Testosterone

A diva scorned: Testosterone's hero can't take his breakup like a man

By Mike Prevatt

Despite the competition, sad-sack graphic artist Dean Seagrave of David Moreton's Testosterone could very well be the worst protagonist in modern gay cinema. Played by David Sutcliffe, whose six pack is more chiseled than his acting chops, Dean is the embodiment of unmitigated homo bitterness whose only complexity lies in his amalgamated macho aggression and diva scorn.

He tries to justify the lunacy in seeking extreme closure from a 10-month relationship with another gym bunny, Pablo (Antonio Sabato). When Pablo mysteriously flees to his native Buenos Aires, Dean flies down to Argentina himself to find him. But after discovering Pablo's political ties and philandering past, Dean's more interested in revenge than a reunion. Along the way, he meets several people interested in either aiding or thwarting his sleuthing, including café worker Sofia (Celina Font) and hunky Marcos (Leonardo Brzezicki), who is also Pablo's former beau.

Director/co-writer David Moreton (Edge of Seventeen) can't decide if he wants Testosterone to be an obsession thriller, a black comedy or the gay equivalent of Skin-a-max softcore (nice schlong, Antonio). Despite having focused source material--a novel of the same name by the late James Robert Baker--Moreton's narrative is jagged and underwritten, from the chronologically challenged preface to the Seven-like ending. The audience is expected to piece together unconnected events and conversations by people who don't seem to be truly communicating with each other, and it's as exhausting as it is frustrating.

What makes it worse is the scant empathy Dean generates for himself. He spends the entire movie in a downward spiral he rightfully deserves, given that he has let his anger baselessly degenerate into unfulfilled fantasies. His toxic dialogue might be laughable if we didn't despise him so much. Token line: "I'm not an asshole--I'm just heartbroken." Clearly, Dean's not over it, though we are.