I'll Love You Forever... Tonight

By: Robert O'Neill
In-House Review - Oct 21 2013

A gritty gay curio available on DVD for the first time ever, I'll Love You Forever... Tonight will transport you back in time, right to the pulse of the New Queer Cinema movement.

Made back in 1992 for under $100,000 by writer-director Edgar Michael Bravo as his thesis film for UCLA, this somber and searing drama, set in queer twenty-something Los Angeles, revolves around the lives, loves and sexual relations of a group of friends and acquaintances. Serious with occasional flashes of humor, the film delves into the loneliness, self-deception and self-loathing of its several gay male characters with an unflinching realism.

Described as "Pinter-on-Fire Island" and "a queer Big Chill," this thought-provoking tale, filmed in shadowy black and white, captures the tensions of post-AIDS male youth in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Compassionate and always perceptive, the film is rough around the edges, but represents a certain time and place in independent filmmaking that will charm anyone who remembers the the arthouse video store era fondly.

Back in the early '90s, TLA offered this film to customers exclusively on VHS. We're proud to bring it back on DVD for a new generation to experience. Be sure to look out for a very young Thomas Jane before he became a much bigger movie and TV star. You won't miss him - he's the smokin' hot hustler from the opening scenes who just wants a little affection and place to crash for the night (damn, boy... come to my house).

By: Amos Lassen

Originally released in 1993, "I'll Love You Forever...Tonight" has, until now and thanks to TLA, never been released on DVD. This is Edgar Michael Bravo's look at gay life in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Ethan (Paul Marius) is in his 20s and a photographer. He is a gay man that has a lot of one-nighters and even though he would like more, his affairs do not usually last past the next morning. Dennis (Jason Adams), a friend, invites him to come along on a trip to Palm Springs where they will be joined by other friends. Over the following few days, Dennis and Ethan engage in a relationship that goes through several changes as each plays with the other. Feelings are hurt and Ethan witnesses the difficulties others have with jealousy, commitment and honesty.
What was supposed to be a restful little vacation turns into a round of hard drinking and cold-blooded sexual games played by five good-looking men who do not seem to know themselves or each other very well. Ethan sees the emotional cruelty that they deal to one another and he is reminded of how his own father abused him. The film offers a bleak picture of one segment of gay life and it carries a nasty ring of truth. This is one of the films that heralded the beginning of the New Queer Cinema.
Bravo made the film as his thesis at UCLA and it cost less than $100,000 to do. Basically the film revolves around the lives, loves and sexual relations of a group of friends and acquaintances. Serious with occasional flashes of humor, the film looks at the loneliness, self-deception and self-loathing of several gay male characters with a realism that was new to gay cinema. It is filmed in black and white to reflect the seriousness of what we see. It captures the tensions of post-AIDS male youth in the late 1980s. Compassionate and always perceptive, the film is a bit rough but it represents a certain time and place in independent filmmaking.
It seems that Dennis neglected to tell Ethan that there would be other guests. A trick named Steve accompanies them and, when they arrive at the cabana, Ethan is shocked to find that a former boyfriend named Peter is already there with his new boyfriend Jeff and they seem to be on the verge of ending their relationship. Sexual tensions begin to mount and Ethan begins to see that Dennis had ulterior motives for the weekend. Dennis wanted to get Peter back together with Ethan so that he could date Jeff after he breaks up with Peter. Steve the trick was along for the ride in case things didn't work out.
By the end of the "vacation," Ethan feels a need for new friends and returns to Los Angeles. Confronting his troubled family life, he calls his father - who doesn't want anything to do with him. In the end, Ethan realizes that he can make his own "family" with friends who will accept each other without judgments.
An interesting little tidbit occurs early on. Ethan allows himself to be picked up at a bar in the opening scene. As soon as they have finished having sex, he seems completely uninterested in his trick for the night and asks him to leave. That trick is none other than the star of "Hung", Thomas Jane.
The film is filled with images of shirtless men lounging around the pool, as well as in various beds and showers. The plot is filled with all kinds of goings on but unlike many other gay independent films that take place in similar settings, this one is not a lighthearted view of gay life. It is very dark, and director Bravo's touch is serious as he explores the dangerous sex games orchestrated by the shallow and self-centered Dennis. All of the men spend a lot of time talking about sex and about relationships that didn't work and about the disappointments in their lives. In the end, Ethan sees what a jerk his best friend is and tries to move on.
Jeff Crum's crisp and uncluttered black-and-white images show that this is a notably mature work. The kinds of men we see here aren't supposed to have any problems but we see that they are just as vulnerable and need love like everyone else. Bravo shot this with a maximum of compassion and little sentimentality, and through his direction and the skill of the writing, we are persuaded to care about them. Another interesting fact about the film is that all of the actors appear "straight acting", a term used a lot in personal ads and I understand that Bravo did not ask his actors (which include Miles Wilshire, Thomas Jane and Steve Bollinger) about their sexual orientation.