''Kiss the Sky'' is a 1998

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Roger Young. The plot follows two men in their forties and friends since college who take a business trip to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. There they examine their lives and consider trading their adult responsibilities for a return to the hedonism of their youth. The film was shot in the locations of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Taal Lake Taal Lake ( tl, Lawa ng Taal, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a freshwater caldera lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volcanic caldera formed by very large e ...

, and

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

Plot

Jeff and Marty are two friends and businessmen facing a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...

. Jeff is married to Franny and has two daughters, while Marty is married to Beth. Both men feel something is missing in their marriages. The men decide to travel to the Philippines, where they embark on a drug and alcohol-fueled bender and meet a woman named Andy, with whom both men fall in love. They have a threesome and decide to leave their families to live together. Andy introduces them to Kozen, a

Zen Buddhist Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

monk, and they decide to build a refuge on an isolated beach. After a period together, Jeff misses his family and the relationship of the group deteriorates when Andy falls in love with Jeff.

Cast

Reception

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' called the film "Little more than '' The Beach'' for the mortgage-and-carpool crowd," and said it "starts strong only to become an escapist fantasy for overaged ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' readers." Rabin noted the

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

scene between the three leads is "an excruciating nethat suggests a ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' video recast with veteran character actors. The movie never really recovers, as the quest for spiritual salvation mutates into an extremely ordinary battle of the sexes."

References

External links

* *
Kiss the Sky
' at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

1999 films Films directed by Roger Young 1999 romantic drama films Films scored by Patrick Williams Films set in the Philippines American romantic drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films shot in the Philippines Midlife crisis films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films about threesomes Films about vacationing {{1990s-romantic-drama-film-stub