The M.O. Of M.I. (2002) User Reviews

Muddled Mystery

[Havan_IronOak · 4/10 · 18 April 2004]

Michael and Tom have been together for 8 months when performance artist Jonathon comes into their lives. Jonathon needs a place to stay and blackmails Michael into inviting him to stay with them. Tom is uncertain what Jonathon's hold over Michael is and is angry. or is he.

So begins a convoluted, twisted story of passion, and deception and lies.

Unfortunately the plot twists and character motivations get out of the control of the filmmakers and what started as an intriguing story quickly turns into a muddled mess.

Some plot lines are never fully explained and some turns strain credibility too much to be allowed and leave the audience confused more than in awe.

While I'm generally able to forgive a lot in a gay story, Michael Christopher's sexy eyes and chiseled jaw line will only go so far to cover the blemishes in this overwrought but under thought out plot line.

I missed this when it was shown at the NYC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival but understand that many others felt as I now do and walked out part way through. I did finally get a bargain copy from E-Bay and saw it... but it turns out that it wasn't a bargain after all.

h.o.M.O. in M.I.s.e.r.y

[NJMoon · 3/10 · 10 June 2006]

The M.O. OF M.I. is supposed to be based on a play. TORCH SONG TRILOGY can rest easy, as this gay crime/romance must be the talkiest, most contrived play script to ever take to the gay boards. There isn't a trace of believability in the dialogue or characters and for a film script that's based on a play (by the playwright, yet), the 'performance artist' segments within the screenplay are downright M.O.r.o.n.i.c. Just try to follow the twisted storyline and character motivations and you're in for an M.I.g.r.a.i.n.e. Shame that the cinematography isn't bad and the guys aren't hard to look at. The direction is M.I.n.i.m.a.l. and the overall tone is M.O.n.o.t.o.n.o.u.s. The story is rife with hateful homos who (whatever their eventual M.O.t.i.v.a.t.i.o.n.s.) are unlikeable from the very start. The full title is 'THE MODUS OPERANDI OF MALE INTIMACY' - which is Ancient Latin for 'M.O.v.i.e. of M.I.n.i.m.a.l Interest'.

Chatty, Excessive, Muddled and Not Worth The Slog

[Franco-LA · 2/10 · 18 February 2008]

This was a movie viewed on DVD and, as it is not the kind of movie that could hold your attention or entertain you for the duration, it definitely felt like a slog to get through. I did finish the movie in one night, but only after about 4 breaks.

There is nothing wrong with adopting a genre with a gay twist. The gay mystery - featuring detectives, policemen, mystery book authors, gay bookstore owners, amateur sleuths, etc. - has become a popular genre. Likewise, recently, the gay horror has become its own little sub-industry on cable television.

At least in this instance, the director cannot be blamed for taking her own script and directing it (as one user review erroneously states here). This is more of another example of a play being turned into a film but still keeping a lot of the wordiness and excessive dialogue elements. As another user review pointed out, the Performing Artist interludes, in addition to being unwelcome, feel purely like padding (as does the ending voice-over by the character Michael, whom I suppose we're suppose to picture sailing off into the sunset on his tiny little row boat as he imparts the last bit of final wisdom all the preceding 90 minutes (8 months and, apparently 12 or 13 days) have taught him about life as a male homosexual.

There isn't much male intimacy in this film, although there's a lot of underwear wearing and while I did pay note of the full list of sponsors, presumably a tanning salon was one of them. The three leads aren't horrible actors, but they aren't good enough to rise above their material and one of them really needs to get a better agent. Cory Schneider (as Tommy in this film) has not been cast twice in two roles where he essentially display a range that goes from (as Variety put it in the part of the review they didn't selectively place on the DVD cover art) "whiny" and runs the gamut to "emotional immaturity."

David Stokey has a bunch of scenes that really don't show much range. Unfortunately for him, he cannot blame all the problems with his performance to the script. The final lead had not other credits on IMDb, and while he certainly looked nice with his clothes on and off, I kept wanting him to do something with his hair or shave the carefully acquired stubble and do something other than the piercing/penetrating eye thing.

Utlimately, the move was a little more complicated than necessary, not fully developed where necessary, and better plotting could have made it a better film. The direction didn't appear to help and the sound mix, at least on the DVD, was extremely poor quality.

Other reviewers disagree . . .

[filmchik-1 · 3 July 2004]

REVIEW: The M.O. of M.I. is a deliciously twisted suspense thriller in which the three main characters spend most of their time either screwing (in both senses of the word) or fighting. Michael (David Stokey) is a handsome but corrupt banker, who loves the younger Tom (Corey Schneider), his husband of eight months. One night, Jonathan (David Christopher), a studly performance artist, blows into town and needs a place to stay. Tom is infuriated when Michael invites this sexy 'stranger' to spend the night at their house, and he begins to question his long-term relationship. Meanwhile, Jonathan strips out of his skin-tight jeans and tries to seduce Michael. Secretly, Michael and Jonathan are ex-lovers! Yet Tom may not be as naïve as Michael and Jonathan suspect, for he is harboring a secret or two of his own.

It would spoil this suspense film to say anything more except that while the characters engage in blackmail, betrayal, double-crosses and other indoor sports, audiences will be guessing who to trust right up to the film's satisfying conclusion. And make sure not to turn the DVD until the final credits roll to see just how every last detail is worked out.

--Gary Kramer

Excruciating movie, yet one that exhibits clearly why most gay dramas do not work...

[moonspinner55 · 2/10 · 22 October 2006]

Clever title (aka "The Modus Operandi of Male Intimacy") actually has very little to do with this woeful, overly-ambitious script about a gay hustler (into drugs and blackmail, and involved with gangster types) who appears to come between a gay male couple who can't get through an evening together without arguing. Grafting a pseudo-twisty underworld plot onto a gay scenario (or is that the other way around?) probably sounded like a good idea to writer-director SL (aka Susan) Turley, but it's a bad match. Turley has the germ of a good idea in at least one instance, but she can't seem to get her ambitions onto the high-wire where they need to work (she eventually does go over-the-top, but it's too late). Homosexual dramas involving bickering boyfriends usually exhaust straight viewers (and here, the petty jealousies and immature squabbling are not modulated for a wide audience). Most gay audiences may only want some hotter action--this one coyly cuts away as soon as the clothes get stripped off. The performances are amateurish, yet they do work fleetingly; however, these actors just aren't directed right, and all the men are in need of refining their tics for the camera (they are immediately off-putting). The low-budget film was advertised as a sexy, bare-chested thriller, but director Turley never gets heated up; she's too involved in her formula (which is clichéd anyway) and lets her cast evaporate into the genre shtick. * from ****

Absolutely Miserable

[stronzetto · 1/10 · 12 May 2004]

Just when I thought that gay films couldn't get any worse than "Sordid Lives" or "The Journey of Jared Price," along comes this stinker.

This is a truly horrible film. It bears comparison with "Plan Nine from Outer Space" and other classics of bad film. The plot line is stupid and completely obvious. Anybody who doesn't see the "plot twist" coming (guess what? A main character isn't who you think he is...if you're an idiot, that is) has never seen a single suspense movie in their life. The acting is painful. I have no tolerance for bad acting, and this movie gave me hives. The three main characters are all acted horribly. The most awful aspect of this movie, however, is the writing. I have never seen a movie with such bad dialogue (including the shamefully bad "Journey of Jared Price"). The performance art scenes deserve particular mention here. Whoever wrote that dialogue must have been joking.

Gay people deserve better movies than this. Remember "Beautiful Thing" and "Get Real"? Where did movies like that go?