Food of Love (2002)

46% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
45% of users liked it
(1,118 ratings)

Adapted from David Leavitt's book The Page Turner, Food of Love tells the story of a cross-generational romance between two men. Paul (Kevin Bishop), a sexually repressed teenager, is an aspiring pianist who gets an opportunity to work as a page turner for Richard Kennington (Paul Rhys), a renowned… More Adapted from David Leavitt's book The Page Turner, Food of Love tells the story of a cross-generational romance between two men. Paul (Kevin Bishop), a sexually repressed teenager, is an aspiring pianist who gets an opportunity to work as a page turner for Richard Kennington (Paul Rhys), a renowned pianist who also happens to be Paul's idol. A flirtation ensues between the two men after a concert one night, but further possibilities are thwarted by the meddling of Paul's neurotic mother Pamela (Juliet Stevenson). When Paul and Richard meet again six months later in Barcelona, they begin where they left off, tumbling headlong into a passionate affair despite the continued intrusion of Pamela, who believes that Richard is flirting with her. The affair is further complicated by the presence of Mansourian (Allan Corduner), Richard's manager and lover, who is suspicious of the relationship between Richard and Paul. Unable to deal with the situation, Richard flees to New York, and when he and his young lover finally meet again, Paul is a Julliard student engaged in an affair with yet another middle-aged man. Food of Love was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Ventura Pons
Written By: Ventura Pons
Genres: Drama, Gay & Lesbian

In Theaters: Jan 3, 2003 Limited
On DVD: May 11, 2004
Studio: TLA Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
This is mild-mannered, been-there material given a pedestrian spin by a director who needed a touch of the flamboyant, the outrageous.
Charles Ealy, Dallas Morning News
The performances and tight direction from Ventura Pons keep the film from descending into cheap melodrama.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Plays like a glossy melodrama that occasionally verges on camp.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
It's the extra layer that makes this one, the movie's understanding of how disillusion and inner compromise can gradually separate a young artist from his divine spark.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
I suspect that there are more interesting ways of dealing with the subject.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
An elegant work, Food of Love is as consistently engaging as it is revealing.
Laura Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
An average coming-of-age tale elevated by the wholesome twist of a pesky mother interfering during her son's discovery of his homosexuality.
Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly
Young star Kevin Bishop plays the confused Paul with enough soul to sustain a movie that sometimes comes on like an ersatz training manual for parents of gay kids.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A sincere but dramatically conflicted gay coming-of-age tale.
Luisa F. Ribeiro, Boxoffice Magazine
Despite Juliet Stevenon's attempt to bring cohesion to Pamela's emotional roller coaster life, it is not enough to give the film the substance it so desperately needs.
Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan
The principals in this cast are all fine, but Bishop and Stevenson are standouts.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Based on a David Leavitt story, the film shares that writer's usual blend of observant cleverness, too-facile coincidence and slightly noxious preciousness.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
How can such a cold movie claim to express warmth and longing? In truth, it has all the heart of a porno flick (but none of the sheer lust).
Rod Armstrong, Reel.com
One of those so-so films that could have been much better.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Rico Z

This movie had to be the dullest piece-of-crap I've ever seen. Wait-- that would be Gods and Generals. But this would be high up there on my list of crappy movies. It has nothing to do with it being gay-themed (I loved Brokeback Mountain and Touch of Pink). It's just that… More
This movie had to be the dullest piece-of-crap I've ever seen. Wait-- that would be Gods and Generals. But this would be high up there on my list of crappy movies. It has nothing to do with it being gay-themed (I loved Brokeback Mountain and Touch of Pink). It's just that the script is a thin shroud for a softcore gay porn flick. It is truly horrendous and there's no character development at all. The lead is a page turner for a pianist or something. That's it. No cinematography to redeem it (good cinematography can actually make a really shitty movie good enough for me to like), and there's no great performances by females (which is usually the case and only saving grace for actresses in gay men movies). Stay away from this atrocious production. Don't even watch it out of morbid curiosity.