Looking: The Movie

After the July 23 airdate for "Looking: The Movie," we'll all be looking to fill the gap of one of the most honestly refreshingly gay-themed shows ever made. In fact, I'd argue it's one of the most compellingly truthful shows, period.

Continuing what was created by Michael Lannan and written and directed by Andrew Haigh ("Weekend"), "Looking" was a drama that dissected the relationships of three gay friends living in San Francisco. Everyman Jonathan Groff plays audience surrogate Patrick; Murray Bartlett is entrepreneurial DILF Dom, and Frankie J. Alvarez is the sometimes lost artist Agustin. The three have had tumultuous lives for the two short seasons we spent with them, but thankfully, HBO has allowed their stories to come to a mostly satisfying close.

While the show followed all three men, the wrap-up film focuses mainly on Patrick -- the earnest and often confused "good guy" who makes awkward choices in the matter of men, and struggles to make sense of them. First, it was the humorless Latino hairdresser Richie (Raul Castillo) Patrick seemed to be establishing a relationship with, and then it was his self-absorbed boss Kevin (Russell Tovey).

When the movie opens, it has been a year since Patrick left Kevin (and Richie has become involved with the awful Brady). He has been living in Denver for nine months. He has a new job and has sworn off relationships for the time being. But San Francisco comes calling in the form of Agustin and Eddie's (Daniel Franzese) impending nuptials.

As soon as Patrick is back in town, Dom and Agustin drag him around to hit all of their favorite haunts before Agustin commits himself to another. Pulling his luggage behind him, the buttoned-up Patrick joins them for a night of partying in the city. But a run-in with Richie and Brady stirs old feelings that have him immediately putting up a wall and going home with a 22-year old for a distraction. Soon enough, Patrick is debating putting the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with Kevin and officially moving on from his life in San Fran. But these things aren't always easy.

Written by Michael Lannan and Andrew Haigh, "Looking: The Movie" continues to be an insightful look into relationships (gay or straight), the things that keep us from moving on, and the people that give us life. While audiences didn't seem to appreciate the more thoughtful pace of the series, it developed a loyal following that enjoyed its naval-gazing and waxing poetic about all things that involved "them." But let's face it; everyone is self-absorbed when it comes to their relationships, career, and family. This show just portrayed it openly and in a realistic way not often seen in mainstream entertainment.

Everyone gets his moment to shine in the 86-minute finale. Dom has to decide what he's ready for in life as his business, called Chicken Window, takes off. Fan favorite Doris (Lauren Weedman) starts to settle down after partnering up with her boyfriend Frank (O.T. Fagbenie), and Agustin has to stop being so fearful of change and his loss of freedoms so he can enjoy something more meaningful.

But all these characters we've come to love are just dressing for Patrick. And the interesting thing about him this time around is that while he appears to be more grounded and confident (and he is), he still falls into his old habits of having to drive every issue into the ground. Here, running into Richie brings up past mistakes and regrets, and not seeing Kevin in nine months has left their relationship unfinished. By the film's end, Patrick will have closure with both, and possibly a new beginning as a result.

The adorable Groff, as usual, owns the character of Patrick and gives him all the depth, determination, and annoying tics we can handle. It's why some people hated him and others adored him. He created a true-to-life character that also allowed audiences unfamiliar with the gay (or San Fran) world to understand it better in all its complexities. Those complexities are no more apparent than in his past relationships which he can't seem to escape. However, this is my one issue with the show.

As much as audiences had their favorite guy for Patrick to end up with, I'm not so sure his choices were all that convincing. Richie is mature, but a complete nitwit as a person. Not to mention, the fact that he'd spend a year with someone as annoying as Brady seems way out of character. He seems so perpetually annoyed and bored by everything that I don't know what Patrick saw in him, except perhaps a maturity he needed to have.

Alternatively, he has Kevin, who also has traits Patrick needs, namely confidence and success. But Kevin's issues go far and deep. Between the ease with which he cheated on his boyfriend of many years to launch his relationship with Patrick and his inability to accept responsibility for his actions and, instead, blame his behavior on others, Kevin is one of the most irritating romantic options we've seen in a long time. Here, he cements the fact that he is truly a dick. I sat in my seat begging for Patrick to punch him in the face. Whether things come to that or not, you can see for yourself.

The series does come to a satisfying end, even though there are clearly more stories to tell. Much of the finale includes lengthy conversations and some surprise revelations, but they all have more meaning in them than so many "honest" dramas we see on screen. It's a shame that such a captivating look into adult relationships couldn't find enough of an audience to keep it going for a few more years, but the time we got to spend with these loveable men was still time well spent.

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Looking airs this weekend on HBO - check local listings