Movie Review: Gay Hollywood Dad – Charming But Shallow.

Genre: Documentary
Directors: Quentin Lee, Frank Howley, Daric Loo, Simon Steuri, Jason Tobin, and Oscar Tsai
Studio: Margin Films
Runtime: 95 minutes.
Release Date: Premieres at the New York Asian Film Festival August 2, 2018 and on Amazon Instant August 3, 2018
Rated: Not Rated

Reviewer Rating: ★★★★★

Gay Hollywood Dad is an indie documentary chronicling Asian filmmaker Quentin Lee’s first six months of being a single dad to his son Casper. We follow Lee from getting ready for Casper’s birth via a surrogate mother, to preparing for his son’s 100th day birthday, traditional Asian celebration, his first Christmas, and all the ups, downs, and in-betweens.

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The birth of Casper Lee, Quentin’s son.

What I enjoyed most about Gay Hollywood Dad is Lee himself. He’s engaging, interesting, and a surprisingly insightful subject for a documentary. The most fascinating moments are when he’s sitting in front of the camera explaining his thoughts on fatherhood and being a director. Lee talks about casting his son Casper in his short horror film, On Halloween, explaining his hope that if Casper grows up being in horror movies, he won’t be afraid of them but will love them. It’s a small moment but one I found to be the most human and profound. The colorful personalities Lee surrounds himself with lead to some entertaining moments as well. For instance, the scenes with his friend Adrian Ho, who would rather party and drink all the time, show a significant contrast to Lee’s more serious demeanor. Their conversations are some of the funniest moments in Gay Hollywood Dad.

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Quentin Lee with Crystal Primavera, the surrogate mother to his son.

However, to call Gay Hollywood Dad a documentary is a bit disingenuous. Instead, it feels more like a series of vlog posts edited together to make a movie. Most of this stems from the fact that Gay Hollywood Dad wasn’t made to be a movie at all. It was originally envisioned as a web series, a fact Lee points out a few times throughout the film. Knowing that, you begin to understand why the movie flows the way it does. Every 10-20 minutes is broken into its own subject. The problem with this is that any topics Gay Hollywood Dad brings up, we only learn about them at a surface-level before being dropped entirely in order to move on to the next segment. The controversies surrounding being a surrogate mother, the financial struggles of being an independent filmmaker while being a single father, and the representation of Asian people in Hollywood are all brought to light but are never given the time they deserve to be explored and discussed aside from a few quick talking head interviews. Granted, they could take away from the focus of the film, which is Lee and his son, but it makes one wonder why bring them up at all if you’re not going to flesh them out.?

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Lee with his son Casper.

The segments themselves are also uneven. The most interesting ones are of Lee filming On Halloween while also taking care of his son, attending the San Diego Asian Film Festival where he premieres his movie The Unbidden, and the final segment that shows Lee and Casper spending their first Christmas together. These scenes offer the most insight into Lee, both as a father and a filmmaker. Despite how compelling these segments are, there are other snippets in the film that drag. Lee planning his son’s 100th day birthday feels like watching a relative’s boring home movies rather than a deep and intelligent documentary.

There are also odd choices that don’t make sense for a documentary. For example, the production of Lee’s short film On Halloween caps off with screening the short in its entirety. While fun to watch, it doesn’t add anything to the Gay Hollywood Dad other than an extra nine minutes. If Lee were to commentate over the scenes and explain his thought process on how he filmed it or why he framed certain sequences, it would have provided a deeper understanding of his filmmaking process. As it stands, it feels more self-promotional than informative.

Despite the issues, Gay Hollywood Dad is an enjoyable film because of its big heart. It’s a tribute to being a parent, and all the success and struggles that entails. And it has an infectious, feel-good nature that leaves you with a smile. If you’re a fan of Lee’s films or looking for something to watch on a lazy afternoon and you’re willing to look past its many flaws, I say give it a watch.

For more on this film visit:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/gayhollywooddad

Website: http://www.gayhollywooddad.com/

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Dustin Kogler

Professional amateur movie watcher. Dustin is a laid-back nerd who loves discussing pop culture. He loves listening to 80s music, playing video games and watching netflix all day. He's pretty sarcastic and if you tell him your favorite movie he can tell you why you're wrong.