Looking: The Movie (2016, TV movie) - A premature but lovely, optimistic goodbye

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+ Best TV Movie of the Year + Best San Francisco Title of the Year

The neat, very California-colored poster for Andrew Haigh's Looking: The Movie

Looking: The Movie is the TV movie conclusion to the great HBO Looking TV-series in two seasons, created by great filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend (2011)) and Michael Lannan (Looking (2014-15), writer). They have co-written the script, and Haigh has directed it.

Patrick returns to San Francisco after a 9-month relocation to Denver, near his birthplace, for the wedding of Augustín and Eddie, catching up with old friends and lovers and contemplating where his future ought to be.

Jonathan Groff (Frozen (2013)) is back as our sensitive, recognizable protagonist Patrick, surrounded by lovely friends Dom (Murray Bartlett (Stubborn (2015))), Doris (Lauren Weedman (Rainbow Time (2016))) and Augustín (Frankie J. Alvarez (Madam Secretary (2015), TV-series)), - the latter probably being the one who has changed the most in the course of Looking.
Also reappearing are Russell Tovey (The Night Manager (2016), TV miniseries), who makes an emotional and touching return as Kevin, and hunky Raúl Castillo (Sweets (2015)), very well-acting and sweet as Richie once again. Tyne Daly (Judging Amy (1999-05)) makes a welcome appearance as a Justice of the Peace; Chris Perfetti (The Night Of (2016), TV miniseries) is good as the unbearable Brady, and Daniel Franzese (Killer Pad (2008)) is charming as Eddie.

Looking: The Movie focuses on tying up all of its stories in a nice way and showing us the directions that they might be heading from here. The coming-back-home-and-meeting-everyone-once-more premise works well in this respect, but it doesn't make the TV movie conclusion stand out as the most innovative in Looking's history. - Nearly no new characters are introduced.
What we do get is more of our beloved 'friends' and a central focus on Patrick, which comes to an appropriately melodramatic highpoint, which I rather enjoyed.
I am still sad and disappointed - mainly aimed at the public for its lack of interest - that Looking got canceled and ends like this. I think it could definitely have lasted several more great seasons on TV, and this bitterness can't stay completely out of my review here.
But damn it if the movie doesn't try its best. It's warm, enthusiastically acted, uplifting and optimistic, a rare piece of contemporary drama and a soft present the LGBT community and the rest of the world should have embraced more during its TV run.

Related posts:

Andrew Haigh: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess
Looking - season 2 (2015) - Patrick, Dom, Augustín and Co. reach the height of their potential
Looking - season 1 (2014) - Look for something real with your new Frisco friends
2011 in films - according to Film Excess 
Weekend (2011) or, The Nottingham Romance Blues

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV movie
= Unknown
[Looking: The Movie premiered June 2 (Frameline FIlm Festival) and runs 85 minutes. It was shot in San Francisco. At the July TV premiere on HBO, the ratings were 0.28 mil. North Americans, which is very far from impressive, - however, many have shifted to streaming now, which is unaccounted for here and may well counted be in the millions. Looking: The Movie is fresh at 87 % with a 6.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Looking: The Movie?

Looking - season 1 (2014-) - Look for something real with your new Frisco friends

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+ Best San Francisco Title of the Year

Jonathan Groff in focus, Murray Bartlett nearer and Frankie J. Alvarez in the back on the poster for Michael Lannan's Looking

Looking is HBO's new spectacular romance-drama series about 3 gay friends in the San Francisco Bay area and their various work, relationship and family situations. It is based on a short by its creator Michael Lannan, Lorimer (2011), and its 1st season runs 8 episodes of approximately 25-30 minutes each.
Although all 3 friends are leads, we spend more time with Patrick (Jonathan Groff (Frozen (2013), voice), the sweet country boy-atheist-computer game designer. The other two are sommelier Dom (Murray Bartlett (August (2011)), who is perhaps 10 years older than the others, and Augustín (Frankie J. Alvarez (Aphasia (2014), short), an artist's assistant, who is the only one of the three who is in a steady relationship.
Since the season only spans 8 episodes, I will present the plot of Looking structured thus:

1: Patrick suffers an unsuccessful date but meets a sweet Latino doorman named Richie (Raúl Castillo (Lorimer) on the Metro. Agustín and his boyfriend Frank have a threesome.
2. Despite his roommate friend Doris' (Lauren Weedman (Date Night (2010)) advice to the contrary, Dom sits down with a former, abusive lover. Patrick makes a bad second impression on Richie.
3. Patrick makes a fool of himself towards his new, British boss Kevin (Russell Tovey (Pride (2014)). Augustín gets fired and picks up his own former identity as an artist. Dom wants to start his own restaurant.
4. Patrick flirts with his boss but goes off and reignites his spark with Richie. Dom pitches his restaurant idea to the older owner of a local flower shop, Lynn (Scott Bakula (The Informant! (2009)), while Augustín's art becomes about a male prostitute he meets, CJ.
5. We stay with Patrick and Richie for the entire episode, as Patrick takes a day off to hang out with Richie. They go to the planetarium, the coast and Richie's 'señora' soothsayer and share sexual and other personal information.
6. Dom turns 40 and finds himself at crossroads between more mature relationships and continuing to lay young guys, as Lynn agrees to finance a pop-up restaurant event. Augustín arranges a three-way with Frank and CJ, filming it for his project, and trashes Richie, when Patrick introduces him as his boyfriend at Dom's birthday.
7. Dom prepares his new venture. Augustín gets dumped by Frank, when the truth of the now dumped art project is revealed. Patrick drags Richie to his cousin's wedding, but radiates so much stress that he alienates Richie and has to go alone.
8. Patrick SPOILER neglects stepping up to Richie's expectations and instead gives in to his boss's advances. Augustín takes drugs and ends up back where he started, as Patrick's roommate. Dom's pop-up restaurant is a success, but he has been unkind to Lynn in the process and, as their professional relationship is brought to an end, he embraces and kisses him.

Looking soon proves an excellent new acquaintance: The first episode provides a sweet introduction to the three great main characters, who are specific in each their own way and hold different, individually relatable personalities. For me it was already in the course of the second episode that I really got hooked to Looking and began to see its ambition:
The series is an honest, deeply relatable celebration of modern, urban gay life. Yet Looking will definitely also resonate with many heterosexuals, because its honest portrayal of its characters' issues concerning careers, identity, love, their families and futures transcend their sexual orientation.
Besides the great writing from the 6-person writing team, this is also due to the spectacular performances that the series' 5 directors have wrung from the cast who have clearly created strong bonds with each other and their characters: Groff is magic as our often very funny hero, who so often says and does the wrong thing, but still has our undiminished support. Bartlett shows us some of the angst of reaching 40 without much to show for it, and Castillo is gold as down-to-earth, sincere hottie Richie. All of them can do breezy, smart dialog scenes as well as show weaknesses and insecurities. Additionally, Weedman has to be singled out for her great performance as Dom's hilarious friend Doris.
Looking's main director with 5 episodes to his name is Andrew Haigh, who also distinguished himself with affinity for gay drama-romance in the great Weekend (2011).
The series contains a fine selection of new, hip music and older classics in the gay scene from Erasure, The Smiths etc. - You can hear a selection of it here. The show is at times incredibly romantic, but ultimately SPOILER it chooses ambiguous, conflicting realism over wide-eyed romance, (even if some of us were cheering for that...)
Looking is an almost perfect series for its time: Its depiction of the conflicts of gay life and concept of 'looking' and framing the younger adults who are trying to 'find something real' are spot on as told through its charming, winning, real characters.
HBO has renewed it for a 10-episode 2nd season, debuting in January. - So if you haven't gotten acquainted with Looking yet, now is the time to get it on DVD or stream it and get ready for the next season!

Best episode:

5: Patrick and Richie share a day of romance and companionship

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

Watch the trailer for the 1st season here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None
= Unknown

What do you think of Looking?
Any related shows or movies that you want to recommend?