Food of Love

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Food of Love

R

Released Oct 25, 2002

1h 52m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

48%

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27 Reviews

38%

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1,000+ Ratings

A homosexual pianist (Paul Rhys) has an affair with an 18-year-old aspiring musician in Barcelona, Spain.

Charles Ealy

Dallas Morning News

The performances and tight direction from Ventura Pons keep the film from descending into cheap melodrama.

Rated: B

Dec 13, 2002

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Frank Scheck

The Hollywood Reporter

Plays like a glossy melodrama that occasionally verges on camp.

Nov 15, 2002

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

It's the extra layer that makes this one, the movie's understanding of how disillusion and inner compromise can gradually separate a young artist from his divine spark.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 8, 2002

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Sep 8, 2005

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Laura Kelly

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

An average coming-of-age tale elevated by the wholesome twist of a pesky mother interfering during her son's discovery of his homosexuality.

Mar 20, 2003

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Steve Schneider

Orlando Weekly

Young star Kevin Bishop plays the confused Paul with enough soul to sustain a movie that sometimes comes on like an ersatz training manual for parents of gay kids.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 13, 2003

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Audience Member

Fantastic. Could not believe that was Kevin Bishop. But a great coming-of-age film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Unintentionally hilarious. Old fashioned in its attitudes, poor script, badly directed and acted.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Not sure. Need to see it again

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Seemed to be going somewhere really interesting (despite the ineptitude of the lead actor), but about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through, I don't know what happened, maybe the producers got scared, but it just spiraled into vapidity. Hadn't realized it was based on a Leavitt book, and now very curious to see whether the original was more courageous... still, it gets points just for treating several things in a way which I don't think I've seen in films before.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Food Of Love" refers to sexual desire but would anyone be interested in such a milquetoast guy (Paul) played blandly by Kevin Bishop. He almost ruins the movie. Juliet Stevenson plays his dependent mother, Pamela, who basically has to "out" him so he can communicate with her. She's the best actor in the movie and the only character you can relate to. It's a shame that in a gay movie, none of the male leads are people you'd want to hang out with. Blame the screenwriter and director, Ventura Pons, who gives the characters wooden dialogue and directs the melodrama like a daytime soap. Based on the novel "The Page Turner" by David Leavit, you are left to wonder what's so special about the story. A gay teen aspires to be a classical pianist, falls in love with his mentor, and shuns his mother as he comes to terms with himself. The scenes of Barcelonia are wonderful and the art direction and photography give the movie some charm. When he's told that he'll never be a pianist and a page turner is not a career, you go "aha, this guy's a loser."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

Not sure. Need to see it again

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Ventura Pons

Director

Juliet Stevenson

Pamela Porterfield

Paul Rhys

Richard Kennington

Allan Corduner

Joseph Mansourian

Kevin Bishop

Paul Porterfield

Ventura Pons

Producer

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Synopsis

A homosexual pianist (Paul Rhys) has an affair with an 18-year-old aspiring musician in Barcelona, Spain.

Director: Ventura Pons
Producer: Ventura Pons
Screenwriter: Ventura Pons
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Production Co: Trimark
Rating: R (Brief Language|Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.7K
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Surround

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