''The Skinny'' is a 2012 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

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

Patrik-Ian Polk Patrik-Ian Polk (born July 29, 1973 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films and theatre work that explore the experiences and stories of African-American LGBT pe ...

, the creator of the

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

television series, ''

Noah's Arc ''Noah's Arc'' is an American cable television comedy-drama series that aired for two seasons on the Logo network from October 19, 2005 to October 4, 2006. The show centered on the lives of four Black gay friends who share personal and professio ...

''. It was released on April 6, 2012, in select theaters.

Plot

The film tells the story of five friends who are

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

classmates—four gay men and one lesbian—as they reunite in New York City for a tumultuous

Gay Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

weekend. Magnus (

Jussie Smollett Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in ''The Mighty Ducks (film), The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox Bro ...

), an affluent young medical student, is happily in a five-month relationship with his boyfriend, Ryan (Dustin Ross). Magnus's

college friends join him in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for

for the weekend: lesbian

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

PhD student and gay-porn aficionado Langston (Shanika Warren-Markland); innocent and sometimes childlike Sebastian (Blake Young-Fountain), who has just come back from a year in Paris paid for by his parents'

trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

; promiscuous Kyle (Anthony Burrell), now living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and enjoying a career in film production; and witty and sarcastic Joey (

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (born October 21, 1984) is a Canadian actor, model, and television personality. He is known for appearances in films and television, most notably as Jay in the Lifetime dark comedy-drama series ''Unreal'' (2015–2018) and ...

Cast

as Magnus * Blake Young-Fountain as Sebastian * Shanika Warren-Markland as Langston *

as Joey * Anthony Burrell as Kyle *

Jennia Fredrique Jennia Fredrique Aponte (born Jennia Watson) is an American writer, director and actor known for the films Who Made the Potato Salad?, ''First Kiss in Color'', ''Sacred Heart'' (2015) and ''90 Days'' (2017). The latter, a film about HIV, earne ...

as Savannah * Dustin Ross as Ryan * Robb Sherman as Junot *

B. Scott Brandon Scott Sessoms, best known as B. Scott (born March 21, 1981 in Franklin, Virginia) is an American television personality, radio show host and internet celebrity who is known for their YouTube videoblogs and their website, LoveBScott.com.Wo ...

as Candy *

Darryl Stephens Darryl Stephens is an American actor and author. He is best known for playing Noah Nicholson on the television dramedy ''Noah's Arc''. Film career Back in L.A., Stephens appeared on the sexy late-night serial ''MTV's Undressed'', the short-liv ...

as Nurse *

Seth Gilliam Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on ''The Wire'', Clayton Hughes on '' Oz'', Detective Daniels on ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on ''T ...

as HIV testing worker *

Wilson Cruz Wilson Cruz (born Wilson Echevarría; December 27, 1973) is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on ''My So-Called Life'', Angel in the Broadway tour production of ''Rent (musical), Rent'', Hugh Culber, Dr. Hugh Culber on ''Star Tr ...

as Dr. Velasquez * Derrick L. Briggs as Rapist #1 * Dewayne Queen as Rapist #2 * Zeric Armenteros * Bassey Ikpi as herself * Phat Daddy * Hot Rod

Release

The film screened at several festivals and has a limited theatrical run before premiered on

on July 8, 2012.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics upon release. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the film; critic Dennis Harvey dubbed the film a "likable seriocomic ensembler". Further, Harvey wrote: "Performers, including several prior Polk players, make for pleasant company. Production values are decent on a budget, though the Manhattan setting isn’t used to maximum advantage." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' praised the film's depiction of gay black men, but criticized some of the vulgarity, concluding that the film "deals refreshingly, if at times too candidly, with the love lives of black gay characters".

References

External links