I'm writing this review more than a dozen years after I first saw "Get Real," and it is still my favorite movie ever. I've never seen any other movie that seemed so downright profound.The movie affected me on two levels: it's a very touching romance with an ending that is so very sad; I often want to re-write the ending so that these guys can and will stay together. I find it totally believable that Steven and John would fall in love with one another, and I believe it every time they express their love to each other. One of the most romantic, albeit brief, moments is when John invites Steven to "come live with me." But the romantic story has such a sad ending; surely there has to be a way for Steven to forgive John for the violence that John inflicted in the locker room, and forgiveness CAN happen if John tells the truth about himself to his parents and friends.That leads me to talk about the other way the movie affects me; the movie conveys, as its implicit moral, how important it is to reveal the truth about yourself to others, to come out. When I saw the movie circa 2001 or so, I found Steven's speech in the assembly hall was utterly inspiring. That speech, and the issues involved in why Steven and John break up, made me decide that I'm going to tell the truth to more people whom I have not previously told the whole truth, that I'm not going to stay closeted from anyone who deserves to know the truth. Indeed, a couple of years after I first saw the movie, I revealed that I'm gay to a room full of straight people, only one of whom already knew it.The tears John is shedding the first night he spends with Steven - the tears that start flowing when he admits to himself that he is gay - are based on two emotions: fear and shame. The fear is that he'll lose the love and support of his parents and he'll lose his status as the school's "Head Boy." But he's also ashamed of just plain being gay. John asks, through tear-filled eyes, as he looks into Steven's eyes, "What's wrong with me?" And in an important scene later, when Steven is angry with John for going out on a date with Christina, John confesses (with sadness in his eyes), "I guess I went out with Christina tonight because I needed to feel good about myself." The most important reason why Steven and John break up at the end is not that John is afraid of being found out, but because of the contrast between Steven's gay pride and John's gay shame. Steven said (the night of John's date with Christina)"I want you to be proud of us, but you're not! You're ashamed to be seen with me!" Even though John then promised to talk to Steven and treat him like a friend while they're in school, that is not what Steven meant by "be proud of us." John can't take any pride in his love for Steven unless and until John gets over the feeling of shame in just being gay.So that is why I fell in love with this movie: it sends profound messages about the meaning of gay pride and in the importance of telling people the truth about yourself. Steven could have spared Jessica some heartache if he had told her, when Jessica gave Steven a kiss, that he's gay, and he would have told her the truth if it weren't for his (implied) promise to John that he was going to keep it a secret. Steven's desire to tell his parents and his classmates the truth about himself started to grow once he and John fell in love. That's when his gay pride began to grow, and it was why he wrote the little essay about what is it like to be a gay teenager.I have only a few complaints about the movie. One is a scene, at about 44 minutes in, that starts with John saying to Steven, "Please, help me. I'm worried; I'm confused," and which culminates in a tender kiss. This scene lasted 6 minutes and I think the director/actors could have trimmed it a little bit, making it 5 minutes instead. That scene has about one minute of monologue by John that seemed unnecessary. And that scene is followed, in terms of when we next see them, by a scene in which Steven says to John "You finished all the bacon yesterday," which means that they've spent an entire weekend together - two consecutive nights, and they've had breakfast together two consecutive mornings - but the whole day in between is missing. I would want to hear what Steven and John talk about the first day they spend an entire day together, a day right after John has finally admitted to himself that he's gay. Finally, I'm disappointed that, in the very last scene of the movie, Steven is smiling and joking as he gets into Linda's car and goes for a drive, as if he got over the grief of his breakup with John almost immediately after it happened. He had just been sniffling and fighting back tears a moment before. He got over a major heartache much too quickly.But a few minor quibbles like that are only worth mentioning because I do love the whole movie so much. I even think a lot of people who have moral objections to homosexuality and to the concept of gay pride could be touched by this movie.

Stephen Carter (Ben Silverstone) is 16 and secretly gay. Only his best friend Linda (Charlotte Brittain) knows. He finds out hunky star athlete John Dixon (Brad Gorton) is gay too. They become lovers...but John doesn't want anyone to know and tells Stephen to keep it a secret. Stephen agrees but it's starting to tear him up inside.I saw this THREE times when it played at a small art cinema here (Massachusetts) back in 1998. It attracted a sizable crowd around here (for an R rated gay independent movie). It still works over 10 years later. It's well written and well-acted by the entire cast. Silverstone and Gorton are both str8 in real life but they play gay convincingly. Their kisses are passionate and there's one heart-breaking scene at a dance when they're dancing with their girlfriends and are looking into each others eyes sadly knowing they want to hold each other--but can't. There's nothing loud or explicit here like no nude sex scenes (how it got the R rating is beyond me). It only gets a 9 because there are a few problems. The ending seems really rushed and leaves a few plot streams hanging (mostly dealing with Gorton's character). Brittain is the comic relief and quickly becomes very annoying. These people are supposed to be 16 but it's pretty obvious they're WAY over that age! Lastly the British accents are VERY hard to understand at first. Still--well worth catching. Try to see this letterboxed--the full frame version cuts off a lot of information off the sides so some scenes play very badly--sometimes people are talking to somebody but you can't see who it is!

I rented this movie by chance without expecting much. But after watching it, I am inspired to write my first review ever! The movie revolves around Steve's journey from knowing that he is gay to coming out in the open. This is conveyed beautifully through his on-off relationship with the school jock, Johnny. The importance of family and friend's support in such situations is also highlighted.The acting is first class. Especially, the tension between Steve and Johnny when they bump into each other in a public toilet is so real.But what sets this movie apart from similar movies is its unique take on the subject. Movies like "Beautiful Thing" portray that society is prejudiced against all gays. But this movie shows that the society treats "elite" people differently proving that it is just another form of discrimination. Despite Johnny's friends knowing about his gay relationship with Steve, they conveniently ignore the fact and instead blame Steve for it. In the end, this only results in Steve becoming free and Johnny remaining closeted.Must watch for all!!

I have just watched this film as part of Film 4's British Connection. I felt this film was an excellent exploration of homosexuality in the heart of Middle Class Britain. I lived close to the film's location Basingstoke when this was made and am the same age (give or take a year) as the main character, Stephen. Whilst never being as confident in my sexuality as Stephen, I really connected with the story told, his relationship with his parents and the scatter-shot but inadvertently appropriate use of homophobic abuse by the bullies.Also thought the excellent flashes of dialogue uplifted the film such as "Whenever I see that badge (Head Boy) I wish it were an invitation." Priceless. The performances are almost perfect through out (I was a little unconvinced by Jon the Head Boy to begin with but warmed to him hugely as the film and love story progressed.) The cinematography is suitably understated and this is not the most cinematic film ever shot, which I feel helps with the realism. Some of the symbolism is quite fantastic, especially the closing shot, which I wont spoil.I found it to be a much more recognisable film for me than Brokeback Mountain, Not to that films detriment, it is a masterpiece but I may feel closer to this because I have regularly been to the Odean in Basingstoke, but have never herded sheep on a snowy mountainside with Jake Gyllenhall. It is a simple effective narrative about a subject close to my heart and I recommend it highly.