Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds

Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Phillip J. Bartell
Written by	Phillip J. Bartell Q. Allan Brocka
Produced by	Q. Allan Brocka Michael Shoel J.D. Disalvatore Jeffrey Schwarz
Starring	Jim Verraros Emily Brooke Hands Rebekah Kochan Brett Chukerman Marco Dapper Mink Stole
Cinematography	Lisa Wiegand
Edited by	Phillip J. Bartell Scott Hatcher
Music by	Cary Berger Boris Worister
Production companies	Ariztical Entertainment Automat Pictures EOSS Productions
Distributed by	Ariztical Entertainment
Release dates	July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) (Outfest) November 24, 2006 (2006-11-24) (United States)
Running time	78 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$37,072[2]

Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds is a 2006 American sex comedy film directed by Phillip J. Bartell. It is the sequel to Eating Out (2004) and the second installment in the Eating Out franchise. Q. Allan Brocka, who wrote and directed the first film, returned to co-write the screenplay alongside Bartell. The film stars Jim Verraros, Emily Brooke Hands, Rebekah Kochan, Brett Chukerman, Marco Dapper, and Mink Stole. Verraros, Hands, and Kochan reprise their roles from the first film as Kyle, Gwen, and Tiffani, respectively, while Chukerman replaces Ryan Carnes as Marc. Dapper portrays nude art model Troy, while Stole plays Kyle's mother Helen. Following the first film, Kyle and Marc break up, with both setting their sights on Troy, who is questioning his sexuality. In his attempt to approach him, Kyle pretends to be an ex-gay man, with Tiffani posing as his girlfriend, and attends meetings at a support group with Troy; conversely, Marc decides to seduce Troy by being his out gay self.

Production on the movie began quickly after the first Eating Out proved to be a financial success. Due to scheduling conflicts, Brocka was unable to return as director, handing the duties to Bartell, who started to write the script in January 2006; the two would finalize the screenplay by April–May. The inclusion of topics such as the ex-gay movement stemmed from Bartell's wish to include political themes in the film—believing that comedy can shift one's viewpoint—and Brocka's past experience with such organizations. As Carnes was unavailable, Chukerman, who had previously worked with Bartell, was cast as Marc. The casting of roles such as Troy and Octavio—played by Adrián Quiñonez—proved challenging, particularly due to the sex scenes and nudity involved. Filming lasted for ten days, from May 21 to 31.

Following its premiere at Outfest on July 13, the film received a limited release in cinemas in the United States on November 24. It was released on DVD on May 29, 2007. Eating Out 2 gained mixed reviews from critics. Though the quality, plot, and humor of the film received a mixed response, its political themes and subplot involving the ex-gay group was praised. The performances garnered a mixed response, although Stole was overwhelmingly praised. The film also received attention for the sexualization of its male cast members, with much attention afforded to Dapper's sex appeal.

Kyle breaks up with Marc, accusing him of flirting with other men. Kyle, Tiffani, and Gwen all become attracted to Troy, a muscular farm boy from Troy, Illinois, who poses nude for their art class. Troy befriends the group and confides in them that he has slept with both women and men, but is reluctant to embrace any gay feelings. On Troy informing the trio that he would like to attend the campus ex-gay ministry in the hopes of being "fixed", Gwen impulsively tells Troy that Kyle is an ex-gay man, who quickly assumes that Tiffani is his girlfriend. The trio then devises a scheme to have Kyle pretend to be an ex-gay man to get close to Troy, in the hopes of overcoming Troy's inhibitions and having sex with him.

Kyle and Troy start attending meetings with the ex-gay ministry, led by Jacob, who proclaims that he is an ex-gay man himself. Marc notices Kyle becoming close with Troy and decides to try to seduce the model himself. Troy eventually succumbs to Marc's advances during Gwen's homoerotic photo shoot, and the two have oral sex. However, halfway through, Marc is overcome with guilt and realizes he cannot go through with the act because he still has feelings for Kyle. Troy then overhears Gwen and Marc talking about the entire scheme.

Wanting to get back at the schemers, Troy visits Tiffani and Kyle, who have told him that they have an "arrangement" that allows Kyle to sleep with men. They attempt a threesome, with Troy taking revenge by goading Kyle into performing cunnilingus first. Gwen and Marc storm into Kyle's house after witnessing the debacle through the window, and Troy scolds the group for being so sex-crazed. Troy ultimately concludes that he is bisexual, Kyle admits he was wrong to leave Marc, and the group makes up.

Believing that people like Jacob—whom Kyle had discovered to be closeted and sleeping with Octavio, another member of the ministry—are responsible for causing LGBT individuals' suffering and forcing them back in the closet, the five scheme to out him. During one of the group's meetings, they get Jacob to reveal his sexuality in front of his mother by tricking him into having sex with Octavio in a portable toilet on wheels.

Jacob finally comes out to his mother and flees with Octavio. Troy takes a liking to Tiffani and they start a relationship. Meanwhile, Marc and Kyle get back together after confessing their feelings to each other, and Gwen starts to date a girl experimentally.

According to producer Michael Shoel, work on a sequel to Eating Out began following its success at the box office.^[3] Q. Allan Brocka, who wrote and directed the previous film, was unable to return as director because his schedule was "too full"^[4] with his commitment to the Logo TV series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.^[5] Brocka personally reached out to Phillip J. Bartell,^[5] who had previously worked on the original movie as an editor.^[6] Bartell wrote the first draft of the script by himself in January 2006.^[5][7] Following the completion of the first draft, succeeding ones were co-written by Brocka and Bartell, with the process taking them around three to four months to finish.^[8] Eating Out 2's plot focusing on a gay man pretending to be straight to seduce another man came from Bartell, who wished to invert the previous movie's premise of having a straight man pretending to be gay to seduce a woman.^[5] The film's ending featuring Jacob being outed in front of his mother was due to Bartell's belief that the character had to "get some sort of comeuppance".^[9]

Eating Out 2 features the Christian right, anti-gay movement, and particularly the ex-gay movement as prominent themes.^[10] Concerning the inclusion of the ex-gay movement in the film, Brocka admitted that he had experienced members of such organizations attempting to recruit and convert him.^[11] Its inclusion also stemmed from Bartell's desire to "sneak a little political thoughts and ideas into what is basically known as gaysploitation",^[5] believing that humor and comedy has the capacity to change people views on a given topic.^[12] During the film's production, Bartell attempted to attend an ex-gay meeting for research, but was unable to find one within an appropriate timeframe.^[5]

From the beginning of the film's production, the crew was sure that Jim Verraros, Emily Brooke Hands, and Rebekah Kochan would reprise their roles as Kyle, Gwen, and Tiffani, respectively.^[13] In contrast to the first film, Verraros has a more prominent role in the sequel.^[14] Concerning her character, Kochan stated that Tiffani has "not changed at all" and that she's "become skankier".^[15] According to Bartell, Ryan Carnes did not reprise his role as Marc due to budgetary issues;^[5] he was replaced with Brett Chukerman, who had previously worked with Bartell in the director's short film Crush (2000).^[16] Other additions to the film's cast included Marco Dapper in his first film role as nude model Troy; Mink Stole as Kyle's mother Helen; Scott Vickaryous as Jacob, leader of the ex-gay group;^[5] and Adrián Quiñonez as Octavio, one of the group's members.^[17]

Bartell described the process of finding an actor for the role of Troy as the "big[gest] search" during casting,^[18] with Dapper being among the "third wave" of actors to audition.^[19] Bartell stated that finding a fitting actor proved challenging, as he had to be comfortable with playing a queer man, especially one that kisses another man, in a role that featured full-frontal nudity.^[20] Dapper, who is straight,^[21] admitted to being initially nervous of filming the nude scenes.^[21][22] However, he found them justifiable given their context and his character's status as a nude model.^[14] Concerning his involvement in the film, Dapper was warned that playing a gay character could lead could lead to him getting typecast.^[14] Despite this, he took the role, citing Bartell and Brocka's belief in him as one of the reasons.^[14] Dapper described the cast of Eating Out 2 as "welcoming and easy-going".^[14]

Many actors dropped out from the role of Octavio because of a scene featuring the character having sex with Jacob in a portable toilet.^[23] Quiñonez stated he enjoyed the role of Octavio as it gave him the opportunity to portray a "light hearted and fun" character; he also appreciated the film's message that "hypocrisy is present in all forms".^[24] Sloppy Seconds was filmed over a ten-day period,^[14] which Bartell described as a "very stressful time-frame to work in",^[25] and finished on May 31.^[26]

Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds premiered at Outfest in Los Angeles on July 13, 2006.^[27][28] It opened on November 24, 2006, in one theater in the United States, where it earned $4,394; the film placed 82nd overall, and ninth out the films opening in that weekend.^[29] Making $842 on its second weekend, Eating Out 2 managed to place 68th on its third weekend, earning $9,198 across five theaters with an average of $1,839 per theater.^[2] Its last screening, in three theaters, occurred during its seventh weekend, where the film finished in 68th place with $8,295.^[2] Eating Out 2's total earning were $37,072, all from the domestic box office.^[2] The film was released on DVD on May 29, 2007.^[30] Eating Out 2 became available on Amazon Prime Video in April 2018, as part of a licensing agreement with Outfest.^[31]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 44%, with an average score of 5.1/10 based on 16 reviews.^[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave the film a score of 39 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[33]

The film's overall quality, particularly its plot and humor, were generally criticized. Although Robert Koehler of Variety considered Sloppy Seconds funnier than its predecessor, he still deemed it a "cheapo campy goof".^[28] Chicago Sun-Times' Bill Stamets gave the film 1.5/5 stars and argued that it faltered during its dramatic moments.^[34] Rob Nelson of Village Voice criticized the film's humor and quality, describing it as akin to a soap opera,^[35] with San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson arguing that Eating Out 2 "rarely rises above the level of a high school skit".^[36] Metro Weekly's Sean Bugg gave the film 2/5 stars;^[37] while appreciating it for adding "more gay perspectives" to the sex comedy genre, he was critical of its quality, labelling it as a rip-off of American Pie.^[37] Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune was critical of the film's quality, although he did praise Bartell's directing.^[38] Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times criticized Eating Out 2's plot as ridiculous and a retread of its predecessor;^[39] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times also criticized the plot for its "stunning imbecility".^[17]

Some reviewers responded more positively to the film's quality and humor, especially its lighthearted tone. In a positive review, Chicago Reader's Andrea Gronvall considered Eating Out 2 an improvement over the first film, finding it lighter in tone, funnier, and more fast-paced.^[40] Similarly, Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times praised the film's tone as "playful",^[41] while Ben Zipper—an editor for Melbourne Queer Film Festival—highlighted the film's humor, particularly its "one-liners".^[42] In more mixed reviews, The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris gave it 2/4 stars, praising the dialogue.^[43] Similarly, Slant Magazine's Ed Gonzalez gave it 2.5/4 stars, emphasizing the film's humor as one of its strengths.^[44] Neil Cohen, reviewing the film for Echo Magazine, complimented Eating Out 2 for having the "raunchy spirit" of Another Gay Movie but lacking its "utter crassness".^[5]

Eating Out 2's treatment of the ex-gay movement was highlighted, often acknowledged as one of its most comical elements. Despite his overall criticisms of the film, Koehler complimented its message that any effort to convert LGBT youth to make them heterosexual is doomed to fail.^[28] Catsoulis similarly acknowledged the film's prominent theme of showcasing the "fruitlessness of right-wing efforts to reorient gay men", finding scenes involving the group "amusingly dimwitted".^[17] Morris similarly praised the humor concerning the ex-gay group, finding scenes involving it to be a running gag.^[43] Keogh found the first scene in Eating Out 2 involving the group to be the funniest in the film, particularly for how the group's members struggle to present themselves as straight and having overcome their same-sex desires.^[41]

The film's cast and acting received a mixed response, though Stole was universally praised. Koehler, Catsoulis, and Nelson all criticized the quality of the performances, the former two particularly finding fault with how the cast recited their lines.^[28][17][35] Despite their criticisms of the acting, both Koehler and Catsoulis commended Stole's performance, describing her as one of the film's highlights,^[28] with the latter stating that she "gives her all as Kyle's ebullient, gay-friendly mother".^[17] Similar sentiments were expressed by Johnson and Morris, who viewed Stole as the film's highlight.^[36][43] In a positive review, Keogh praised the film's acting, particularly the performances of Stole and Verraros.^[41] Gronvall praised the supporting cast, particularly Stole and Scott Vickaryous, whom she found believable as a "conservative zealot determined to 'stop the spread of faggotry'".^[40] Alongside Stole, Thomas found Dapper's performance to be charismatic,^[39] while Nelson, despite being critical of the film's overall acting performances, praised Kochan's portrayal of Tiffani.^[35]

The use of fan service in the film, particularly the sex appeal of Dapper and his physical attractiveness, was emphasized. Johnson acknowledged that Sloppy Seconds is filled with "eye candy",^[36] with Cohan declaring the men in Eating Out 2 are more attractive than the first movie, drawing attention to the presence of male nudity.^[5] HX Magazine's Mark Peikert particularly drew attention to the sex appeal of Dapper, Verraros, Chukerman, and Quiñonez.^[21] Much attention was afforded to Dapper's attactiveness and muscular physique, which was highlighted by many critics; Gonzalez described him as a "hot piece of man meat",^[44] Catsoulis as a "molded lump of muscle and tan lines",^[17] Keogh as "hunky",^[41] and Zipper as "gorgeous and buff".^[42] Morris noted that Dapper is the most sexualized cast member in Eating Out 2,^[43] with Gronvall describing him as the film's main attraction.^[40] Critics also drew attention to Dapper's full-frontal scene, which Nelson highlighted for its length.^[35] Bugg praised Dapper's and Chukerman's full-frontal scenes, describing the former as "impressively endowed",^[37] while Seattle Gay News' Milton W. Hamlin argued that Dapper's sex appeal and nude scenes—alongside those of Chukerman—make Eating Out 2 "a 'must see'"^[45]

• B, Al (December 2006). "Adrián Quiñonez Talks to Adelante About Eating Out 2". Adelante Magazine. Vol. 9, no. 7. Adelante Publishing Corporation. p. 43.
• Daniel, Lisa, ed. (2007). Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2007 Program. Melbourne Queer Film Festival. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
• Peikert, Mark (November 2006). "Seconds, Please". HX Magazine. No. 794. Two Queens, Inc. pp. 28–31.
• Quantic, David (May 29, 2007). "Serving Seconds: The Making of Eating Out 2". Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. Ariztical Entertainment.

• Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds at IMDb