Oh Happy Day
Monday night at the LLGFF was dedicated to the premiere of Oh Happy Day a charming, very funny, feel good, romantic comedy.
The first feature length movie by British director Ian Poitier, Oh Happy Day was sexy, fun, and well made with great one liners, strong characterisation and great performances. It depicts ambitious advertising agency worker Jonathan who meets a smooth talking American, David, at an awards party and ends up spending the night with him. The chemistry between them is obvious but hampered when its revealed that David is the new representative of a pharmaceutical client (selling a happiness drug!) of the agencies and sleeping with clients is strictly forbidden. The romantic tension really works, and is ably helped along by strong family and work relationships both helping and hindering the potential romance.
What I really liked too is that the inter-racial relationship is acknowledged (and with a classic comic turn) but doesn't dominate or overwhelm the film - its just a part, and only one part, of Jonathan's character. It seems real. It's all lovely and middle-class but thats the genre isn't it, and I'm eagerly awaiting more from Ian - bring it on!
The film was preceded by the short film Private Life, an atmospheric, quirky and light-hearted look at 1950s lesbian and gay life 'up North'. This was a hard act to follow - following the relationship between two women separated by class and social attitudes in a funny and romantic way.
In short - two happy films about happy homosexuals - hurrah!
The first feature length movie by British director Ian Poitier, Oh Happy Day was sexy, fun, and well made with great one liners, strong characterisation and great performances. It depicts ambitious advertising agency worker Jonathan who meets a smooth talking American, David, at an awards party and ends up spending the night with him. The chemistry between them is obvious but hampered when its revealed that David is the new representative of a pharmaceutical client (selling a happiness drug!) of the agencies and sleeping with clients is strictly forbidden. The romantic tension really works, and is ably helped along by strong family and work relationships both helping and hindering the potential romance.
What I really liked too is that the inter-racial relationship is acknowledged (and with a classic comic turn) but doesn't dominate or overwhelm the film - its just a part, and only one part, of Jonathan's character. It seems real. It's all lovely and middle-class but thats the genre isn't it, and I'm eagerly awaiting more from Ian - bring it on!
The film was preceded by the short film Private Life, an atmospheric, quirky and light-hearted look at 1950s lesbian and gay life 'up North'. This was a hard act to follow - following the relationship between two women separated by class and social attitudes in a funny and romantic way.
In short - two happy films about happy homosexuals - hurrah!
posted by davidc at
9:43 am
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