The One; Romantic drama starring Jon Prescott, Ian Novick and Margaret Anne Florence.

The plot of The One is one we should all be familiar with as it is so often played out not only in gay cinema but soap opera as well; boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy then meets boy and realises he’s gay (slowly) and falls in love with boy. Obviously the path to true love was never a smooth one and various obstacles need to be overcome before boy can admit to himself and others that he is gay.

So The One more or less follows that well established plot of a straight man coming to terms with his sexuality. The movie starts off with Tommy (Ian Novick) discussing a recent conquest with his friend Stephen (Michael Billy) – a ‘straight’ guy that Tommy pulled in a sports bar. Only the ‘straight’ guy, he reveals, isn’t some randomner but Daniel (Jon Prescott) who Tommy vaguely knew at college. Further more Tommy has been practically stalking Daniel for several weeks before plucking up the courage to actually speak to Daniel.

So the two end up back at Tommy’s and they sleep together and then Daniel drops the expected bombshell – he’s engaged! Well that’s a “twist” so predictable anyone could have seen coming. The first part of the film is essentially Tommy’s obsession/infatuation with the straight Daniel as he quickly tries to establish himself in his life and even becomes friends with his Jen (Margaret Anne Florence) Daniel’s clueless finance.

Jen, oblivious to the fact that Tommy is gay, even organises a double-date between her and Daniel and Tommy and her friend Alex (Natalya Rudakova). Alex quickly guesses that Tommy is gay and fancies Daniel – maybe all those smouldering looks between the two over the table gave it away. Despite guessing that Tommy’s gay though she still sleeps with him.

The second part of the movie is about Daniel’s slow attempts at accepting his sexuality as he confesses his love to Tommy – who rejects him – and as his marriage to Jen begins to become strained. Obviously no gay plot of this sort would be complete without Jen falling pregnant and then, heavily pregnant, discovering the truth about her husband’s relationship with his best friend. As I said at the start it’s a scenario familiar to soap opera fans here in the UK – it’s featured so often in our soaps.

The One is an odd movie at times, it’s described as a “Providing the romantic comedy genre with a seriously queer twist” but there isn’t a whole lot of humour to be found. There are a few funny moments but by and large it’s a drama rather than a romantic comedy. At times it does begin to drag and feel a bit too long. It doesn’t offer up an entirely new take on the familiar theme either but it is well acted with all three main players delivering believable performances.