Review for Ben & Arthur

Director: Sam Mraovich
Released: 2002
Genre: Gay and Lesbian Drama

My friends and I decided to test Netflix's "watch instantly" function- after seeing Stalker, I decided to cancel out the generous rating I gave the work by choosing the lowest rated movie on the Internet Movie Database (the IMDB) that Netflix had to offer. Ben & Arthur was the winner, at an impressive 10th place on the IMDB bottom 100 list, as rated by users. Now, I no longer consider the IMDB to be the end all be all of movie rankings (The Shawshank Redemption is the highest rated of all at the time of this writing, and some of my favorites barely crack 7.0), but every work at the bottom 100 is there for a reason.

In this respect, Ben & Arthur is a rare gem of a film, and not in the good sense. It is so abrasively bad, it is nearly impossible to watch all the way through. But watch it I did, and I must say it was a wholly unsatisfactory experience. The acting is horrible; the sound editing is aggravatingly incompetent; the scenes are captured by someone who bought the cheapest digital camera at Best Buy and read the first page of the instruction manual before shooting... the list goes on.

Ironically, the subject Ben & Arthur deals with is one that is strikingly pertinent in American society- the main characters, Ben and Arthur, are a gay couple who are trying their hardest to have their marriage recognized in the state of California. Along the way, they have to deal with Ben's brother, a deeply religious man who abhors homosexuality, Arthur's former wife, whom he is trying to divorce, and other people who are trying to stymie their efforts. It is a plot that would make for a very poignant, visceral film, if directed with skill and competence. Unfortunately, Sam Mraovich (whose name appears eleven times in the opening credits- the most amusing part of Ben & Arthur) completely robs the premise of any promise.

Ben & Aerthur was screened in one venue during its theatrical run, with the audience members comprising mainly of the cast and crew and Mraovich's family. I can only hope that I did not financially support Mraovich by watching it online.

0.00/4.00