''Were the World Mine'' Astounds (and Disappoints Some Too)

Almost everyone has fond memories of There’s Something About Mary, the 1998 film that made huge stars out of Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz. And why wouldn’t they? It contains about six of the funniest scenes ever put to film. Remember when Stiller’s character got his “frank and beans” caught in his zipper? And the infamous “hair gel” that Diaz uses in her hair?

The truth is, There’s Something About Mary is a pretty flawed film. In fact, some parts are terrible: whole sub-plots go nowhere, and a couple of extended comedy bits about the disabled didn’t elicit even a single chuckle in the crowded theater I saw the movie in, instead leaving us all shifting uncomfortably in our seats.

But in the end, There’s Something About Mary’s funny parts are so hilarious, so incredibly inspired, that the audience forgave the fact that the rest of the movie doesn’t hold up. Most viewers were so busy talking about those six hilarious scenes that they didn’t even remember the rest of the film.

I couldn’t help but think about the audience reaction to There’s Something About Mary while watching the new gay teen movie musical Were the World Mine, about an all-male high school that puts on a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Timothy, a gay teen smitten with his straight hot jock co-star, discovers the magical recipe to Dream’s famous love potion hidden within the text of the play itself. He brews some up, and soon the whole bigoted town is learning what it’s like to fall in love with a person of the same sex.

Tanner Cohen & Nathaniel David Becker

Were the World Mine is totally unlike There’s Something About Mary in tone, style, and subject matter, but they have one thing in common: both have good parts that are very, very good … while the rest, sadly, just doesn’t rise to the same level of quality.

There’s no point in dwelling on the negative, so let’s begin with the “good.”

The concept itself is absolutely inspired. A gay teen at an all-male high school finds the recipe to a secret love potion hidden within the text of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? And it’s a musical? Who wouldn’t want to see this movie?!

Much of the acting is terrific, especially Wendy Robie, who is wonderful as the wise drama teacher, but also Tanner Cohen, who finds the perfect combination of resentment, bewilderment, and defiance in his “everyboy” gay teen. The movie also stars Zelda Williams, who is Robin Williams’ daughter.

Most fantastic of all are the musical numbers. The songs themselves are rocking and infectious with many of the lyrics adapted directly from the actual Shakespeare.

Alexandar Aguilar, Adam Gauzza, Matthew McMunn, Walter Thon, Kenneth Gasch

And the musical sequences, which take place in Timothy’s imagination, are filmed in a visually arresting style that is both daring and breathtaking. The movie was made on a shoestring, apparently filmed in inexpensive stock and then converted to a more expensive one for a theatrical release. But the resulting look, often grainy and darkly lit, doesn’t detract or look cheap. Instead, it serves to highlight the haunting, otherworldly feel of the movie.

Meanwhile, the costumes and choreography are fantastic. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in indie film, and especially unlike anything I’ve ever seen in gay cinema. This is a movie that is genuinely different, trying something wholly imaginative and unique. It puts the “magic” in “magical.”