Nathan (Cole Williams), who’s described as seventy-percent gay, is a wry hottie, who knows how to work his particular “Oscar Wilde” appeal with quick quips and a enticing, throw-me-down-on-the-sheets grin surfacing under his sandy, choppy, in-his-face hair. Let’s just say his ego is probably the biggest thing in his pants.

This makes for a main character that is more of an antagonist than a protagonist, and geesh! does he antagonize Maggie (Buffy’s Amber Benson), who sweetly believes she’s in love with him. As the light dapples the passing countryside, Maggie cradles fantasies of their joint lives together—of a bizarre and dynamic marriage that liberally allows him to have gay sex on the side. Meanwhile Nathan fantasizes almost entirely of bagging ambiguously-straight surfers.

You see the problem?

Nathan fans the fire of Maggie’s puppy dog love, with constant flirting and romantic gestures, giving Maggie an antique necklace as they get on the road, playing her dashing husband at a wine tasting, and, bedding her at a quaint country inn. That’s not to say that Maggie is a saintly innocent, without any game.

Both characters left live-in boyfriends back home with the notion that they are “just friends,” and both characters seem to be using each other to fill some internal void. Maggie’s urge to merge is fueled by Nathan’s bad boy approach; her boyfriend’s the poetic, loving, vanilla-sex type. If Maggie had domesticity with Nathan it might not be what she’s after, after all, as a tame lion quickly loses its roar appeal. Conversely, while Nathan claims that he likes his “women aggressive and (his) men passive,” he keeps digging into Maggie where it hurts, slowly but surely, attempting to render her weak under his serrated tongue. He wants to exert his prowess at anyone’s expense.

What’s commendable about this film is that it explores bisexuality as if it actually exists, rather than comes on like a seasonal flu. It depicts a mid-Kinsey scale character as developing a complex relationship that’s played out over time, rather than treating bisexual desire as a passing phase that overtakes a straight or gay character and results in an in-and-out affair. Focusing mostly on the straight permutation of bisexual desire, rather than the gay one, seems refreshingly new to the screen, and makes a gesture of respect to bisexuality as an identity.

Race You to the Bottom’s actors are compelling and multifaceted enough that they’re engaging to watch through a feature length, and the picturesque California highways set to brit-poppy soundtrack tunes make for pleasant visual and auditory interstices. Russell Brown’s film suffers a few vinegary mishaps, though.

The script, which tries to infuse its characters with literary, subtle wits, ends up seeming over-written in places, and too often replaces real character interaction with overburdened lines that frequently fall flat. Despite the vino focus, Sideways, this film is not.

Secondly, Nathan’s self-absorbtion and cruelty, which achieve a snowball effect, become revolting rather than fascinating to behold. In a mud bath scene wherein Nathan attacks Maggie for her weight and “sagginess” in an attempt to extricate himself from her affections, the dark, oozy liquid around the two quarrelling lovers is hardly slimey in comparison to Nathan’s actions. He rubs it in spitefully: “The Hag can’t take the fact that she fell in love with the Fag.”

While drama happens here, it becomes distasteful in a way that doesn’t benefit the mixed-quality of the writing. We end up wondering not only why Maggie has given this immature little bastard the time of day in the first place, but why we are spending our time watching him lash out.

The beginning and ending of this film both seem awkward, but the careening, traveling middle does have some juice and verve to it. Granted, though, a movie that relies nearly entirely on its characters talking is a tough creature to pull off well. Race You to the Bottom takes on interesting material, offers good acting, and has some zinger moments, but ends up a middling effort.

All in all, though, this young-but-ambitious vintage is worth a taste.

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