Boys in Brazil [Do Lado de Fora] *** (2014, Rafael Lozano, Marcello Airoldi, André Bankoff) – Classic Movie Review 13,083

Four gay friends make a pact to come out of the closet after one of them, a married man with a child, is assaulted during the day of São Paulo’s Gay Parade. They do, and whadda ya know, everything’s Okay!

Four gay friends decide to make a pact to come out of the closet after one of them, a married man with a child, is assaulted during the day of São Paulo’s Gay Pride Parade. They do, and whadda ya know, everything’s Okay!

Director Alexandre Carvalho’s 2014 Brazilian comedy drama film Do Lado de Fora [Boys in Brazil] stars André Bankoff, Marcello Airoldi, Luis Fernando Vaz and Mauricio Evanns.

Two 18-year-old students and the older gay uncle of one of them rescue the hunky married man from the homophobic attack, and the uncle (a successful executive acting as straight at work) starts a rather improbable thing with him. One of the students is spectacularly flamboyant, wants to be a drag queen, and sets up the other one, his totally unflamboyant best friend, with a charming, sensible, mild-mannered (and good-mannered) school hunk. In the pact, all four in the group agree to come out of the closet before the following year’s Gay Pride Parade event. Despite a few minor setbacks and obstacles. all goes well in the best of all possible worlds.

Thank goodness for a fun, upbeat movie! Hooray! Everybody’s happy, except the ant-gay bigots and the religious nuts of course. It may not be very arty or cut deep as drama but it is very entertaining, and quite smart in its own way too, and above all extremely likeable, with appealing characters engagingly played. It’s a good advert for Brazil, and for the gays. Thanks, boys.

To complete the picture, there’s a very cheery soundtrack (Ruben Feffer) and rousing views of huge numbers of people at São Paulo’s Gay Pride Parade.

Director: Alexandre Carvalho.

Writer: André Meirelles Collazzi.

Cast: André Bankoff as Roger, Marcello Airoldi as Vicente, Luis Fernando Vaz as Mauro, Mauricio Evanns as Rodrigo, Silvetty Montilla, Titi Muller, and Rafael Lozano.

Do Lado de Fora is directed by Alexandre Carvalho, runs 92 minutes, , is made by Fraiha Produções and ASC Audiovisual, is distributed by Elo Company, is written by André Meirelles Collazzi (as André Collazi), is shot by André Luiz, is produced by Alexandre Carvalho and Maitê Romão, and is scored by Vicente Falek and Ruben Feffer.

Release date: 15 May 2014 (Brazil).

It was distributed by TLA Releasing in the United States in 2015.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,083

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