Review: ‘The Art of Being Straight’

The burden of trying to figure out who we are and what we should do with our lives doesn’t end at that imaginary moment that we hit adulthood. The hard truth that we all realize at some point is that we never truly know who we are, but merely attempt to get a handle on who we are being at any given moment in our existence. The number and types of questions we find ourselves asking in life vary infinitely, but amidst the biggest questions that we all have to tackle includes that of sex.

Sex, that dirty three-letter word that most of us adore but at the same time so many of us avoid discussing with any sincerity. This is the question being addressed by the characters in ‘The Art of Being Straight’. The film, written and directed by first-timer Jesse Rosen, follows Paul (Johnny Ray) and Maddy (Rachel Castillo), two friends from college who both find themselves reevaluating their sexuality and how it affects their lives socially and professionally.

Paul is a college graduate aspiring to break into the advertising biz, but after moving from the East Coast out to Los Angeles finds himself taking a job as administrative assistant with an ad firm with hopes of moving up in the company. Known by his friends as a natural Cassanova with the ladies, Paul soon finds himself the the subject of several flirtatious advances from men at work and at parties. One thing leads to another and Paul finds himself so confused and uneasy with the uncertain direction this area of his life is now heading that he literally makes himself sick worrying about what he should do.

Maddy and Paul run into each other at a bar one night, whereas Paul learns that Maddy is in a relationship with another woman. The interesting dynamic between Paul’s and Maddy’s stories is that while Paul is struggling with the revelation that he might be gay, Maddy meets a guy she finds intriguing and eventually starts questioning her own sexuality as her relationship with Anna starts hitting some turbulence.

‘The Art of Being Straight’ is just as much a light comedy as it is dramatic, falling closely within the parameters of the newly coined and exponentially popular genre of mumblecore filmmaking. While this film is generally smarter and more honest than the average 90210-style dramatic television series, there is an element of that appeal built into the movie. This isn’t an insult though, as the story is one we’re not likely to see any time soon on prime time network telelvision, so the film applies that popular appeal to itself in an attempt to draw interest and I think it’s a relatively successful approach.

The compelling dramatic element in ‘The Art of Being Straight’ is that there are no clear-cut absolutes and the answers are not as simple as black or white. If there’s one fact of life when it comes to deciding who we are, it’s that we are all compositions of a vastly endless gray area and the black and white ends of the spectrum are usually distant horizons. With so much of the focus around the topic of sexual preferences being on whether a person is straight or gay, ‘The Art of Being Straight’ centers on two characters who find themselves attracted to men and women. The key is that they realize no matter which path they take, they’re honest with themselves and that they are honest with the people close to them.

While we get to know Paul and Maddy in an intimate non-sexual way, despite the sexual context, we actually get to know them on a much more complete level through their interactions with friends and co-workers as they sort out their lives. Overall, ‘The Art of Being Straight’ is a short (70 minute running time) but sweet story about friendships and relationships and life as it happens in between. I’m not going to tell you it’s the best film you’ll ever see, because it’s not. However, this is a good movie without any gimmicks or pretensions and offers a light-hearted, feel-good tone with a realistic story.