Heated Rivalry (Crave/HBO-Max)

[Anonymous]

98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the same as a Hallmark movie but with gay characters and more sex scenes.

It isn't deep. It isn't meant to be. [/quote

I disagree. It’s a layered and nuanced story. You can watch it for the hot men and sex scenes, or you can watch it as a commentary on how society perceives and treats any relationship that is out of the ordinary: gay, older woman/younger man, good girl/wild boy and so on. Toxic stuff esp. in combination with social media and cancel culture. There are also the themes of pressure on young athletes, childhood trauma and how different people deal with that etc.

With all due respect, other than the obvious fear/concern about not wanting to come out in the NHL (or MLH or whatever they called it), how was this a deep commentary on society? Literally none of Shane's sponsors said anything about "oh so glad you're not gay like Scott Hunter" or "we really want manly men wearing our watches" or anything of the sort. There was this acknowledgment that being gay in hockey was outside the norm, but literally no one had a reaction to it except all the people who loved it when Scott and Kip kissed. And then Shane's own parents were fine when he came out. Obviously Ilya's story is different, but that's Russia, and even he only SAID how people would feel. I don't think a single character in the entire show ever said anything remotely homophobic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The books are pretty badly written, including the premise of a mildly autistic hockey player (no way a mildly autistic person can enjoy or be good at this particular sport, which requires great coordination and lowered sensitivity).
The show is like a great musical clip, well staged and beautiful and with great music as background but very little dramatic development.
I enjoyed the acting of Storrie, hope he gets more roles even though it’s now public that he is gay himself and it’s harder for gay actors to be cast.
The rest of it is truly mediocre.

I think there are lots of athletes on the autism spectrum. I don’t know anything about hockey players but I have a strong suspicion about some NFL players both current and in the past. I think “the sport” is their special interest basically, and they can have a single-minded focus on it.

Track and field yes, but team sports with lots of touch and coordination? Doubtful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

I agree.
However people are dumb en masse therefore the ratings

[Anonymous]

And no this is not a “deep social commentary”. If anything it is glossed over perception of gay men in masculine professions and sports. Naive wishful thinking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

I agree.
However people are dumb en masse therefore the ratings

I think this is a symptom of the quality of new television and film content not being as good as it used to be. People see an above average show and get excited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

I agree.
However people are dumb en masse therefore the ratings

I think this is a symptom of the quality of new television and film content not being as good as it used to be. People see an above average show and get excited.

Its a show made for women, where the script is almost verbatim and taken from some chick rom com lit written by a woman. The writing is weak. You can read excerpts of her books on amazon. The actors do a good job with the material although in some places they stick way too close to the words in the book and it sounds really out of place. It isn't deep or nuanced. It is new young actors with good bodies who are willing to go all in to make a paycheck. The acting is decent but not incredible - I thought one of the guys was a much better actor than the other. There isn't much out there so this went viral - but not really because it is particularly amazing. Its a Hallmark movie with gay guys.

They filmed all the sex / nude / bedroom scenes on day 1 and 2 of filming. Then filmed the rest and then did the cottage on the last filming days. Filmed the whole thing in a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, other than the obvious fear/concern about not wanting to come out in the NHL (or MLH or whatever they called it), how was this a deep commentary on society? Literally none of Shane's sponsors said anything about "oh so glad you're not gay like Scott Hunter" or "we really want manly men wearing our watches" or anything of the sort. There was this acknowledgment that being gay in hockey was outside the norm, but literally no one had a reaction to it except all the people who loved it when Scott and Kip kissed. And then Shane's own parents were fine when he came out. Obviously Ilya's story is different, but that's Russia, and even he only SAID how people would feel. I don't think a single character in the entire show ever said anything remotely homophobic.

How many professional male top athletes do you know who are gay? In tennis, soccer, NHL, NFL, NBA? How many Hollywood A listers? Statistically speaking, there should be some, right? Actually in the film industry, it should be more than in the general population (those theatre kids…). And yet, we know of none/almost none. Why do you think that is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, other than the obvious fear/concern about not wanting to come out in the NHL (or MLH or whatever they called it), how was this a deep commentary on society? Literally none of Shane's sponsors said anything about "oh so glad you're not gay like Scott Hunter" or "we really want manly men wearing our watches" or anything of the sort. There was this acknowledgment that being gay in hockey was outside the norm, but literally no one had a reaction to it except all the people who loved it when Scott and Kip kissed. And then Shane's own parents were fine when he came out. Obviously Ilya's story is different, but that's Russia, and even he only SAID how people would feel. I don't think a single character in the entire show ever said anything remotely homophobic.

How many professional male top athletes do you know who are gay? In tennis, soccer, NHL, NFL, NBA? How many Hollywood A listers? Statistically speaking, there should be some, right? Actually in the film industry, it should be more than in the general population (those theatre kids…). And yet, we know of none/almost none. Why do you think that is?

I agree with sports but there are lots of out gay actors. Dan Levy, Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Paulson, Ellen Degeneris, Lily Tomlin, Kirstin Stewart, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Everett, Kit Connor, Zachary Quinto, Jonathan Groff etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

Not a fan of The Wire & Breaking Bad. I don’t enjoys depressing shows. Love Heated Rivalry. It’s a beautiful story, beautifully shot and executed. I like that it’s indie and low budget. The sex scenes are surprisingly very hot.
Signed, a 50 year old straight mom with a PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

Not a fan of The Wire & Breaking Bad. I don’t enjoys depressing shows. Love Heated Rivalry. It’s a beautiful story, beautifully shot and executed. I like that it’s indie and low budget. The sex scenes are surprisingly very hot.
Signed, a 50 year old straight mom with a PhD.

Stright men like watching two women together, and straight women like watching two men together. Heated Rivalry is designed for straight women. The low budget / indie aspect does add to the feel of the show for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

I agree.
However people are dumb en masse therefore the ratings

I think this is a symptom of the quality of new television and film content not being as good as it used to be. People see an above average show and get excited.

I think it was the content that got it so many views. I would say the best parts of the six episodes were above average, but the whole thing was not. I'm all for making gay relationships the norm, so I'm happy the show is getting so much buzz, I just don't think it's because it's a particularly good show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 9+ on IMDB and only 5-star ratings on Amazon, plus hot young athletes? Yah, I am watching this tonight. Thanks for bringing this show up, DCUM.

FWIW, I think the show has such high ratings because it's having a viral moment. It was a fine show with some phenomenal acting and a nice story line but it's not The Wire.

I agree.
However people are dumb en masse therefore the ratings

I think this is a symptom of the quality of new television and film content not being as good as it used to be. People see an above average show and get excited.

Its a show made for women, where the script is almost verbatim and taken from some chick rom com lit written by a woman. The writing is weak. You can read excerpts of her books on amazon. The actors do a good job with the material although in some places they stick way too close to the words in the book and it sounds really out of place. It isn't deep or nuanced. It is new young actors with good bodies who are willing to go all in to make a paycheck. The acting is decent but not incredible - I thought one of the guys was a much better actor than the other. There isn't much out there so this went viral - but not really because it is particularly amazing. Its a Hallmark movie with gay guys.

They filmed all the sex / nude / bedroom scenes on day 1 and 2 of filming. Then filmed the rest and then did the cottage on the last filming days. Filmed the whole thing in a month.

+1000

The actors did a great job for the most part with what they were given, but it was very weak writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all due respect, other than the obvious fear/concern about not wanting to come out in the NHL (or MLH or whatever they called it), how was this a deep commentary on society? Literally none of Shane's sponsors said anything about "oh so glad you're not gay like Scott Hunter" or "we really want manly men wearing our watches" or anything of the sort. There was this acknowledgment that being gay in hockey was outside the norm, but literally no one had a reaction to it except all the people who loved it when Scott and Kip kissed. And then Shane's own parents were fine when he came out. Obviously Ilya's story is different, but that's Russia, and even he only SAID how people would feel. I don't think a single character in the entire show ever said anything remotely homophobic.

How many professional male top athletes do you know who are gay? In tennis, soccer, NHL, NFL, NBA? How many Hollywood A listers? Statistically speaking, there should be some, right? Actually in the film industry, it should be more than in the general population (those theatre kids…). And yet, we know of none/almost none. Why do you think that is?

You're missing the point. Tell me the parts of the show that were an actual commentary. They just used the environment you described above and then made it seem like there are no gay hockey players. Maybe there aren't, I have no idea, that's not my sport. I wish it were more normal/not a big deal to be gay no matter what your job is, but I don't think the show offered any commentary at all. It just based itself on the premise that there aren't gay hockey players. No one said anything homophobic. No comments from anyone. Anyway, I just don't think it was as clever as you're pretending.