Long lost love reappears -- and reignites -- in Tim Kirkman's smart rom-dram, LAZY EYE

There are certain eye exercises one can do to help correct the medical condition known as lazy eye. As one of the two protagonists in Tim Kirkman's eponymously titled new movie is quick to admit, he did not do these exercises when he ought to have and so is now paying the price by having to wear trifocal glasses. There are some other important things that neither of our protagonists did when they ought to have, and these, too, will come back to haunt them in the course of this short love-affair-weekend that Mr. Kirkman, shown below, has devised.

The filmmaker, who a decade ago made one of my all-time favorite gay films, Loggerheads, tends, I think, to build his movies around life lessons. Fortunately, he is good enough at making those films entertaining, thoughtful and moving that we don't feel terribly "preached at."  Loggerheads was about parentage and commitment, among other things, while LAZY EYE offers up the idea of how important it is to be honest with oneself, as well as with others, especially concerning life's "big" questions.

The movie begins in an optometrist's office, where Dean (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, below) is asked by his doctor exactly when his symptoms seemed to worsen and if he was viewing some kind of "screen" at the time. As he considers the answer, we quickly and briefly flash back to an out-of-the-blue email Dean had received from his ex-lover, Alex (Aaron Costa Ganis, above), a fellow who disappeared from his life years before, leaving neither a reason nor even a goodbye.

Now Alex is back, and the two men, via email exchanges, decide to spend some time together at Dean's desert retreat in Joshua Tree. They fuck immediately, but that, it turns out, is the least of it. Who they were, who they are, and what they now want come quickly to the fore, and Mr. Kirkman proves very good at free-flowing dialog that quite believably gives us exposition, humor and surprise, along with a good deal of wit and charm.

Initially we spend a tad's worth of time in Deans office (he's a very successful graphic designer) and meet his best friend, Mel, played by Michaela Watkins, above, whose throw-away role could have been left out entirely, for all the space and importance it receives. It's only our twosome that counts, and the remainder of the movie revolves closely around these attractive, needy guys.

They bed, they swim, they explore the surrounding territory. But mostly they talk, and that talk unveils their needs and desires. In a way, the movie is a kind of fantasy of what if? followed by and then what? We learn a lot more about Dean than we do about Alex, who is proves little more than the fleshed-out hunk that we let get away and now suddenly have the opportunity to maybe get back. Or get back at.

Yet the performances of the two actors are so good that we willingly follow along, enjoying the visuals and the verbiage and the all-round situation. If Lazy Eye is not finally as moving and engulfing as was Loggerheads, it is certainly one of the better gay movies to hit screens this year.

From Breaking Glass Pictures and running just 87 minutes, Lazy Eye opens this Friday, November 11, in New York City at the Cinema Village and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Music Hall 3.  Not near either location? Not to worry. The DVD hits the street this coming Tuesday, November 15 -- for purchase and/or rental.

Step up to the plate: THE QUITTER, about baseball and relationships, proves Matthew Bonifacio's best film so far

Best known, I suspect, as the director of the unusual attempting-weight-loss movie, LBS (2010), and also the very interesting Amexicano (from 2009, but actually shot after Lbs), Matthew Bonifacio is back again with a new film opening this week in which this good young filmmaker has managed to remedy some of the problems inherent in his earlier work: a few too many cliches, creaky plot mechanics, choppiness and the occasional tendency toward melodrama. THE QUITTER tells the tale of a fellow named Jonathan (played by Bonifacio), who his father has labeled a quitter, and how he suddenly finds himself faced with the opportunity to make good on a couple of past mistakes. One of these has to do with baseball, but the other, a much more significant one, involves a past relationship and the product of that affair.

Considering all that might occur, given the story here, perhaps the most impressive thing about The Quitter is how thoroughly its filmmaker (shown at right) has renounced anything melodramatic. Instead his film is wonderfully quiet and all the more believable for this. Bonifacio builds his scenes slowly but surely until, by the film's finale, they are fraught with meaning and emotion.

When an old love surfaces in the neighborhood after nearly a decade, and Jonathan is faced not just with the woman but her (and his) eight-year-old daughter (whom he last saw as an image in a sonogram), opportunities for heavy-duty change suddenly confront the man.

How Bonifacio and his character handle all this is low-key and always creditable. While some of the other characters that revolve around the new threesome are not always so sure-footed, this adds a nice mix of humor and pizazz to the film.

In the role of Jonathan's ex girl-friend, Georgie, who is suddenly back in his life in a major way, Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio (above and further above, who I'm guessing is the director's wife) proves a smart choice. The actress -- playing the role of a woman who has been hugely wronged and now finds it difficult to open herself to what may be another disappointment -- is angry, hurt, closed off and very slow to warm up. All of which works well.

The single scene in which she loosens up -- she's had a snort of coke, you see -- is wonderfully funny, and we view an entirely new side of the woman. Natasha Lyonne (above) does a nice cameo appearance here, as a smart, helpful ballet instructor.

In the roles of Jonathan's parents, both Deirdre O'Connell (below) and Dan Grimaldi (above) get their opportunity to shine: he darkly and she with her usual warmth and wisdom.

As Georgie's young and a little too free-spirited neighbors, Erin Darke (below) and Henry Vick are a lot of fun and a little bit troublesome, too. They add nicely to the fizzy mix that keeps spritzing our leading players.

In the role of the "new" daughter, Destiny Monet Cruz, below, proves adorable (a prerequisite for child actors these days), but she never overuses this feature and so appears a pretty good little actress at this point in time.

The Quitter proves a quiet, honest movie. What it lacks in excitement, it more than makes up for with a type of kindness and authenticity we don't see often enough in independent film. His movie may not set the world on fire, but I believe you'll be pleased that you took a chance on it.

The movie opens this Friday, September 12, here in New York City at the Regal E-Walk for a week's run. Elsewhere? Don't know. But eventually, one hopes, there'll be VOD, streaming and DVD.