Hazlo Como Hombre (Spanish) [Do It Like A Man]

I am seeing a gay comedy after a long time and it felt good to laugh. Yes, the activists would feel hurt about stereotypes and that this is regression but you have to remember that you are watching a sort of satire. The film opens with a warning that opens with a mock advisory warning that its protagonist displays behavior that should not be repeated at home. And that pretty much sets the mood. And to top of it all, the film is not about gay love, but its about friends and friendship and how strong these bonds really are which can't easily be broken.

Raul, Santiago and Eduardo have ben best of buddies since childhood and have led a very happy and "masculine" life. Raul is married and is expecting a baby soon but confides in Santiago that he actually sleeps around with other hot women but justifies that sex and love is different. Santiago is engaged to marry Raul's sister Nat, who complains that they havent had sex in the longest time and is a bit of a nutjob. Eduardo has no girlfriend and is a barber and Raul suspects he is gay. Having had enough, one day Raul confesses to his friends that he is gay. Eduardo is happy and ecstatic but Raul thinks its just a phase. He tries to convince Santi that its a simple sexual confusion and tries many tricks to "cure" him. Despite his wife, Eduardo and everyone around questioning Raul on his homophobic behavior in 2017, he is adamant that Santiago is wrong. Things go so bad, that the friends have a big fight and they stop seeing each other. This is when Raul's wife finds about his philandering ways and Santi decides to movie to US with his boyfriend. Raul's wife leaves him and Santi finds out that his boyfriend and lover actually believes in polygamy while he himself is very traditional. Its only the night before Santi is supposed to leave, the friends reconnect over video games and Raul apologizes. Raul leaves aside his prejudices and decides to help Santiago to venture into their new life with his new partner.

The film is funny right from the get go of interactions between the 3 friends. Their expressions, dialogues, connections is all good. The funniest of them all is Nat, who goes crazy when she finds out that Santiago is gay and wants to call off wedding. She is desperate and tries to win him back but its all funny. All the interesting tactics that Raul tries to use to convince Santi that he is not gay also cracked me up. I am soooo glad  that, everytime he would react weird, everyone around him would give him a look and say its 2017, this is all good, so why is he reacting so weird. There is also a reference to how everyone (straight or gay) knows about grindr. Using his psychiatrist (also a lot of funny scenes there), learns that he will go through different stages, such as grief and denial, as he mourns the loss of the friendship he once knew. The interactions between the three friends are very heartwarming and they all share an excellent chemistry. Raul never stopped being friends with Santi because of his sexuality. It was the fear of losing the friend he knows that drives him to such extents. It was also refreshing to see that Santiago didn't conform to any gay stereotypes and that his straight friend Eduardo kind of did.

Yes, it may not be politically the most correct film but we all sometimes need a good time. It is high-spirited, buoyant and full of laughs. The movie also has some nicely affecting moments that deal with male friendship and loneliness. Personally, for me, this is definitely a winner. (7/10)