14.03 / 16:09
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‘Down Low’ Review: Gay Heartthrob Lukas Gage Gives Zachary Quinto One Hell of a Happy Ending
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic If they ever make a sequel to “The Celluloid Closet” — the landmark doc about the history of LGBT representation on screen — Lukas Gage should warrant at least two mentions. First, there’s the scene from the first season of “White Lotus” where Jake Lacy barges into the resort manager’s office, only to find Gage getting his salad tossed (a history-making moment for gay TV fans). And now there’s “Down Low,” an over-the-top, bottom-trawling comedy that wants to be for the gay community what “The Hangover” was to the mainstream — which is to say, wildly irreverent and incredibly wrong. Starring openly gay “Heroes” villain Zachary Quinto as Gary, a recently divorced, richie-rich zaddy hoping for a happy ending, “Down Low” doesn’t quite understand its own title — code within the Black and Latino community for men who consider themselves straight while having sex with other men — but that’s OK. “Down Low” is still light-years ahead of mainstream movies (including last year’s “Bros”) as debuting feature director Rightor Doyle delivers what an entire contingent of queer audiences have been asking for all their lives: namely, a comedy that’s as raunchy and inappropriate as the jokes they make between themselves. While nowhere near as extreme (or enjoyable) as 2009’s “I Love You Phillip Morris,” it’s still a rare enough occurrence to earn a dedicated following.
