If the "It Gets Better" campaign were to begin making short films, there's a pretty good chance that at least one of them would look an awful lot like writer/director Adam Wilson's entertaining and remarkably touching One of These Things is Not Like The Other, an 8+ minute short film that weaves together the comedic touch of Southern Baptist Sissies with a poignant and socially relevant dialogue that cuts to the chase and gets the point across in the short span of an eight minute film.

Josh (Boomer Brigman) is a New York grad student headed home to his southern, conservative family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Oh, and he's bringing along Darius (Glenn Fleary), his African-American boyfriend.

While this could all be played for laughs, it isn't. While this all could be self-righteous on either side of the coin, it isn't. What One of These Things is Not Like The Other is, however, is a short film that is both abundantly sweet but also directly to the point.

The point? Race and class relations still have a long way to go but, maybe just maybe, it really does get better and love and acceptance can actually win out in the end.

It's always a good sign when you find yourself watching the closing credits of a film thinking to yourself "Noooooooooooooooo! I want to see more," and that's exactly what happened with this tender tale of the beautifully matched Josh and Darius. It helps that Wilson has perfectly cast the film, with Boomer Brigman the quintessential mama's boy, a young man who has never cared much for sports and who loves his family no matter how stressful it is to go back home. Darius, on the other hand, was a wide receiver on the football team and is well read enough to go toe-to-toe with Josh's well meaning but bigoted father (Joe Gillen) when it comes to scripture and racial stereotypes. Sandy Newberg is also a delight, especially in the film's closing moments, as she begins to understand more and more about her son.

It says quite a bit for Wilson that he's able to pack so much meaty material into what is essentially a not so simple coming out story that is both honest and hopeful. D.P. Jessica Bennett's camera work capitalizes nicely on both the more tense and more intimate moments in the film, while Kenneth Lam's editing keeps the film flowing at just the right pace.

One of These Things is Not Like The Other was only recently completed, but the film should have no problem whatsoever finding a solid life on the indie fest and LGBT film festival circuit.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic