In Between Men (2010– ) User Reviews (7)

Entertaining Fantasy World

[HoldenSpark · 6/10 · 13 July 2016]

I've read what the other reviewers here have posted and its true, the acting could be described in a negative way, so too the writing as somehow sub-par, and yes, the show does look a lot like other shows from the past, notably Sex and the City. And yes, the production values are excellent, the gloss and gleam of In Between Men make it appear as if it would be something you'd see on network TV.

However, what I don't think the other reviewers have taken into consideration is that this show isn't so much all those things I just mentioned that other reviewers have said, instead to me its a throwback to the days of Dynasty and shows like that where every character is over-the-top in some way and its not so much the writing of the show that is important, instead what was important in Dynasty was to entertain. And that was it, Dynasty entertained. Dynasty created characters that gave viewers a fantasy realm to enjoy where the viewers could imagine a world they could never live in, a world of rich people behaving as they pleased.

Thats what In Between Men does. It presents an over-the-top idea of how gay people might be living in New York City today. An for those of us who don't live there, and never will, nor who are rich or able to do whatever they might want in their own local gay reality - be it because they aren't as free to be as open about being gay or because they don't have the riches available to them to pursue ambition wildly with little restraint, this show is a delight. As a fantasy world that presents itself as something that arguably could exist in today's world, we the audience know that it' a fantasy. And with that we can let go of judging it by the standards of today's world and just enjoy it for the fantasy it is, a slice of cake in a bread-eating world.

As was Dynasty in its day, today when you watch In Between Men you may eat cake.

Hideously bad web series

[thatjam · 1/10 · 6 December 2012]

In my constant search for the better side of gay television and cinema, I came across "In Between Men," a web series centred around four gay men working and living in New York. They like sex and clubbing and all the things upstanding gay men are supposed to enjoy. Shockingly, it is a stereotypical mess of a show.

To start, the acting is sub-par at best. The men are gorgeous, surely, but the lines are delivered without emotion, and the energy feels sudden and manufactured. (Surprisingly, pretty face doesn't equate to good actor!) A few are fine--Ben Pamies, Max Rhsyer as a few examples--but the main character Dalton, played by Nick Mathews, is uncomfortably robotic. The worst of the bunch, though, is Michael Sharon playing an older, wealthy Italian man that pounces on Dalton. He puts on a marbles- in-your-mouth accent that makes me cringe every time he appears in a shot.

That said, the atrocious writing certainly isn't helping the actors perform. The dialogue is unbelievable, as if the characters aren't even listening to one another. (I was continuously saying "People don't talk like this!") While some bits of the writing are humorous, like the boys yelling "fist f*ck" as a way of expressing their bond, these moments are ruined by inappropriate timing, as they yell this at an art gallery, absurd because they're supposed to be part of this world. The majority of the lines are strange and stilted, often in situations that seem out- of-place. The narration, which (thank goodness) fades away as the series progresses, is identical to Carrie Bradshaw's narration in Sex and the City.

In actuality, there are problems in every aspect of this show: the vast majority of the characters are white, well-to-do men (with the exception of a black man that appears in the final episode of the first season, which feels like an attempt to appease that criticism that existed since the pilot); the opening credits, the best of a high school Flash project, are set to hip hop that has nothing to do with the show or the atmosphere it gives off.

Its biggest problem, in my opinion, is the fact that this has been done before: Sex and the City, the L Word, Queer as Folk, even Girls all follow this same formula. The difference is that In Between Men is dull and portrays a gay clichéd lifestyle.

In all fairness, the show finds its footing as it progresses, becoming slightly more believable. The production values are high for a web series, shot well with appropriate lighting, settings, and plot. And, as a throw-back to Queer as Folk, Michelle Clunie guest stars briefly in episode three, (the best moment of acting in the entire series). But it's not enough to hide the show's undeniable flaws that make scenes laughable for all the wrong reasons. Sadly, this is a failed attempt of a web series; it tries to be different but is just another sad example of gay entertainment.

In Between Men - A Wonderful Snapshot of Young Professional NYC Gay Life

[dyv-researcher · 10/10 · 11 November 2012]

The actors are wonderful and have an organic chemistry. The love interests are well-cast and compelling on their own. The lead character "Dalton" is charming, sweet, confident yet vulnerable and very relatable. You can see why each of his friends needs him and vice versa. Max and Dalton's story is definitely not finished. Dalton feel in face first and got a bit burned but they have more story to be told and I hope Max returns in season 2.

Ben and his brother Drew have a natural report and the actress playing their mother was a scream. Sassy and loving and very authentic. I really hope to see her return as Ben clearly needs his mom because he is not a happy boy right about now and I think I know why... Unrequited love. LOL.

Kyle and Jacob. Sigh... I just don't know WHAT happened in Jacob's head. I'm not feeling the way he treated Kyle after the key exchange but it's realistic. So many of us have intimacy and control issues when it comes to relationships. I just hope that we get to learn more about Kyle (even if Jacob and he don't get back together)

Kendra, hmmmm. Not feeling her getting back with Jacob. Clearly they need some closure but I just don't see them being a couple again.

Dane, Dane, Dane. Bless his heart. He can't win for losing. He is his own worst enemy. He needs a keeper to bat away all those losers sidling up to him and his sweet, generous, insecure heart.

Season one was wonderful (though too brief) and I can't wait to see what Season two holds.

Unreal, sterile and boring

[aretel · 2/10 · 23 March 2014]

If you like cute boys, beautiful bodies, a bad script, and bad acting then this is a web series for you.

It was a real challenge to make it through a few episodes of In Between Men to see if this web series could draw me in, such as the very successful Queer as Folk. This web series is just plain Queer and Mindless. The characters are all stereotypes, cut-outs from a fashion magazine, with not one blemish between them; definitely not a true representation of the general population.

The acting is horrendous and this may be in part due to the poor lines that the actors were given to work with. I assume it is probably both: bad acting and bad writing. The Italian actor, Max, is far from Italian. His accent is contrived and forced, and does not sound anything remotely close to an Italian where English is his second language. I feel like slapping his face each time he opens his mouth, just as Cher did to Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck: "snap out of it!...your accent sucks!".

The production quality and cinematography is surprisingly very good and of professional quality, but it's unfortunate that this alone cannot carry the show.

If you like fluff, a contrived scrip, and you have a mind that is deteriorated by drugs, then this is a web series made specifically for you. If you don't want to expose yourself to a mindless abyss, then for your sanity's sake, I urge you to stay away!

the gay web-series that asks: "what if..."

[Coralknight · 2/10 · 15 February 2017]

What if gay guys in NYC didn't talk and act like gay guys in NYC (which has about a 100 years of gay culture at this point) but INSTEAD talked and acted like straight frat-boys? What if a bunch of white and "off-white" Drake-looking guys openly used urban/gangsta cliché slang in NYC without getting their butts kicked by real urban street thugs? What if a hideously old, wrinkled, creepy Jewish man uses every Italian stereotype in the book, including a fake accent and a couple of Rosetta-stone language lessons and somehow thinks he can actually pass as a "hot Italian dude"? The answer is then, and only then, could we, the audience, actually suspend our disbelief enough to buy into this schlocky, poorly-written fantasy. To put this into context: this series makes "Hunting Season" look good. Enough said.

Complete stereotypical dreck

[nevan60 · 1/10 · 22 August 2013]

Pretty unwatchable and I ditto the other comments about the stiff acting, horrible dialogue & direction, but great production values. One of these days we ( gay men ) might know we're come of age when there's a TV series that shows us as we really are - in all our diversity - but this isn't it. I get that the writer/director wants to show that there are gay men who can be masculine, athletic and 'non-scene', but these characters are just cookie-cutter urbanites ( or at least the perception of what urban gay men are like ). Show me the homely guys, the ( gawd forbid ) older than 40 guys, the guys who don't have high-paying jobs and live in fabulous condos in the city center. Even as pure fluff and soap opera it fails to deliver.

Jesus

[user-666-728085 · 3/10 · 22 April 2013]

This is obviously a flop if it tries too hard to be another QAF. Or maybe Sex n the City.

After watching Season 1, it seems like it's really 'In Between Them' - neither here nor there. Maybe because its a web series and short of time to slowly develop characters. Maybe because the budgets only 150 grand. Maybe... Too many maybes and misses than hits. It really needs to differentiate itself from all those before. Inviting Cluny to do her stuff for 5 mins only made all the other acting look even worse.

Saving grace, gay doctor is drop dead gorgeous. Now I need a prostate exam.