BearCity 3 (2016)

Director: Douglas Langway

Starring: Brian Keane, Stephen Guarino, Gerald McCullouch, Joe Conti

The final film in the multiple award-winning BearCity Trilogy takes the gang ‘Bear Camping’ at the Woods Campground as they deal with new loves, old flames, and the joys of fatherhood.

And so we come to the conclusion of the ‘BearCity’ saga. The first two films featured relatable characters with relatable events and circumstances. I enjoyed the characters and the films had a very natural flow. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about ‘BearCity 3’.

Although the original cast returns for another adventure, the characters didn’t feel all that relatable anymore and they found themselves in the most unusual circumstances. Many of the events and character interactions and confrontations felt forced.

If you’ve seen the first two films, you now know our heroes Tyler and Roger broke up. Tyler is in an open relationship with fireman chief Jay. Roger broke up with his ex-boyfriend Nate. The scene was set for Tyler and Roger to get back together again. And I believe fans of the films were hoping this would materialize.

Unfortunately there were so many inconsistencies with the characters. Let’s take a look at one of my favourite couples since the beginning: Fred and Brent. I absolutely adore these two. In ‘BearCity 3’ Fred’s sister agreed to be the surrogate mother to their child. The one moment they were ecstatic about the idea, the next moment they weren’t. Fair enough, I completely understand this. They are nervous. But in one scene Brent was upset with Fred, and in the next they were all over each other again as if nothing happened, and in the next scene Brent was upset again. It’s almost as if the editing was done out of sequence.

And then there’s Michael. This character is so done for. I so enjoyed his relationship with Carlos. Now the new love of his life is Dalton – a character so temperamental, I honestly couldn’t place him. The one moment he was so loving towards Michael, and the very next he would blow a fuse. It felt all too deja vu. And along comes his daughter, too, who was an absolute bitch and didn’t belong in the movie. She was added simply to include situations all too familiar to many men having relationships with men with children… Oh, and that bear encounter scene was just absurd. (Uhm, I’m referring to an actual grizzly bear here…). That scene was badly acted, badly filmed and badly edited.

Let’s get to Roger. Aah, the stud from ‘BearCity’ and ‘BearCity 2’! Roger – who used to be every man’s desire – is now pretty much reduced to a supporting character along for the ride. At times it felt they added scenes of him just to remind us that he was actually still a character here in the third installment. Apart from him longing to reconcile with Tyler, he added absolutely nothing to the film. Oh, and nothing about Simon’s character was believable… He might just as well have been omitted; there are far too many characters anyway.

So, did I enjoy the movie? Yes, I did. As a standalone film, I think it is good. Comparing it to its predecessors, though, it was not nearly as good. This film also took a very different direction. It is much more dramatic, and deals with more serious issues. It wasn’t nearly as funny as the first two films. I thought the performances were good, and the soundtrack and film score was really good. I still liked most of the characters. I also enjoyed their appreciation of the fuller figure, instead of ripped and muscled studs, as is the norm in gay movies. I just didn’t like the way the story panned out.

Would I watch it again? No.