The “Big Gay Love Collector’s Set” from Wolfe Video contains 4 movies (“Were the World Mine,” “East Side Story,” “Mr. Right,” and “Hollywood je t’aime”) that will transform any night with your special someone into a romantic evening. Each movie is very different and brings something different to the overall set of movies. This collector’s set is geared more towards the gay audience, but straight viewers can learn a thing or two from the movies as well. For all four movies, they included lots of extras and the music was really good and fit perfectly for each storyline.

The first movie in the set was “Were the World Mine.” The main character is Timothy (Tanner Cohen), who is openly gay, lives in a small town, goes to an all-boys private school, and has a huge crush on the school’s star jock, Jonathon (Nathaniel David Becker), who is straight and has a girlfriend. When their school decides to have a production of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” both characters land the leading roles and enrages the town. This movie was a lot more abstract and artsy compared to the other movies. However, it was also the funniest and deepest emotionally of all 4 movies. This was my favorite movie because the characters were relatable, loveable, and the story was very well written.

The second movie in the set was “East Side Story.” In this movie, the main character is Diego (Rene Alvarado), who is a waiter at his family’s restaurant in East L.A. but has aspirations to start a restaurant of his own after graduating from culinary school. He is a conflicted homosexual that is still “in the closet” and is currently dating Pablo (David Beron), a real estate agent that is in denial and trying to conform to society’s norms. Diego befriends Wesley (Steve Callahan), who just moved across the street with his boyfriend and is an openly gay recovering alcoholic. This movie was a bit too long and drawn out. Also, the stereotypes and constant use of the word “fag” were a bit disappointing. However, the movie did do a good job of displaying the negative perception of homosexuals in most Latino cultures.

The third movie in the set was ‘Mr. Right.” This movie took place in England and the main plot followed Harry (James Lance), a TV producer that is unhappy with his job, his boyfriend Alex (Luke De Woolfson), who is a young aspiring actor, and the crazy relationships and problems their friends face on a daily basis. This movie’s main focus was relationships and the dating rituals of a typical gay man. I thought this was a very interesting perspective for a movie, but felt like there was too much going on and found it hard to follow the story. There were some sweet romantic moments, but it was a chaotic movie.

The last movie in the set was “Hollywood je t’aime.” In this movie, Jerome (Eric Debets) has just been dumped by his boyfriend and decides to take a trip to Hollywood. He expects to escape from the world he knows in France and live the glamorous life in Hollywood, but things aren’t as nice as they are in the movies. This was the oddest of the movies and my least favorite. I had trouble connecting with the characters and there was some romance in the movie, but it was minimal.

With the exception of “Were the World Mine,” I would normally not watch the other movies on their own. However, as a set, they were elaborate and different enough to make for an interesting group of movies to watch in one night. I would save “Hollywood je t’aime” for last or totally skip it if you can. Overall, I enjoyed watching the whole set and would recommend it to others, especially my gay friends, that want to watch something different and , for the most part, breaks the molds of typical gay movies. For those reasons, I am giving this collector’s set a “B.”