HBO will premiere Looking: The Movie, the feature-length finale to its short-lived comedy-drama about a close-knit group of 30-ish gay men in San Francisco, on July 23. Over two seasons, 18 episodes were produced.
Since its January 2014 premiere, Looking kept looking for its audience. Though generally well-received by the press, the ratings were low. The target gay male community for whom the show was made largely shunned the series. Many in the gay community felt that the series was dull, and that the cast lacked diversity.
"This is the best show you're not watching," wrote The Wall Street Journal, while BBC's Keith Uhlich opined that Looking "is one of the most revolutionary depictions of gay life ever on TV �" and that's because it makes it totally ordinary."
"I know the numbers were not there," Frankie J. Alvarez, who played the bumbling but lovable artist Augustin in both seasons, told the B.A.R. "We were telling stories about male intimacy. Looking was about forwarding the medium."
Alvarez said that the cast and crew were "shocked and dismayed" when HBO decided to pull the plug, but the network's agreement to produced a feature-length film in order to give the storylines a proper finale helped to soften the blow. "We got together, got drunk, and mourned," Alvarez recalled. "Then we rallied and came back together for the movie. Everyone came back."
Alvarez pointed out that Looking 's primary goal was to show positive images of gay men who were fully integrated into their communities. "We didn't want to show any gay men who were victimized or marginalized," he said. "We were dismayed that a lot of our detractors were from within the LGBT community. To have the biggest rocks come from the community was hurtful."
Alvarez feels that this may have been because LGBT people still aren't used to seeing realistic images of themselves in mainstream entertainment. "For so long gay men turned to Golden Girls and Sex and the City, " he said. "Those women were conduits because there wasn't a history of gays on screen. Looking was a first step. Hopefully doors will continue to open."
Alvarez said that he couldn't reveal too much about the film. "I'm sworn to secrecy," he said. "The film is set 10 months after the series' end. Patrick [Jonathan Groff] comes back to town for a life-changing event. Augustin is in a crisis �" he understands the repercussions of his past behavior, and is now becoming the thing he fears most."
A screener of the film was made available to the B.A.R. We're happy to report that there are no loose ends as the storylines conclude. Both Patrick and Augustin do a great deal of self-reflection as the film unfolds, and beautifully resolve their inner turmoil. The final scene might be the ending that Looking devotees had hoped for.
Looking: the Movie will feel familiar to San Francisco viewers, as the film, like the series, was shot on location in and around the city. When Patrick meets with ex-boss/ex-boyfriend Kevin (Russell Tovey) for a heartfelt attempt at resolving their feelings for each other, they stand in front of the Bank of America building at the corner of Market St. and Van Ness Ave. After they say their goodbyes, Kevin steps into the familiar entrance of the intersection's Muni underground station.
Other locations include the beloved SoMa bar The Stud, where iconic local activist Cleve Jones appears as himself in a cameo. The Stud sequence is particularly moving in light of the owner's recently announced plans to sell the venue. And when our heroes go out to eat, their choice of restaurants is none other than beloved Orphan Andy's in the Castro. The film's final fade-out is a lovely shot of the famed Castro Theatre marquee around the corner.
Alvarez said that he loved every moment he spent in the city bringing these scenes to Looking fans. As he prepares for his appearance in Bathing in the Moonlight, a new play about a Cuban-American family, Alvarez hoped Looking: The Movie pulls in bigger numbers than the series did, and leads to more reunion films. He noted that "life-changing friendships" happened both on and off the screen. "I see the love we have for each other burning on the screen," he said.