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By demonizing pleasure, we set ourselves up for unfulfilling sex lives.
Opinion: Let’s talk about sex
Published March 27, 2024

Rural America, Population: Gay

“Were the World Mine” takes you through a world not so far away – the world of spritely fairies.
Timothy and Jonathon lounging among the flawless set construction. PHOTO COURTESY SPEAK PRODUCTIONS
Image by Ashley Goetz
Timothy and Jonathon lounging among the flawless set construction. PHOTO COURTESY SPEAK PRODUCTIONS

âÄúWere the World MineâÄù Directed by: Tom Gustafson Starring: Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane Rated: Not Rated Showing at: Lagoon Theater (612-825-6006) Shakespeare himself said it best via Lysander in âÄúA Midsummer NightâÄôs Dream: âÄúThe course of true love never did run smooth.âÄù With ValentineâÄôs Day just less than a week past, singles might have found themselves wondering what exactly they could do to make a handsome lover fall for them. Enter âÄúWere the World Mine,âÄù a loverâÄôs tale dedicated to the pains of unrequited love. The release is an airbrushed version of the 2003 American film âÄúFairies.âÄù Timothy is a young man attending an all-boys school who finds himself hopelessly enchanted with an apathetic classmate. When cast as Puck in the schoolâÄôs production of âÄúA Midsummer NightâÄôs Dream,âÄù Timothy (Tanner Cohen) discovers the formula for PuckâÄôs love potion. If applied to the eyes of the unsuspecting, they fall madly for the first person they lay eyes upon, and Timothy begins to use the love potionâÄôs effects to his advantage, quickly turning hundreds of men and women head over heels in gay love. The film begs the question Timothy mutters himself, âÄúIf you could make someone love you, would you?âÄù To which his quirky, silver cowboy boot-wearing friend replies, âÄúShit, obviously.âÄù The filmâÄôs actors have committed themselves fully to their roles; Wendy Robie wisps around as the flowy, detached Ms. Tebbit, and the rugby players (Nathaniel David Becker, Brad Bukauskas and Parker Croft ) leap and pirouette across the gym during practice, somehow seeming as enchanting as nymphs. CohenâÄôs Timothy is painful and introspective, brooding for hours at his desk memorizing lines for the play within the film. His real skill is revealed during the audition when he warms up and belts a song whose opening lines are, âÄúWe fairies that do run/ From the presence of the sun.âÄù The filmâÄôs scenery is crafted with precision and flair. Each setting, from TimothyâÄôs room, laced with translucent beads and thick tapestries, to the high school playâÄôs set, a dense forest that doesnâÄôt lose the realism of a teenage creation, is so intricately crafted that the film often becomes mesmerizing in its beauty. The campy cuts between scenes tend to overestimate their own mysticism, with large whooshing sounds that accompany the scenes as they fade into and out of bright white light. In its entirety the directing is sophomoric, with extended foreboding shots featuring ShakespeareâÄôs white plaster bust atop a piano or focus on the sleeping love interestâÄôs oscillating diaphragm. At its worst, though, the direction is a slight distraction from the filmâÄôs beauty. A little mystical, a little musical, âÄúWere the World MineâÄù will have audiences skipping out of the theater humming âÄúFriday IâÄôm in LoveâÄù by The Cure. Editor’s note: Thank you for pointing out the errant “h.” It is now removed; Shakespeare please forgive us.

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