Handsome Harry

**LGBT movie**

An ex-Navy man carrying out the last wish of a dying shipmate renews contact with old friends to break the code of silence around a mysterious, long-buried crime. IMDB.

For months since I signed up for Netflix, I've been seeing this movie in my recommended movies. I'm not particularly sure why because well, I hadn't at the time watched any LGBT movies on Netflix. But since it was still in my list, and it was scoring four and five star ratings and reviews I thought I should check it out.

Well, it was a waste of time. I'm watching this movie thinking, come on! Give me something! One girl said how it was a testament to human nature and our society and I'm watching this movie thinking what a load of crap! I continued to the very end of the movie thinking it just HAD to get better. I was wrong.  So it is about a man, seems to be a lady's man in the small town, who left his life in the navy behind and seemed to be doing quite well until his old navy buddy is on his death bed calls him.  So it sends him hurtling back to this night when they all beat the crap out of another sailor because he was gay. Okay, good premise so far right? Here's where the wheels fall off - or started to fall off - Harry goes to meet with his friend who quickly dies then sets off on a mission to get his friend (or himself) forgiveness. It's not clear which.

The movie was one big musical montage of sorts--at least it was good music--but he spent the whole movie driving from one state to another, finding these old Navy buddies who hates his guts - one guy was wealthy but disowned his son because his son is gay, then the man's wife left with Harry who spends a night in a hotel with her making love - I was so put off by this I almost stopped watching. Then one is now a born again Christian who in the middle of Harry asking about what happened back then tells Harry to "give your life to Jesus." I know it was a serious moment but the way he said it and the way it happened I burst out laughing.

Anyways, the movie was horrible. No one learned anything from any of it-not their actions in the past and not the life they were living. They all grew up to be well to do people who are miserable human beings. They were hollow and superficial almost as if the writer didn't bother digging into their lives and putting it on the screen. I was left feeling ripped off and outright irritated I'd wasted so much of my life watching the movie and got nothing from it.

By the time the movie ended I seriously wanted to cry because it was like watching the ending to THE SOPRANOS all over again. I was left falling off a cliff with not proper closure of anything which a movie like Handsome Harry should have.  The two saving graces--well three--were Steve Buscemi (the creepy guy singing He's got the Whole World in Con Air and from Boardwalk Empire) but he was only in the movie for a grand total of like five minutes and Jamey Sherridan (The captain from Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Robert Queen from The Arrow) who plays Harry. Then there was the music -- Amazing, AHH-mazing music. I was happy to see Campbell Scott (he plays(ed) Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz in Royal Pains) in it as the older version of the kid they beat up. Both he and Jamey gave me some older man eye candy so that was good as well.

Bottom line, don't waste your time.

Campbell Scott - as David Kagan - the victim in Handsome Harry

Kato