Director : Bernard Salzman


  After a gay man loses his fight to AIDS, it is discovered that his last dying wish was that the people closest to him participate in a five days, 450 miles bicycle ride to benefit AIDS research

   This group of four people who loved him could hardly be more mismatched or dysfunctionnal. Christopher Cavatelli's life, his choices, his death have profoundly impacted them.
  His twin brother Frank (Vincent Spano,) a police officer, is as straight as they come. He begins with a bit of male posturing, kicking in bathroom doors in the Gay Community Center, just to show he is a guy... As if anybody had the slightest doubt about that. He is insecure, of course; his identical brother was homosexual, that's got to be tough for a manly man with a prejudice layer thicker than the polar ice cap. Later we see that his swagger is a cover up for a great deal of pain : He has lost his only brother twice. He turned his back on him, along with the rest of his family, and now, it is too late to make amends. He is the only family member to show up to take back Chris' ashes, not expecting that his brother has thrown him, yet another curve.

  Doug (Sephen Spinella) was Chris' lover and life partner. He is understandably destroyed by his loss and he resents Frank for the pain he inflicted on his boyfriend. At the same time, he can't help feeling troubled by Frank's resemblance with Chris

  Melissa (Leah Thompson) was once married to Chris. She too lost him because of his sexual preference but they had remained close. There is some evidence that she had still loved him and she quickly becomes attracted to his brother. Melissa's personna is similar to miss Thompson's "Caroline in the city" She is pretty, talented, extremely likeable, but a desperate non-achiever whose life is going nowhere.

  Gaetano (Danny Nucci) was Chris' best friend. A homeless drunk, drug user and slut (Melissa says it best: "Gaetano is an alcoholic penis with legs.") it is hard to figure out how a nice man like Chris could enjoy such a bum except for being touched by his reckless charm. Danny creates quite a delightful character as Gaetano, outwardly without a care in the world but riddled with feelings of loneliness (like Chris,, he was abandonned by his family) and complete loss of direction. He is about to receive some very bad news of his own and adding to the poignancy of his character, he will become suicidal , all the while remaining his own happy, carefree self...

  From the start, much of the comedy is provided by Frank's excellent adventures in gay land. The poor guy can't even take a shower without fearing for his virtue. He finds himself forced to bunk with an outrageous transexual, and just as he thinks he's having a nice, safe, testoterone charged conversation about baseball, it turns out the other sports fan is making a play for him . Naturally, he feel like a fish out of water and turns to Melissa , perhaps the only other straight person there. And romance develops between them.

  As it turns out; Chris knew what he was doing by gathering this motley group.
At first his desire to send them on that wild ride seems like a flight of fancy of a dying man, perhaps having himself a little chuckle from beyond the grave. On second look his love and compassion become evident. He might be acknowledging his part of the responsability for what they have become. They are all bright, well meaning people emotionally crippled by various events in their lives. With his last wish, he tells them he knew he was a great influence in their lives and now that he is gone, he wants to help them to get some closure and move on.

  This bicycle trip becomes a chance for them to step away from their normal lives, and business as usual. The proximity of nature, the slow pace of the ride and the hard physical exertion provides them with a much needed "go-within-time"... Along the way, each of them scatters Chris' ashes when they feel compelled, and ready, it is a voyage of healing and self-discovery. during which they all learn how to accept themselves and eachother; not a bad pay-off for a five days time investment, if you ask me.

  The film is visually beautiful, and showcases parts of the California coast seldom seen by movie audiences The four actors do a wonderful job. Doug's character is my least favorite. He comes across as alittle too drama-queenish , and a bit one-dimensionnal though, he wins back our sympathy when he tries to tell his empress of denial mother that Chris was "not really" his roomate. It is a pretty funny scene where we realize the poor guy might not always had it easy.

ChaosD, 10-10-2001