Regular Price $24.95

Starring: John Brennan,  J. Andrew Keitch,  Kehry Anson Lane,  Peg Sheldrick, 
Directed By:
Rated: Unrated
Release Date: 2004
Studio: WOLFE VIDEO
Format: Closed-captioned,  Color,  Dolby,  DVD-Video,  Letterboxed,  NTSC,  Widescreen, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Almost Normal

Description
Brad Jenkins (newcomer Andrew Keitch) is a gay man who's just turned 40 and feels very single. He confides his wish to "be normal" to his lifelong best friend Julie (Joan Lauckner), who is urging him to attend his family reunion. Brad ends up going, but feels even worse being with his relatives, who are content with the suburban married pleasures of barbecue and scrabble. A bit tipsy after the party, Brad crashes his car driving home on a back road. When he comes to, he finds himself magically transported back in time. He's a teenager at his old high school, but to Brad's surprise, things have changed radically. Everyone is gay!

Amazon.com
Almost Normal describes itself as "Back to the Future meets Peggy Sue Got Married," and that gives you a good idea of what this gay-themed comedy is all about. Like those earlier movies, it's good-natured, amusing, and conventionally mainstream in its storytelling... except, of course, for the fact that it's a low-budget contemporary fantasy intended (more or less exclusively) for a gay audience. It's also the kind of too-eager-to-please comedy (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) that you'll either love or hate in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but if you make it that far you may find yourself enjoying the movie's low-key charm and easygoing appeal. Granted, some of the acting (by a cast of complete unknowns) is amateurish and some of the dialogue is so bad it's laughable, but the "what if?" scenario yields a few interesting situations, satisfying a fantasy notion that many gay viewers will instantly identify with: What if you could relive your painful high-school days, only this time, instead of being in the ostracized gay minority, you discover that almost everyone is gay, and it's the straight kids who are "abnormal"?! That's the surprise in store for Brad (Andrew Keitsch), a gay, perpetually single 40-year-old teacher who crashes his car, is knocked unconscious, and has a Wizard of Oz-like dream in which he's back in high school, in an all-gay society where same-sex couples have children via sex with "parental partners," gym showers are co-ed, and straight kids are outcasts. It seems like an ideal situation, but Almost Normal has a lesson to teach about growing comfortable and content with one's own sexual identity, regardless of societal expectations. The role-reversal fantasy is treated far too literally, and it's not all that clever to begin with, but writer-director Marc Moody gives it a light spin that's harmless and well-intentioned. Almost Normal is the kind of movie that is typically found on the fringes of lesser-known film festivals, but it's likely to find an appreciative audience on DVD. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews for Almost Normal

Defective Merchandise
Video was defective and couldn't be watched but I had already thrown away my receipt for the purchaseAlmost Normal

Say Wha?
This low budget dramedy is a real odd duck. The premise is an homage to the Kathleen Turner film Peggy Sue Gets Married - a forty-ish college professor (J. Andrew Keitch) has a car accident and wakes up to find himself back in high school but in a world where it's considered normal to be gay and aberrant to be straight. The queer thing (no pun intended) about the story is that, in the bizarro world, where he finally has a shot at the straight jock he'd longed for in the real world, instead he falls for his sister-in-law (Joan Lauckner), who had harbored a secret crush on him in real life. Naturally they're found out, ostracized and he is "straight-bashed," making for plenty of opportunities for indignant speechifying. But all that seemed minor in the scheme of things. The big problem I had with this one is...what exactly is the point? Once a misfit, always a misfit?

There are some affecting performances, particularly Keitch and Lauckner and overall, the production values seem fairly high for an indie. Unfortunately, much of the humour (satirizing homophobia) is a bit tired and a spiel near the end decrying prejudice seemed extremely strident and unnecessary, since one is safe to assume everyone watching the film is probably gay friendly already.

Not awful. Just don't expect too much.
Almost Normal

Fun and Light
An interesting look at how different things would be if the gay world was considered the norm and the straight world was considered abnormal and forced to conceal their true feelings. Very unusal concept. Funny, well thought out production, well written and all the actors are very believable in their respective roles. Great ending. Very enjoyable film. If you want to watch something that will put a smile on your face and make you laugh this is a must have for you. Different from anything I have ever seen. Absolutely hilarious.Almost Normal

A great view from the other side.
I got this film without reading any of the commentaries or reviews, and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen. The use of local people from Lincoln High School and Nebraska State University made this movie really genuine. Aside from Brad's mom's wigs, I thought the movie was convincing and extremely heart warming. I am sick of seeing the same old campy stuff that's continually shoveled in our faces all the time. My hat's off to the director, producers and all those who VOLUNTEERED to make this film a reality. Thank you for the sacrifice and long live independent film making!Almost Normal

Mindbender
Ok, so this movie is not really well acted, and could certainly have been edited better and had some more substance in several parts of the story, but all that aside it was actually a neat concept. Imagine, the world has suddenly gone upside down for gays.Almost Normal