive male role model. His mother's boyfriend was borderline abusive. The film features a smart and subtly heartbreaking scene where Elliot's mother (played by stunningly beautiful "As the World Turns" veteran Elena Goode) pulls him out of school in the middle of the day to share a meal at a diner and talk about all of the lavish prizes she could have won if only she had been a contestant on that day's episode of "The Price is Right." Both Elliot and his mother are dreamers. They idealize the world around them and fantasize about their potential for happiness-often finding themselves disappointed when reality sets in and things don't go the way they had planned.

As Elliot's heart is repeatedly broken in the present, the film flashes back to situations in the past that fueled his need for a dependable partner. These may seem like heavy themes, but Elliot Loves examines them with a consistent optimism that stays true to the characters and a refreshingly light-hearted touch that manages not to betray their poignancy. Featuring captivatingly nuanced performances from the primary cast and a bold, frenetic style from a filmmaker that has been absent from the gay cinema scene for far too long, Elliot Loves is worth loving in return.

By: hopeless gay romantic

By: KPD

Love, love LOVED this movie!! It made me laugh, smile, cry and so much more. Best of all, it made me remember what it was like to be a 20-something starting out in life and trying to find love. Really, just a great movie that I didn't want to end. I'm not going to go on and on - so quit reading the review and go and WATCH this movie!! I know you will absolutely love it too.

By: Amos Lassen

Terracino is a new name to LGBT film and it has been getting a lot of praise lately. Terracino is the director of "Elliot Loves", a film that looks at the influences a parent has on a child. Here is a film that gives us something we do not get-we see a gay boy as he is molded and shaped.

We meet Elliot as a nine year old and we learn that he is an American but his family is from the Dominican Republic. Then we meet Elliot when he is 21 years old and he is in search of love. It is impossible not to love Elliot-in fact, so much so that we want to enter the film and be with him.

Young Elliot is seen for the first time as he is in the bathroom pretending he is doing a shampoo commercial and then we jump forward and see Elliot in a bar where he meets a good looking guy named Joe (Monte Bezell). The two go home together and Joe is wonderful to Elliot but then the next morning his boyfriend comes home and Elliot feels used.

The film moves back and forth between the two Elliots this keeping us on our toes. We are never sure what we will see next. Elliot's mother (Elena Goode) is a dreamer but has a problem with men. She seems to date only the ones that abuse her and then she becomes subservient to them. She feels that a woman must be with a man and she needs to be with someone regardless of how much it might hurt her to do so. Elliot seems to have inherited this from his mother-he is lonely and feels that he needs to have a lover or a partner who loves only him. He is also, like his mother, a dreamer. We realize that it was his mother that messed up his life yet we also see that she loves her son totally and she wants the best for him. Elena Goode turns in an incredible performance and we are certainly aware that she knows that she failed her son.

This is an absolutely amazing film, not just because of the subject matter but because Terracino really knows how to tell a story. As I said before, the role of Elliot is actually split in two and therefore we have two actors portraying him. Quentin Araugo as the younger Elliot is excellent and loveable and Fabio Costaprado is a master showing the desire and hope that Elliot has.