Review: Faith isn't the only thing tested in poorly made gay romance ‘Brotherly Love’

By Gary Goldstein

Aug. 1, 2018 5:54 PM PT

The inept, painfully overlong “Brotherly Love” is a film so seemingly taken with its own endlessly campy, corny and clichéd self that, at nearly two hours, it contains maybe 30 minutes of flab. But even in a more condensed form, it would still be an unconvincing eye-roller.

Writer-director-star Anthony J. Caruso, who isn’t fully up to any one of his tasks here, plays Vito Fortunato, an out gay seminarian preparing to become a brother in the Catholic Church. But with his penchant for partying, cruising and other “earthly” delights — plus meager reasoning for his calling to God — Vito is about the least likely candidate for celibacy. And he knows it.

So it’s no surprise that when Vito visits Austin, Texas, to spend a rejuvenating summer working at a Catholic AIDS Care Center (where we never see him do any actual “work”), his faith, such as it is, will be tested by Gabe (Derek Babb), a cute, soulful landscaper smitten by Vito. Two guesses how it all ends up.

There’s nothing wrong with the film’s basic concept that a stronger script, cast and crew — and perhaps a few more bucks — couldn’t solve. But the movie, based on the novel “Seventy Times Seven,” is so laden with hoary gay stereotypes and references (enough with “The Golden Girls”!), anachronistic name-checks (Charo? Jeff Stryker?), groan-worthy silliness, overplayed emotion and amateurish crafting it never had a prayer.

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