Gray Matters is like its star, Heather Graham—bubbly, nice to look at, but a bit lacking in depth and substance. It’s the story of a young single professional in Manhattan, named Gray, only in this hackneyed plot the twist is that Gray falls for her brother’s girl.
The flimsy plot seems constructed around set piecesshy;—the drunken kiss, the embarrassing revelation at work, the heartfelt bonding in a stopped elevator, the epiphany on the top of The New Yorker building (have they really run out of chick-flick locales in Manhattan?), all strung together. It’s pretty senseless, but enjoyable enough—basically set up for fluffy lesbian fantasies. Bridget Moynahan wears lingerie for the whole movie, often exposed. I’m happy to look at her in lingerie, so hey, why not?
The movie relies on chick-flick tropes to show character, rather than actual development. Gray loves old movies, which shows her individuality, orders mixed foods because she’s indecisive and has therapy sessions and analogies to explain exactly how she’s feeling. It’s what we’re warned against in eighth grade English: telling, not showing.
Of the three main characters, Heather Graham is the best actress, which is still stretching things a bit. She’s very perky and engaging, but really only has about four moods and conveys strong emotions primarily by wrinkling her nose. Tom Cavanagh (the guy from Ed) is her brother, and much as I wanted to like him, his lines were flat and unbelievable. And then there’s Moynahan, who plays the brother’s wife and Gray’s first lesbian crush. She’s wooden, and she’s not even on-screen enough for the audience to understand what’s so great about her. My viewing companion (another straight girl) and I agreed: we would do Heather Graham, but Moynahan just doesn’t seem worth it.
With such insubstantial main players, the supporting characters that come in and out are even more impressive. Alan Cumming, a cab driver, is a welcome addition, along with Sissy Spacek, Gray’s therapist (in one of the more inspired original moments, they have a session while bowling). Molly Shannon is excellent as Gray’s gossipy co-worker and friend.
Despite the flaws in plot and acting, it’s still a fun movie. It never pretends to be any more than it is. The one obligatory “gay rights” moment is handled with grace, even if it seems a little out of place.
It’s encouraging that we’ve come far enough to have a stupid but fun romantic comedy abut lesbians. It would be even better if we could have a smart one.
