Status Update

Thirty-five-year-old professor Noah Walters first meets 25-year-old video game designer Adrian Gottleib in the dog area of the Utah RV park where he’s vacationing. At their next run-in, Noah offers Adrian a place to stay after Adrian’s travel companion abandons him. Adrian’s openness about being gay encourages Noah to explore and embrace his own sexuality. But Noah is reluctant, as this could drastically alter his career and life in the small Northwest Texas community he calls home. With well-paced character development, Albert (Treble Maker) captures Adrian’s cocky confidence as the initiator of Noah’s journey and the transformation in the curmudgeonly Noah as he embarks on his sexual awakening. The paradox of emotions—joy, fear, and anticipation of disappointment—is effectively conveyed in the men’s struggles with their growing attraction to each other and also during their emotional and sensual sex scenes. Though the narrative does sound a bit preachy at times, with stereotypical references to right-wingers and the simplistic contrast between the attitudes of the characters in Utah and Denver, this sweet romance offers a tasteful blend of the emotional, evocative, and erotic. (Dec.)