"Dare" is Daring, But Could Be Bolder With Gay Theme

The movie Threesome came to mind more than once while I was watching Dare. As opposed to that earlier comedy, the gay guy here at least gets a little action out of the straight dude, but once again we have a story where the straight boy and the girl get most of the erotic heat, with the underserved lonely homo added as something of an appendage.

It’s not necessarily a flaw with either movie, but one wonders when U.S. directors will get to make a movie like, say, Wild Reeds, in which the guy-guy stuff is central and the sexual relationship with the woman takes the back seat. (Dare also reminded me of Robert King’s short The Disco Years, mainly for its exploration of the sexual possibilities of two high school boys and a swimming pool.)

Unlike so many films that paint a rosy picture of adolescence for adults with fuzzy memories, Dare has the courage of its convictions. It’s not a brutal exposé of the Kids or Thirteen school, but it does unflinchingly portray how selfish, and how completely oblivious to the feelings of others, teens can be.

Nothing’s wrapped up in a big bow at the end, but we get a hint of how these life lessons will shape these three kids when they finally become adults.