Good start, but then it gets ruined

A Brilliant Conflict

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The writer, John Baumgartner, had an original idea, but failed to make it work. That a pill would change a person's sexuality. A gay man, in his 30s, all of a sudden decides he's tired of being rejected in the bars and in life. So, why not turn straight? Then no more problems. Alas in life it doesn't work that way. Take a pill and girls turn you on. No, it doesn't happen. Our hero just fools himself in believing it will change his personality and bring him happiness with a woman. But our hero's problem seems to be not in the sex department but his own self confidence in himself. He lacks any commitment in anything. Seems to be dream walking and fantasizing his romantic escapades, including a gorgeous straight friend who gives his body to him out of friendship. This is what annoyed me in the film. Using others for your own weaknesses. Using them and then dumping them when it doesn't work. The cast seemed to be good for the most part and fit the roles well. Our hero, Jonathan Slavin, was very cold and filled with enough self pity. But I never felt the emotional toll it took on him. He seemed too staid in the role. However Susan Slone, his best friend, was perfection. With the right amount of sensitivity not to go over the wall. Her breakdown scene was simply precious. Quiet and filled with such raw emotions. Scotch Ellis Loring, his good gay bar hopping friend who cannot commit to any relationship, was well cast. Jennifer Elise Cox played the woman he befriends in a sexual relationship and goes home to meet the folks. She did a good job and came off sympathetic as well. Jason Bushman played a straight young beauty in our hero's office that is understanding of our hero's ailments. When he tries to approach him with his own doubts, I felt the script fell flat. Sort of a rush job ending. My favorite actor in this was Mike Begovich as the giving straight friend who really loved our hero in his own way. His wearing down and falling apart was so natural and realistic, I wanted to just hold him and weep. Brilliant work.So, good idea, fairly written, well cast, yet lost original concept along the way. Worth seeing for some of the fine acting.

A friend of mine got me to see this film. He said he was worried that I would find this film sad. Actually, I didn't find the film itself sad. I found the film to be boring, badly acted, and not very cohesive. What's sad is that a film with a great story idea fails to deliver.Problem #1: the lead character, Tim, the one that wants to take the pill to be straight. Tim is a self-loathing gay man in the beginning, middle, and end of the film. He has a decent job, some devoted friends, and an unrequited crush on a new guy (Matt) with questionable sexual orientation. When Matt brings a bigoted female companion to Tim's B'day party, upsetting Tim, Tim announces that he's going along with the procedure, his friends are horrified (can you blame them?), he takes the pill, and...what happens? He hits on his female co-worker then coldly ditches her. He hits on a woman at a café. He starts dating a blonde chick. He rebuffs his old friends and co-workers. One friend attempts suicide because of Tim's rejection. Meanwhile, he's still self-loathing and still has gay mannerisms. So basically, this pill just gets you to sleep with women and become cold and heartless, but you still retain the self-loathing gay mannerisms you had to begin with. And along the way, he pops more and more of these pills (he's suppose to take, I believe, one a day) and by the end of the film, he loses all sexual arousal for both sexes, and the doctors that got him in this mess in the first place don't know why it happened, how long it will last, will it be permanent, etc. We haven't found a cure for cancer or AIDS, but these docs found a way to make gays straight temporarily and get them to lose their arousal for both sexes along the way. So much for a miracle pill. Tim should've taken a personality pill. There's nothing likable nor sympathetic about Tim at all. Instead of feeling sad for Tim, you feel like he got what he deserved for becoming an human guinea pig.Problem #2: The unrequited crush, Matt. In the beginning, his orientation is a big question mark. He brings a girlfriend to Tim's party, upsetting Tim and inspiring him to take the pills in the first place. Along the way, Matt asks another co-worker Joey why Joey acts "like that" (out and proud). A gay man would never, ever ask such a question to another gay man. At the end when Matt kisses Tim, it felt so forced. Did Matt all of a sudden take a gay pill? Throughout the film, you never got the sense that Matt was gay at all. The end felt tacked on at the last minute, as if to give Tim what he always wanted but now can't get.In a nutshell, I'll take a Jagged Little Pill over a Hard Pill any day.

This movie was a free Logo offering on my Comcast On-Demand that I happened to pick at random. What a lucky choice I made. It's hard for me to convey concisely how this movie moved me. As another commenter mentioned, it is a low-budget type film but that makes this even more powerful and poignant. What is great about this film is that it pulls no punches and lays its messages out on the line. The main character is a plain but still attractive guy that is often at the mercy of the vanity and cruelty of the gay world. This movie blows the lid off the Will & Jack stereotype that all gay guys are nice, fun, and cute - the reality for many guys like myself is not always so pleasant. The main character constantly falls for the wrong (straight/confused) guys that often use him intentionally or not. It is this frustration and unhappiness that drives him to consider taking a pill that allegedly will make him straight. The great thing about this film is that none of the characters are portrayed as perfect - they're portrayed as human.A gay guy who has experienced rejection and ridicule by "his own kind" must see this movie as an epiphany of sorts. Even better, someone who may have a distorted picture of what the "gay lifestyle" is should see this movie - this IS the reality for the average gay guy. We're not all depressed like this but it blows the lid off stereotypes like nothing I've ever seen. Please, please see this jewel of a movie.

I caught this film at a gay/lesbian film festival and was blown away. Every so often, a film comes out that is so original that you can't help but wonder why no one has ever thought of it before. "Hard Pill" asks this question: What would happen if a pill was invented that could turn a gay person straight? The answer is a lot more complicated than you think."Hard Pill" tell the story of Tim (played by Jonathan Slavin in an outstanding performance). Tim is openly gay but unhappy with his life. He has had bad luck with relationships and doesn't feel very hopeful that that his life will turn around. When Tim hears of a new study that can change sexual preference, he decides to get involved. Tim is convinced that being straight would be a whole lot easier. What he doesn't realize is the repercussions that this change will have on his relationships and life. This independent film appears to have been made with a shoestring budget, which fortunately doesn't detract but actually makes things on screen seem that much more authentic; almost as if we are watching real life unfolding. Also strong is the occasional humor that helped lighten things up when the subject matter became heavy. The ending is also quite satisfying and believable, not only leading one to think about the issue of sexual orientation, but also the risks of experimental drugs in general for non medical necessities. If my friends and I are any indication, we talked about this film for several hours afterward and I was moved to write a review which I don't usually do unless I really love something (or hate something.)Kudos to John Baumgarten for both writing and directing this thought provoking film. Hope to see a lot more from him in the future!