Watch East Side Story For Free

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

East Side Love Story is about Diego Campos and his quest to get out of East L.A. and become a chef in his own restaurant. Along the way he finds that sometimes to get away from home, you just need to stay where you are.First off, the good parts. I liked the acting and the set design. The restaurant in particular reminded me of some of the places I grew up eating in. To me, that's a bonus.The acting, while heavy handed at times, didn't seem devoid of heart. René Alvarado (Diego) seemed to finally find his voice near the end of the movie. The rest of the cast were fun, if stereotypical, parts. Pablo, the closeted boyfriend. Wesley, the new neighbor with a problem. Bianca, the crazy aunt (or sister, depending on the writer). The understanding and wise maternal figure, Sara. All played to the fullest and farthest the actor could go.The bad parts: The acting, while good, was deeply uneven. Most of the actors tended to "sell to the cheap seats" instead of going for smaller actions. The writing was manic and led to uneven pacing. The whole back and forth between two characters, while building drama, was kind of tedious.The cinematography. Again, while not terrible, shots seemed to go for more group shots than anything else. Reactions were off camera. In particular a scene between Diego and Westley left all of Diego's dialog being delivered while the back of his head was to camera.The worst offence is the lighting. Maybe it was the copy I watched, but I couldn't see what the hell was going on some of the time. It honest to god looked like it was being lit by a flashlight ... with a dying battery.All in all though, I would watch it again. Though, not without a glass of wine first.

Gay movies very often suffer a lack of funding and subsequent underdevelopment. East Side Story bears no sign of this; the production values are good and the acting is mostly great (the lead actor is particularly good). Diego is approaching 30, yet his life has consisted of very little outside of working at his family's restaurant in East Los Angeles. After being dumped by his "boyfriend", rather than face the ensuing fall-out over his homosexuality, he resolves to leave LA and make a life for himself in Phoenix. But a brief meeting with his openly gay new neighbours begins opening his mind to the possibilities of life - if he can only have the courage to be who he is.The blurb for this film claims that it avoids all the clichés, and that is actually true. Just about everything works perfectly in East Side Story, a welcome fact that ensures you concentrate on the emotional journey playing out on the screen. Those who saw "Mambo Italiano" another gay film of high production values (from Canada) may notice some story similarities, but every element is still very valid. Anyone looking for a good gay movie should certainly give East Side Story a go.

I am not a fan of the 'new gay' cinema, dominated by West Hollywood materialism and blonde stupidity. So, I was delighted to see this film, which did not disappoint from start to ending. I was impressed by it.I am 58 and grew up in a town which was 90% European-American in the 50s and 60s when I was a kid. That town is now about 75% Hispanic-American and Hispanic immigrant. And it is also being gentrified slowly by urban refugees, many gay, who are attracted to its proximity to Boston. So, I am quite familiar with the issues represented in this movie. I also happen to be gay.The core conflict of family vs. individuality as experienced by Diego was my core conflict when growing out of an ethnic proletarian family. His grandmother was more supportive than most elders in these situations. His aunt's schizo attitude toward gay men and Diego is also typical of people in these communities, who are torn between traditional brainwashing by churches and neighbors and love of their own children as individuals with their own lives to live.Dennis' alcoholism and codependent relationship with Jonathan are all too common gay phenomena. I particularly enjoyed the local AA guys who show up for the new gay AA meeting. They rang true. The reality base of the film is its most impressive feature. The relatively good production values are also impressive, since I am sure the budget was limited. Talent is the explanation.I hope the Portugal-Toledo team continue to work together. And I highly recommend that you see this on DVD.

My partner & I saw "East Side Story" at NYC's NewFest in June 2006. The movie is a well constructed take-off on the Italian-Puerto Rican ethnic conflict in the musical "West Side Story". Instead of the historical focus on those two ethnic groups in NYC, ESS dramatizes the current fault line between middle class Latino residents in LA's Echo Park neighborhood and well-off gays & lesbians who are buying up their homes, gentrifying their area, and threatening to displace them. The specific characters and basic storyline are believable and the movie entertains you throughout the movie.Of the 15 or so films we screened at that NYC LGBT festival last year & this month, "East Side Story" was by far our favorite (We also liked "Forgiving the Franklins", "Coffee Date", "Outing Riley" and "Bubble", a gripping but HEAVY film by the Israeli director of "Yossi & Jagger".).Question: does anyone have an idea of when / if "East Side Story" will appear in (art) theaters OR be released on DVD? We'd really like to see it again and, if possible, purchase a copy.If not, I'll contact the NewFest organizers to see if they can answer this question.