Latter Days 2004

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: A well-intentioned but horribly trite drama about acceptance and fulfillment that plays like an after-school special with naughty words and sex thrown in. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's more melodrama than drama or love story, and Cox, who wrote Sweet Home Alabama, seems to have never met a stereotype he didn't like. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Surprisingly dowdy-looking, shot more like a scruffy little naturalistic slice of alternative L.A. life than the star-crossed lover's daydream it mostly is. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This sitcom setup is as bad as it sounds, and Cox never really surmounts it. Read more

Arizona Republic: Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Such a well-meaning but unambitious work that it's tempting to take it seriously even as you dismiss it. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: At once romantic, earthy and socially critical, Latter Days is a dynamic film filled with humor and pathos. Read more

Houston Chronicle: Read more

Charles Ealy, Dallas Morning News: Despite the inherent cliches, Latter Days manages to rise above its formulaic plot, mainly because of the assured performance by Mr. Sandvoss. Read more

Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly: Though the film covers familiar queer-cinema ground, Latter Days' finely observed truths about the painful costs of being yourself make even the contrivance of its happy ending forgivable. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Times: This gay romantic melodrama draws on an unconscionable number of conventions, but works in the end because of its commitment to its characters and a handful of fine performances. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: It's a winning, heartfelt and conflicted piece where the conflicts often resolve themselves in surprising ways. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Everyone in this movie has been ordered off the shelf from the Stock Characters Store, and none of them wandered in from real life. Read more

Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle: Renders its gay and religious characters so stereotypical that neither lifestyle appears attractive. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Ed Halter, Village Voice: Pilots its culture-challenging raison d'etre through an increasingly insufferable collection of gaysploitation conventions. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's timely, not to mention refreshing, to see an affirmation of true love over hot sex, along with a reminder that the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Read more