Play Dead (2001) Reviews

• Not your typical gay necrophilia movie...

  Havan_IronOak2001-07-18

  Dale Spitler (played by Nathan Bexton) is that sweet stereotypical teenager on the cusp of coming out. He's a straight-A student and a member of the drama club. He has a part time job as a babysitter for precocious Dustine Murphy (played by Jessica Stone) which allows her trailer-court-trashy mother, Darlene, to go out drinking. When he's not talking on the phone with friend Violet (played by Diva Zappa), he's fantasizing about Raymond, a boy from school, that he has a crush on. Dale hatches a desperate plot to seduce Ray and when Dale does get him to stop by we see just how hopeless Dale's fantasies are. We see that Ray is an uncouth entirely hetero jock who barely knows that Dale is alive. However, unbelievable things occur everyday in the movies and Violet soon calls Dale to tell him that she has accidentally killed Raymond in a traffic accident. She wants him to help dispose of the body, Dale realizes that he may now have his chance to get into Raymond's pants. This comedy is low budget and it shows but the performances are earnest and enjoyable. Dale's puppy dog looks and mannerisms rob his homosexual necrophilia of its depravity. Diva Zappa is a hoot in her role as are the circumstances of the accident. Jessica Stone as the 'little kid' gets some of the best lines in the movie. There are continuity errors and incredibly odd plot elements but overall the movie is entertaining and successful.

• Lighten Up, Marys! This Movie is DELICIOUS!

  bretangell2002-02-25

  Gee, I'm awfully disappointed with all the pedestrian, goodie-two-shoed users trashing the hilarious treat that is PLAY DEAD! This was easily the most exciting film I saw in Park City last winter. It's original, fun, campy, clever, tangy and bright. It simultaneously indulges and undermines deep fantasies of desire in an insightful-however exaggerated-way. It's harmless joy! The characters are vibrant and new. The little girl ROCKS! The boys are cute. The dialogue is whimsical and clever. The acting is genuine, and taps well into the universal emotions beating through the script. The friendship between the kids and the hijinks with the mother character are a jungle gym of fun! Just because the good guy sodomizes what he thinks is a corpse doesn't make this experience any less delightful. Can't you people take a joke? Wouldn't you have given anything to nail the captain of the wrestling team in your high school? The negative reviews are mostly coming from gay men who watched PLAY DEAD at various Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals around the U.S. It's too bad they're doing their part to make gay culture just as boring, uninspired, challengless and mediocre as the mainstream. What a sorry sack of saccharin prudes! Yes, it's a low-budget production. There are a couple of shoddy jump-cuts that expose areas where the filmmakers needed more footage. Zappa is not a particularly skilled actress, either. But these are mere nits! PLAY DEAD is carrying the baton for a fabulous legacy of proud and spirited comedies that champion unconventional relationships such as HAROLD AND MAUDE, HAIRSPRAY, or even SHREK. Nathan Bexton is my hero, and you should all watch PLAY DEAD!

• Fantastic!

  LazyBeagleEntertainment2007-11-06

  I laughed so hard I cried all the way through this movie. It was outstandingly hilarious. Dustine reminded me so much of the way Dakota Fanning acts, and she was so funny. I really and honestly cannot think of a funnier, campier movie. It was funny from beginning to end, non stop hilarity. Anyone who thinks this movie is a piece of crap obviously has no sense of humor whatsoever. And I love the easy friendship and fun between the characters. The cool, calm, yet very fraught with tension way things were handled from the moment Violet showed up at the Darlene and Dustines house, to the very end was phenomenal. And Dustine...the dream, you have got to be kidding me. I had to run to the bathroom to avoid pissing my pants. Sheer enchantingly beautiful!

• Laughed and hated myself for it.

  cessna15052001-10-17

  This is the kind of film that is so bad, so tasteless, so disturbing, you're embarassed when you laugh out loud at it--as the crowd at the 2001 DC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival did last night. The acting is somewhat amateurish, and the writing leaves a lot to be desired, but the situations, instead of stopping short as in most black comedies, keep going right past the border of good taste. And the audience was dragged along in spite of itself. As the lights went up, there was a lot of sheepish looking around as if everyone wanted to reassure themselves that they weren't the only ones who enjoyed it. Worth seeing, if only to see how depraved you really are.

• A Good Bad Movie

  maxmik2001-07-22

  This is the kind of movie you rent for your overnight slumber party. It will make you laugh but it will also make you squirm. Jessica Stone steals the movie as the precocious 8 year old. Diva Zappa reminds me of a young Liza Minelli ala Sterile Cukoo era. The musical soundtrack is off beat and the direction is efficient and gutsy. Superior editing job.