The Art of Being Straight

There is a useful directness to The Art of Being Straight, a comedy shaped by Jesse Rosen with a firm understanding of its audience. In The Art of Being Straight, Jesse Janzen provides the anchor while Tyler Jenich introduces a contrasting energy. Without revealing later complications, The Art of Being Straight opens from this situation: A sexy, comedic drama about two college friends questioning their careers and sexuality in east Los Angeles. The resulting its 1h 7m running time feels most convincing whenever The Art of Being Straight trusts behaviour more than explanation.

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Jesse Rosen gives The Art of Being Straight a directorial line that is uncertain about tone and dramatic emphasis from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of The Art of Being Straight is strongest when Jesse Rosen allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, The Art of Being Straight confirms that isolated moments suggest a more compelling version across most of the running time. A tighter version of The Art of Being Straight would address how events happen without gathering enough dramatic force, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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The Art of Being Straight finds additional purpose in its examination of embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Through the performance of Jesse Janzen, The Art of Being Straight makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of Los Angeles repeatedly returns The Art of Being Straight to the cost behind its more visible developments. Jesse Rosen is most persuasive when The Art of Being Straight allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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The craft of The Art of Being Straight is defined by performer rhythm, supported by performer rhythm rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Great Graffiti Films gives The Art of Being Straight a production framework in which comic timing built around character can remain connected to story. Made from a United States production context, The Art of Being Straight uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of The Art of Being Straight works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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What keeps The Art of Being Straight emotionally readable is Jesse Janzen, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Tyler Jenich, The Art of Being Straight gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Bryan McGowan contributes a separate rhythm to The Art of Being Straight and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Jesse Rosen gives the cast of The Art of Being Straight room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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The plot of The Art of Being Straight is built around the uneasy relationship between Los Angeles and the central character. For Jesse Janzen, that relationship gives The Art of Being Straight an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Jesse Rosen lets an important relationship reshape the direction of The Art of Being Straight in stages. Although the treatment of a difficult choice could be sharper, The Art of Being Straight never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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The Art of Being Straight ends as a film for only the most curious members of its likely audience, especially for comedy fans who respond to personality and timing. What remains from The Art of Being Straight is the relationship between Jesse Janzen, performer rhythm and Jesse Rosen's control of mood. The weakness that events happen without gathering enough dramatic force narrows the impact of The Art of Being Straight without cancelling its better work. On balance, The Art of Being Straight gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.