Why are so many gays still so anxious about getting married? This short film offers a reason.
The Consulting Detective back in 2019, “a fear of being seen, a fear of being judged, and almost this second ‘coming out’ years after I had already come out.”Realizing he wasn’t the only one to feel this way, the rising writer-director funneled all of those uneasy emotions and insecurities into his thoughtful, relatable, and frequently funny short film Engaged, starring two familiar faces in Pose‘s Ryan Jamaal Swain and Billions‘s Daniel k.
Isaac—a recent Queerty Pride 50 honoree!!The short opens on a familiar scene: A fancy restaurant, a romantic atmosphere, two lovers sitting across from one another at table, one nervously fumbling with something in his pocket…Darren (Isaac) wants so badly to be able to pull out the engagement ring and propose to his longtime boyfriend Elliot (Swain), but for some reason he can’t bring himself to do it.
Every interruption, every little distraction becomes an excuse for him to tell himself, “maybe now’s not the right time.”When the proposal doesn’t happen at dinner, the lingering ring becomes a wedge in their relationship, and Darren starts to sweat.
And it certainly doesn’t help when the couple gets roped into playing The Newlywed Game in front of a group of people at Elliot’s sister’s engagement party…“What I wanted to explore in the film was this idea of self-shame, and how sometimes it’s not others who hold us back the most, but ourselves, based off of these other preconceived notions we’ve been told about ourselves.”From stage to screen, nothing is slowing down Daniel K.
