Sometimes we want a happy ending
Although this is called a surfer movie, the surfing here was treated as an incidental. I think one of the surfing scenes, maybe the first one, should have been longer and shown the two leads riding the same wave. But aside from such artistic flaws here and there, the situation and plot grab you and carry you along to a memorable finale. It was so refreshing to have a gay-themed movie set in an ordinary town and with an ordinary blue-collar family, with not a single nightclub scene. It was also enjoyable to see gay characters allowed to interact with a young boy and play the Best Uncle role that so many of us carry in real life. The female roles were murkier, and it was hard to fathom what was going through their minds. But the guy/guy romance of the film was stunning. I particularly enjoyed the early scenes when Brad is mystified by the male attraction he's starting to feel. With a cipher of a father, it's obvious Brad needed and found an older brother figure in Shaun. Both guys are good-looking but not Hollywood perfect, which also made the film more credible. If we examined the plot with brutal realism, we might say it would be far-fetched for Brad to be admitted to art school a second time with a full scholarship, or that Shaun would be ready to take on both a partner and a toddler. But I think gay people are entitled to an escapist happy ending once in a while, and Shelter fills the bill quite nicely.score 9/10
brownt218 23 April 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2418341/35328
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