This very London romantic comedy focuses on the happenings of the lives of a group of gay friends, all of whom of are striving to find their Mr. Right. This fresh take on the genre from brother and sister David and Jacqui Morris shows that big budgets are not needed to make heartfelt stories with believable characters.
As a 'gay' film, Mr. Right is pleasingly original in the fact that rather than attempting to address issues relating to homophobia or make any strong statements about homosexuality, it simply depicts the lives of six gay men and the various relationships that link them together, whilst carefully avoiding camp stereotypes. Although the film opens with narration from Louise (Georgia Zaris), the female friend of the male characters, Mr. Right quickly removes itself from a Sex and the City type storyline where gay men are effectively used as accessories by the female protagonists. Louise drifts into the background whilst the men take centre stage; even her relationship with Paul is based on a comic gag, contrasting with the more gripping and emotional relationships between the men.
The first half of the film essentially works as a series of short vignettes, introducing the characters and their various backgrounds through busy handheld scenes with quick cuts. This initial setting up of the story gets rather confusing, as the links between the various characters is not always clear, and it's hard to keep up with whose with who. To make it easier for you, Alex (Luke de Woolfson), an aspiring actor is together and in love with Harry (James Lance), a television producer. Artist Tom (David Morris) is besotted with boyfriend Larrs (Benjamin Hart), a handsome wannabe model/actor/singer. Antiques dealer William (Rocky Marshall) is in the beginnings of a relationship with Laurence (Leon Ockenden), a soap opera star, but William's young daughter Georgie is complicating things. Finally, Louise has a history of being drawn to gay men, but hopes that she's found the love of her life in Paul (Jeremy Edwards).
The speed and commotion of the beginning immediately slows down in the key scene of the film, the dinner party. Here the connections between the eight characters are given greater depth, and the camera slows down to help us absorb the moody atmosphere around the table, whilst established relationships are twisted and distorted with new complications. As a shocked Paul tells Louise the morning after, “people would pay good money to see that on the stage!”.
London itself is an ever felt presence in the film; when Alex returns to the north to stay with his family, he is overly critical of the lifestyle there, showing how key the city is to his existence, as well as indicating that London is still one of the easiest places to be accepted as gay in (the film also refers to Brighton more than once). The setting of Soho works well, especially in the night scenes where its neon signs and lurid shop windows give a strange luminous beauty. However, although the story of Mr. Right spans a number of months, the weather remains sunny and pleasant throughout—hardly a realistic depiction of London, albeit one that does suit the upbeat mood of the film.
Mr. Right is not without its flaws, but it is a refreshing tale of gay lives and loves, and one that deserves applause. The obvious dedication of writer David Morris and director Jacqui Morris comes across through the charming film that was funded from their own pocket. Mr. Right will undoubtedly go down well with gay audiences, and there's no reason at all why it shouldn't also with straight ones.
Libby Waite