Release Date: Oct. 10
Director: Laurie Lynd
Writers: Michael Downing (novel), Sean Reycraft (screenwriter)
Cinematographer: David A. Makin
Starring: Noah Bernett, Thomas Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman
Studio/Run Time: Regent Releasing, 95 mins.
Eric and Sam are a committed gay couple, though not married
or in a civil union, suddenly forced into custody of Scot when his mother
dies.They deal with this change in a humorous
getting-to-know-each-other plot that’s somewhere between Kramer vs. Kramer and Big
Daddy in tone.The catch here is
that Scot is also gay, flamboyantly so, at least so far as a pre-pubescent
child can be said to have any form of sexuality.This makes Scot a pariah at school and leaves
Eric and Sam uncertain if they should raise him to embrace who he is or to be
like them and for the most part hide his sexuality for social and professional
reasons.
Given Breakfast with
Scot’s content, there’s no getting away from the difficult politics at play.
Eric and Sam are to some extent representations of this, with Eric a jock
completely in the closet publicly and Sam seemingly unconcerned with how others
see him. Sam is given little focus,
though, as the film really becomes Eric and Scot’s.Eric works out his own issues by getting Scot
to try and fit in more at school and play hockey, as Eric did himself to avoid condemnation.It’s an interesting take on the adoption
narrative, but not as trailblazing as it could be.
This is unfortunate, since going down this road leaves many
of the film’s ideas about sexuality muddled and uncertain.Where Breakfast
ultimately stands on Scot’s attempt to pass as straight doesn’t resolve, and
Scot’s character also has a lot of issues due to how over-the-top he’s
portrayed.Much of Breakfast’s humor comes out of this, leading to guilty laughs and
confusion about how accepting the filmmakers wish to be.There’s a sense that the filmmakers are often
laughing at Scot rather than with him, and though this (probably) isn’t always true, the
tendency to play jokes regardless of whether they feel cruel is a let down.
Few movies, however well-intended, deal with issues of
homosexuality well.Breakfast ‘s heart is certainly in the right place, but it falls short
of maturity.The film’s reliance on an otherwise
clichéd plotline cuts out a lot of its fangs, giving it an ending that feels
good but doesn’t really deal with the issues at hand.It is perhaps the most charming gay family
film ever made, though, and even if that’s not a big niche, Breakfast fills it well enough for
now.