Eve Harrington Revisited, in Hart's "Homewrecker," a Philadelphia QFest Premiere
By Joseph R. Saporito
photo courtesy of QFest
Peter Szeliga (Derrick), Dylan Vox (Boyd) & Bruce L .Hart (Collin)
Remember everything Eve Harrington would do for a part in a play? Well, Boyd (Dylan Vox), in Paul Hart's fabulous directorial debut film, "Homewrecker" (USA 2009, 102 minutes), after Hart and Paul Vander Roest's 2006 play, "Naked Deception," does all that and more as he strives to achieve superstardom in Hollywood and plots to let nothing prevent his dream from becoming reality. Vox plays his part to a tee and makes all his manipulative efforts ring true. The movie starts off in a jail cell, where Boyd is exercising, getting himself fit and buffed, in order to get a part on television once he is free. As soon as he is paroled, he pursues his mission to land a leading role in Collin Lawrence (Bruce L. Hart) and Derrick Hardy's (Peter Szeliga) upcoming show. Boyd was cast as a nerd in their prior production, but was replaced after the pilot when they went in a different direction for their series. Vox, Hart and Szeliga all played their parts on the Los Angeles stage as well.
Armed with his new attitude, look and hair color, Boyd arrives at Collin and Derrick's house. They mistake him for Shawn, a guest from Ohio, whom they were expecting, but have never met, and whom he successfully impersonates, and that is where the antics begin. Boyd brings his girlfriend Sheila (Rebekah Kochan), pliant Barbie to his Ken, into the scheme, though this Barbie keeps wondering aloud if her Ken is "turning gay." Kochan offers a wonderfully realistic portrayal of a bleached blonde bimbo, always willing to help her boyfriend no matter how bizarre his request. Come to think of it, bleached blond bimbo is not a bad description of Boyd either.
Once Collin and Derrick accept Boyd as Shawn, Vox kicks into high gear, and let the games begin, as Boyd cracks the secret of the new series that they are trying to keep under wraps until its premiere.
Hart and Szeliga convincingly portray the happily married gay couple, mannerisms, quirks and all, and could easily be the couple next door. Two other gay couples also get drawn into the antics of hunky Boyd/Shawn.
Derrick and Collin give a party in their houseguest's honor. Jack (Michael Stassi) and Richard (co-author Vander Roest) and the other couple, Howard (Tim Dorian) and Rex (Lukas Roberts), are present and each couple plays a part in Boyd/Shawn's vicious game. The young man, who respects no friendship, no relationship, in relentless pursuit of his goal, stays with each couple briefly before they bounce him back to Derrick and Collin. At the party, Boyd/Shawn is paired up with an adorable African-American hunk, Donovan-Ernest Pierce in a seductive role that he fills with ease. Ruthless Boyd uses him the way he uses everyone to get what he wants and has a way of making all the men in this circle of friends do what he tells them to do-at least temporarily-with sex, drugs, alcohol, and blackmail as weapons in his arsenal. Vox's Boyd pits the characters against one another, but their love and friendship prove much stronger bonds than shallow Shawn can fathom.
QFest (www.phillycinema.org), Philadelphia's gay and lesbian film festival, presents the world premiere showings of "Homewrecker" on July 12 at 9:15 p.m. at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street, and 14 at 5 p.m. at the Ritz East, Theater One, 125 South Second Street. Director Paul Hart and principals Vox, Szeliga, and Bruce L. Hart will be present at both screenings and participate in Q&A following them.
